The 2018 NBA All-Star Game finally tipped off at 8:41 PM ET, after a stage performance and player introductions that took far too long.
The NBA — for some reason — clearly put a lot of effort and resources into the performance, which had celebrities such as Kevin Hart, Jamie Foxx, Rob Riggle, Adam Devine, Queen Latifah, and Ludacris involved. A couple of examples from the whatever the hell the performance was supposed to be:
That went on for about 15 minutes… and was followed by Hart doing player introductions for another dozen minutes. Nobody seemed to enjoy any of it, and just wanted to see the, you know, *All-Star Game*.
What is this? #NBAAllStar2018
— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) February 19, 2018
How has the NBA not figured out that literally not one person likes these intros?
— Bucks Nation (@MKEBucksNation) February 19, 2018
ALL TIME NBA DEBACLES, UPDATED RANKINGS:
1- Tim Donaghy
2- 2018 All Star Pre Game/Intros
3- Malice at the Palace
4- LAL-SAC Gm 6 Officiating— nick wright (@getnickwright) February 19, 2018
So, we got an extended sketch before All-Star Game player introductions but couldn't get three dunks per contestant in the final round of the Slam Dunk Contest?
— Ben Chew (@TheRealBenChew) February 19, 2018
The NBA All-Star Game has a pace of introductions problem
— DJ Bean (@DJ_Bean) February 19, 2018
The unofficial time for NBA All-Star player introductions clocked in at 1 hour and 17-minutes
— Zach Klein (@ZachKleinWSB) February 19, 2018
people, we have empowered kevin hart for far too long.
this must stop.
— Candace Buckner (@CandaceDBuckner) February 19, 2018
Whoever created this pre-game show might want to get their LinkedIn updated.
— Matt Cahill (@drabtshirt) February 19, 2018
Can someone please erase the first 35 minutes of the #NBAAllStar2018 broadcast from my brain. What the hell was that?
— Troy Smith (@troylsmith) February 19, 2018
before the all-star introductions vs. after pic.twitter.com/u5VpMZBnlo
— Matt Ellentuck (@mellentuck) February 19, 2018
https://twitter.com/EC_Mike/status/965397089785208832
Us during these intros pic.twitter.com/7wgIOp8yvH
— The Crossover (@TheCrossover) February 19, 2018
This NBA All-Star intro is longer than some Kardashian marriages.
— Andrew Brandt (@AndrewBrandt) February 19, 2018
Why are these intros so long?
— Andy Bailey (@AndrewDBailey) February 19, 2018
Is the #NBAAllStar game tonight, or just the intros?
— Adam Kaufman (@AdamMKaufman) February 19, 2018
They really "tried it" with these intros, huh?? This is T-Painful……
— Mike Hill (@ItsMikeHill) February 19, 2018
The intros have sapped the competitiveness out of the players. It’ll be a regular All-Star game now
— Vincent Goodwill (@VinceGoodwill) February 19, 2018
That was followed by the a Fergie performance of the National Anthem that wasn’t well-received either, and even drew laughter from Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green.
we are all draymond green pic.twitter.com/ZkYtIGwLph
— Harry Lyles Jr. (@harrylylesjr) February 19, 2018
Hopefully the actual game goes much better than the pregame did (update: the game was indeed much, much better than the pregame).
UPDATE: And here was Charles Barkley’s reaction to the Fergie performance.
Charles Barkley on Fergie's National Anthem: "I needed a cigarette after that." https://t.co/hHkTwOP5Qb
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) February 19, 2018
[TNT]