Recently, San Antonio Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama was named as a starter for the Western Conference All-Star team. The news came amid a season in which Wembanyama has continued his dominance when on the court, but is also looking to shake off some increasing injury concerns at this early stage of his career.
In recent years, the All-Star game has come under fire from fans who can see that the players are clearly not giving anywhere close to 100% effort in the game, which many consider to be disrespectful and downright embarrassing.
However, one person who wants to fix that is Wembanyama himself.
“I want to push the great players of this sport to play in the All-Star game just as hard as I will. We'll see how it goes, but if they don't play hard, I'll do it without them,” said Wembanyama, per Complex Sports on Instagram.
Wembanyama is not the first player to make such a proclamation ahead of the festivities, but fans will certainly be hoping that he follows through on his promise and brings his A-Game to the table in Los Angeles next month.
The All-Star game seemed to reach a new low last year when LeBron James abruptly announced shortly before the game that he would not be participating, and the product on the court seemed closer to a pickup game at LA Fitness than a showcase of the best basketball players in the world putting their skills on display.
This, combined with a severe dropoff in quality in competitions like the Slam Dunk Contest, has threatened to render the NBA All-Star weekend as a whole obsolete, but that could change if Wembanyama and his counterparts put together an entertaining game next month.
The All-Star game is set to take place on February 15 from the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles.
