NBA
NBA All-Star Game: Just 33 Minutes of Action with 80 Minutes of Ads
David Evans is an experienced sports journalist with over 15 years in the field. He is known for his reliable and insightful commentary, which has been featured on numerous top sports betting platforms. David specializes in North Carolina basketball, college football, the NFL, soccer, and golf, offering deep knowledge and straightforward analysis in his articles. Outside of work, David stays active with regular gym workouts and enjoys relaxing at home with his cat. With a solid blend of experience and passion, David is a well-respected name in sports journalism, consistently providing valuable and informative content to his readers.
Get to know David Evans betterPublished17 Feb 2025
The 2025 NBA All-Star Game was billed as a fresh take on the annual event, but in reality, it was a bloated, ad-heavy spectacle with barely any basketball. Over a three-hour broadcast, fans got just 33 minutes of actual live play while enduring 80 minutes of commercials. The rest of the show was filled with pre-game hype, music performances, and segments that felt more like filler than meaningful content.
How Much Basketball Was Played in the NBA All-Star Game?
The NBA introduced a four-team mini-tournament this year, scrapping the classic East vs. West format. While the intention was to spark more competition, the result was a disjointed, start-stop event that barely resembled a real basketball game.
Here’s how the broadcast played out:
- Total broadcast time: 180 minutes
- Basketball in play (excluding stoppages): 33 minutes
- Total game time (including stoppages like free throws and fouls): 42 minutes
- Total ad time: 80 minutes
- Other segments (intros, challenges, music, analysis): 67 minutes
More Ads Than Hoops
The night dragged from the start. A 30-minute intro filled with sponsor tie-ins, hype videos, and forced excitement set the tone. After that came 10 minutes of pre-game talk, where analysts debated matchups and storylines that barely mattered once the games actually started.
The games themselves were short and choppy. The longest stretch of uninterrupted basketball lasted less than five minutes. Each mini-game had around 10-12 minutes of live action, meaning the total game time—when counting stoppages—was 42 minutes, but if you look at just the moments when the ball was in play, it was only 33 minutes. That’s barely an episode of a sitcom.
On top of that, non-basketball entertainment segments dominated the event.
- MrBeast Challenge: 5 minutes
- Music Performance: 6 minutes
- Inside the NBA Tribute: 9 minutes
By the time the final game started, it felt like basketball was a secondary attraction.
NBA ASG: A Commercial-Filled Nightmare
The sheer number of ads made it impossible to stay engaged.
- 80 minutes of commercials took up nearly 45% of the broadcast.
- Frequent ad breaks between mini-games, quarters, and timeouts killed momentum.
- In-game sponsorships and product placements were everywhere, including in challenges and interviews.
Ads aren’t new to the NBA, but this year’s All-Star Game took it to another level. Previous years still managed at least 48-60 minutes of basketball, making the 2025 version feel more like a TV special than a sports event.
Players and Fans Are Over NBA All-Star Game
Draymond Green didn’t hold back during the live broadcast, questioning why non-All-Stars were even involved and calling out the event’s lack of intensity. He wasn’t alone—fans flooded social media with complaints about how much time was wasted on everything but basketball.
Draymond Green cooked ts was garbage pic.twitter.com/tsZcmPSx2f
— Bones🦴 (@Boness305) February 17, 2025
It’s clear that the NBA has a problem. This is supposed to be a showcase of the league’s best talent, not a three-hour advertisement with brief interruptions of basketball.
Where Does the NBA Go With ASG From Here?
The league needs to decide if the All-Star Game is still about basketball or just a flashy corporate event. If the focus keeps shifting toward entertainment gimmicks and maximizing ad revenue, the credibility of the game itself is going to take a major hit.
Fans are already tuning out. If the NBA wants to keep people interested, it needs to bring the focus back to actual basketball – not just sponsor-friendly theatrics.
