Nikola Jokic on lack of effort in NBA All-Star Game: “It’s always going to be like this”

SAN FRANCISCO — To solve the lack of effort in the All-Star Game, the NBA tried something new: a lack of basketball entirely.

The league’s mini-tournament at Chase Center lasted almost three hours on Sunday night, and most of that time was spent in commercial limbo. Between live musical performances on the court and various other interludes, the players were limited in their opportunities to put forth the effort that was asked of them.

Most notably, the tournament’s championship game between Charles Barkley’s team and Shaquille O’Neal’s came to a screeching halt after five minutes of play. Nikola Jokic’s squad was down 11-1 at the beginning of the “timeout,” which spanned 19 minutes before play resumed. The halftime clock during an NBA game starts immediately and counts down from 15 minutes.

Jokic said afterward that he did not know there would be long mid-game stoppages.

What was he doing to pass the time on the sideline?

“Nothing,” the Nuggets center said. “Getting stiff.”

The consensus among his fellow All-Stars was similarly dumbfounded.

“Twenty minutes, that’s a lot,” Victor Wembanyama said.

“It was kind of tough to get back into the game after that,” Steph Curry said.

“I would rather play without breaks,” Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added.

The 19 minutes started with a TV timeout. That was followed by a symbolic passing of the torch from San Francisco to Los Angeles, where All-Star weekend will be held in 2026. A drawn-out ceremony featured Curry, James Harden and a large star-shaped prop that had to be wheeled on and off the court. Next was another ceremony honoring TNT’s “Inside the NBA,” which is in its final season before the league’s new media rights deal goes into effect.

When that ended, the players trickled back onto the court while another TV timeout ensued.

Effort had been inconsistent before the stoppage. It was close to nonexistent afterward. Players from both teams cherry-picked at the offensive end of the court instead of getting back on defense.

It all amounted to yet another dud All-Star event for the league, which has been grasping for proverbial straws throughout this decade. Jokic gave perhaps the most honest answer afterward when asked if there’s an answer to the ongoing search for a better product.

“I don’t know,” he said. “I think it’s not a question for me. I don’t know. I think maybe we should focus on some other things than All-Star. I think it’s always going to be like this, so we should accept it.”