Milwaukee Bucks nine-time All-Star Giannis Antetokounmpo will not, in fact, be playing in the 2024-25 NBA All-Star Game on Sunday night. Of course, this was announced a while ago when Milwaukee shut him down for a few games due to a calf strain. The most important thing, for both Giannis and the Bucks, is that the two-time NBA MVP is healthy for the NBA Playoffs.
Just because he is not playing, though, does not mean Giannis is not present at the events of NBA All-Star Weekend. On Saturday night, he caused a stir on X (formerly Twitter) when he told Memphis Grizzlies point guard Ja Morant that he would do the NBA Slam Dunk Contest if the young star did it too.
He was also available for a pregame media session before the actual All-Star Game himself, and he a few thoughts on the effort (or lack thereof) by the players participating in it.
Milwaukee Bucks Star Giannis Antetokounmpo Says the League Can’t Force Players to Try in the NBA All-Star Game
One of the things that fans do not like about the NBA All-Star Game is the obvious lack of effort from the players that are participating in it. For years, the league has tried to incentivize harder play by using different team formats, but it has not produced the results they hoped for.
When asked about players not giving their full effort in what should be an exciting exhibition game, Giannis had a fairly blunt response:
Giannis, on the format changing to incentivize better competition: “Everybody’s a grown man. You cannot force anyone to play hard if they don’t want to.”
— Vincent Goodwill (@VinceGoodwill) February 17, 2025
Years ago, the NBA All-Star game was one of the most-watched contests of the year, with star players trying on both offense and defense to win the game.
That is not the case now.
And according to Giannis, it won’t be unless each player participating decides that they want to.
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