The 2025 NBA All-Star weekend is finally over, but it’s still generating plenty of buzz, both good and bad. While the NBA is getting praised for trying to mix things up by introducing a new mini-tournament style format, it’s still receiving criticisms. For one, many fans feel that the game (or games) continued to lack intensity. For Cleveland Cavaliers star guard Donovan Mitchell, the NBA All-Star championship made it hard for him to get into his rhythm partly because of the lengthy breaks within the contest.
“It was tough and I didn’t even make a shot,” Mitchell told reporters after the game (h/t Duan Ranking of The Arizona Republic). “Definitely tough. I applaud the league for trying to do different things for the fans and make it enjoyable.”
As mentioned by Donovan Mitchell, he bricked all his attempts from the field, shooting just 0-for-7 for the Charles Barkley-led Global Stars against the Shaquille O’Neal-helmed Team OGs . He did not leave his stat line full of zeroes, though, as the former Louisville Cardinals star had three rebounds, two assists and a steal in 11 minutes of action. But his team certainly could have used Mitchell’s high-scoring ways, as Barkley’s squad fell prey to Team OGs to the tune of a 41-25 score.
No Global Stars starter had more than eight points, with San Antonio Spurs star big man Victor Wembanyama pacing Barkley’s side with 11 points off the bench.
Donovan Mitchell was barely the only player who sounded off about the long breaks.
“The format was cool. I think the toughest part, they stopped the game to do the presentation while we were kind of halfway through it,” said Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics (via Kurt Helin of NBC Sports).“We were sitting down for 20 minutes, whatever it was. It was kind of tough to get back into the game after that,” added Tatum, who was on the winning side of Team OGs.
“The breaks, I guess, weren’t ideal,” Oklahoma City Thunder star and Mitchell’s All-Star Game teammate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander shared. “I would rather play without breaks.”
In any case, Mitchell can look forward to regaining his shooting touch when the Cavs resume their regular-season schedule on Thursday against the Brooklyn Nets on the road. It is also worth noting that Donovan Mitchell did not go home from the All-Star break with nothing to write home about, as he and Cavaliers teammate Evan Mobley won the Skills Challenge.
On the season, the 28-year-old Mitchell is averaging 23.9 points, 4.8 assists and 4.4 rebounds per game.
