Saying that NBA All-Star Weekend needs to be fixed is hardly a controversial take. But who’s to blame for the problems? According to Fox Sports Radio’s Rob Parker, the answer to that question is not the NBA players, commissioner Adam Silver or even anyone directly involved in the NBA. No, the guilty party in ruining NBA All-Star Weekend is — WNBA star Caitlin Clark.
Parker said as much in no uncertain terms.
“There’s one person and one person only who has ruined NBA All-Star Weekend – and that’s Caitlin Clark,” he said on his radio show. What’s the reason? It starts with her declining to participate in a contest on Saturday night.
“Caitlin Clark has ruined NBA All-Star Weekend. They invited her to be involved in the shooting contest with Steph. Right? And they were gonna make this nice thing go, and give people something to watch. She is television ratings gold, right? Everything she’s in, people are watching. That would have been the only reason to watch any of the festivities this weekend. They got a no-name Slam Dunk Contest. They got four All-Star teams with people who aren’t even All-Stars playing. The younger people, the people they picked up off the street, the old veterans, the international players.”
Let’s be fair, Parker raised several valid points about why the NBA All-Star Game is unappealing. And star players declining to participate is not an issue unique to NBA’s All-Star Game. That’s been an issue with MLB’s All-Star Game and the NFL’s Pro Bowl, too. But the problems there come when stars in those leagues don’t participate. Would Clark participating in NBA All-Star Weekend make the event more appealing? Certainly. But if we’re going to blame her for not participating, why stop at Clark? Patrick Mahomes, Shohei Ohtani and Lionel Messi are “television ratings gold,” as well. Are they to blame, too?
Parker attempted to explain why Clark, in particular, should have a sense of obligation to help the NBA.
“So they have all these things, all these freaking gimmicks that the NBA has turned into. And she had the gall, the audacity, to say ‘no,'” Parker said. “How can she say no when the WNBA wouldn’t even be around if it wasn’t for the NBA? They have subsidized that league forever. Ratings this year, right? Guess how much money the WNBA lost this past year — $50 million. Even with Caitlin Clark and her numbers. So the least she could have done was done a solid for her brothers in the NBA. They aren’t earning their keep. Let’s just be honest. I’m being honest. The least she could have done was take part in that. And she has ruined NBA All-Star Weekend for me. I’m not watching one minute. Because of Caitlin Clark.”
Parker’s co-host, Kelvin Washington, saw things differently.
“We came back from New Orleans, we came back from Super Bowl week, and you just, I mean, you said ‘There’s no more football. So let me just be the thing. Let me just start with the outlandishness,’ Rob Parker,” Washington said. “Caitlin Clark is at home minding her own business and she has to be the sole reason for you to watch the NBA All-Star Weekend? Let’s start with this. How about the NBA players make the All-Star Weekend something to watch.”
🎙️@robparkerMLBbro: “Caitlin Clark has RUINED NBA All-Star Weekend! She is TV Ratings GOLD! That would’ve been the ONLY reason to watch any of the festivities!”
🎙️@Kdubblive: “How bout’ the NBA PLAYERS make the All-Star Weekend something to watch?!” pic.twitter.com/Q4OULfvRys
— FOX Sports Radio (@FoxSportsRadio) February 14, 2025
Washington continued, noting that several stars, including the league’s two most prominent players, LeBron James and Steph Curry, have often not participated in All-Star Weekend events.
“How ’bout for the last 56 years, they made it something that we couldn’t wait to see,” he added. “The Dunk Contest, the Three-Point Contest. And you’re telling her she should have to do it? The NBA didn’t even make LeBron do a Dunk Contest for the last 15 years. You know what they didn’t do? Make Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Damian Lillard and all the best three-point shooters do it every year.
“They don’t make their own best participate. You have not seen Zion Williamson in an NBA Dunk Contest yet. Oh, let me keep going. You haven’t seen Anthony Edwards. Oh, let me keep going. You haven’t seen Ja Morant in a Dunk Contest. But Caitlin Clark — in another league — has to all of a sudden come over here and be Superwoman and save it?”
There are several issues with Parker’s argument.
One, blaming Caitlin Clark for NBA All-Star Weekend’s issues makes no more sense than blaming Michael Jordan for the issues Major League Baseball faced during the 1994-95 strike. Is there some connection? Yes, but it’s not strong. Clark has never been part of NBA All-Star Weekend. You can’t ruin something you’ve never been part of.
Two, the problem with NBA All-Star Weekend is not a lack of star power within the NBA. The NBA has plenty of needle-moving stars, including — but not limited to — James and Curry. The problem, specifically as it relates to the Three-Point Shootout and Slam Dunk Contest, is, as Washington stated, those stars frequently don’t show up. This has been particularly notable in the Slam Dunk Contest. In 2024, Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics became the first actual All-Star to participate in the contest since 2017.
Finally, of course, there’s the game itself. Players simply don’t want to risk injury. So, they don’t even pretend to play defense. With that, the game turns into a glorified skills competition featuring things that, interestingly enough, would work great on Saturday. For example, we see elaborate slam dunks from James and the league’s high flyers and halfcourt shots from Curry and other star shooters. It’s completely understandable that the players would want to take that approach. But from a fan’s perspective, it’s not particularly appealing.
These are problems that can be fixed without Clark. Additionally, like Sabrina Ionescu in 2024, adding Clark to Saturday night’s festivities would make that portion of the weekend more appealing. But would it save the entire weekend?
No. The responsibility of saving All-Star Weekend lies with the NBA’s executives and players.
