While the new format for the All-Star game has captured much of the conversation heading into February, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett joined the discussion with their own recommendation for All-Star weekend.
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On ‘The Truth and the Ticket’, the 2008 NBA champions recommended that Adam Silver bring back the discontinued NBA Legends Game. It was a tradition between 1957 and 1993 when fans got to witness retired legends return to the hardwood for All-Star weekend and compete in their own East vs. West game.
“I still hoop now,” Pierce said on his podcast. “It depends on the price. If the price is right, come on down. The legends game, that’s five-on-five? It’s gotta be an offer I just can’t refuse. I gotta have like, at least six zeroes.”
“600?” Garnett jokingly responded. He quipped that $100,000 was as high as he would go, forcing Pierce to clarify that that’s only five zeroes.
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While it’s nice to see the Truth hold his value in such high regard, Gilbert Arenas and Lou Williams couldn’t help but scoff in jest at the 47-year-old’s price tag. “6 zeros [emoji] okay 100,000 and hangs up “We ain’t giving u 6 zeros for that 1 leg” [emoji],” Arenas commented under KG and Pierce’s Instagram post.
Lou Will also poked a bit of well-intentioned fun at Pierce’s exorbitant asking price, adding, “P ain’t wanna come in with a low number just in case.”
It’s unclear how much the NBA would pay legends to show up for All-Star weekend for such a showcase. Of course, it’s unknown whether these legends would even get paid or if the NBA commissioner will rely on their ‘love for the game’.
The Legends game was first introduced in 1957 and was played a dozen times until it was discontinued in 1993. The ’80s would see a resurgence of the format with the game becoming a staple at All-Star Weekend for a decade straight.
However, with each passing season, the retired players began picking up more and more injuries during the game. In 1992, both Norm Nixon and David Thompson suffered major injuries, casting a shadow of concern over the format.
It was a fair reason to retire the tradition. And 30 years on, the new generation of fans can now look to the Big3 league when they want to watch retired NBA players in action.
Hall of Famers like Julius Erving, Gary Payton and Lisa Leslie have been coaching Big3 teams. Iconic retired stars like Joe Johnson, Michael Beasley, Tony Allen and Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf are currently gracing the hardwood in Ice Cube’s league, leading to the 3-on-3 league enjoying significant growth across its seven seasons.
In 2023, the final week of competition attracted nearly 600,000 viewers per night on CBS; a 46% increase on their numbers from 2022. Even in-person attendance numbers jumped up to about 9,000 per event.
Clearly, fans are interested in watching retired players in action and this does lend credence to Pierce and Garnett’s idea of reintroducing the Legends Game at All-Star Weekend. However, if other former stars like the Truth quote a million-dollar price tag, the Legends format might remain discontinued for the near future.
