Kevin Durant bluntly eviscerates NBA All-Star Game changes: ‘Absolutely hate it’

Suns superstar Kevin Durant is not a fan of the NBA All-Star Game format changes.

The league is looking to make the annual mid-season event more competitive after last year’s game saw a combined 397 points scored between the East and West All-Stars.

But Durant, a 14-time All-Star, didn’t seem to think the changes — which include a tournament of four teams and three games — are at all good. 

“I hate it. I absolutely hate it,” Durant told reporters Tuesday. “Terrible. All-Star Game formats changing. All the formats are terrible in my opinion and we should just go back to East-West and just play a game. I think we’ve been trying to bring that flare back somehow with the All-Star Weekend, but I think we just keep it traditional. 

“We’ll see how this one works, you never know. I might be wrong. I’m just another guy with an opinion, but we’ll see how it works.”

The new format will include 24 players that will be drafted into three teams of eight. 

The Rising Stars challenge winner will be the fourth team competing at Chase Center, the home of the Warriors.

The All-Star tournament will include two semifinal games and a final.

The winner in all three games will be the team that first reaches or surpasses 40 points.

The changes come after commissioner Adam Silver had hinted at changes while speaking on Nov. 2.  

“We’re looking at other formats,” Silver said then. “I think there’s no doubt that the players were disappointed as well in last year’s All-Star Game. We all want to do a better job providing competition and entertainment for our fans.”

All-Star festivities begin on Feb. 14, with the Rising Stars event on Friday, the skills competition taking place the next day and the new tournament closing things out on Sunday.