There is more excitement heading into the 2026 All-Star Game than there has been in recent NBA seasons, largely because of a drastic change in format. It is no longer East vs. West. Instead, it is Team USA vs. the World. And just days before the game tips off, players have already started taking digs at one another.
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There will be two American teams, “Stars” and “Stripes,” along with a single team made up of international players. Kevin Durant, an outspoken critic of how boring the All-Star Game had become over the last two years, took a shot at two of the best ballers from Europe.
One of the things most people are wondering heading into the game is whether the U.S. vs. World narrative will make the players actually want to compete. Durant was asked after the Rockets’ loss to the Clippers earlier today whether the old guard would “play hard”. His response? Call Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic lazy.
“You should ask the Europeans plus the World Team if they want to compete,” Durant stated. “Look at Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic, let’s go back and look at what they do at the All-Star Game. Is that competition?”
Admittedly, neither Doncic nor Jokic, seem to are too much about winning the All-Star game, but in all seriousness, even the Americans don’t put in their 100%. Stephen Curry takes circus threes he would never in a regular season game. Even LeBron James goes after highlight reel dunks and shots more than actually playing proper ball.
Durant, however, does not want the competitiveness of the old-guards to be questioned after appearing in All-Star Games across nearly two decades.
“So we haven’t questioned what they’ve been doing, but we question the old heads, the Americans. But these two dudes out there, Luka and Jokic, they don’t care about the game at all. They be laying on the floor, shooting from half-court, but you gotta worry about the old heads playing hard,” the two time NBA champ added.
Fun moment w/Kevin Durant postgame. I asked if his self-proclaimed “Old Heads” team will play hard in All-Star Game.
KD says he can “read between the lines.”
“You should ask the Europeans + the World Team if they want to compete. Look at Luka Doncic + Nikola Jokic, let’s go… https://t.co/bCpLobUUFE pic.twitter.com/xUuU8AEeVQ
— Michael Shapiro (@mshap2) February 12, 2026
Durant went on to say that he could “read between the lines” when it came to the questions being asked by reporters, suggesting that he felt the blame was being subtly shifted toward the European players.
Will Doncic and Jokić respond? Hopefully. It would only add some extra spice to the All-Star Game.
