If the NBA All-Star Game gets poor ratings, Mark Cuban knows why.
The NBA announced its reserves for the All-Star Game on Wednesday and Mavericks stars Kyrie Irving and Luka Dončić were both left off the roster. No Mavericks were selected for the Western Conference roster. The game is Feb. 16 in San Francisco.
Cuban, who now owns less than a third of the Mavericks after being a longtime majority owner, criticized the decision on social media.
“Those tv ratings for All Star are gonna be crazy,” Cuban wrote (sarcastically). “Lol NBA gonna NBA JUST INSANE Luka and Kai aren’t going.”
Dončić has played in just 22 of the Mavericks’ 48 games this season after injuring his calf in December. Before getting injured he was averaging 28.1 points per game on 46% shooting and was an MVP candidate.
Irving has kept the Mavericks afloat in Dončić’s absence, though. The team is 26–22 and eighth in the conference standings. Irving is averaging 24 points per game through 38 games on 48% shooting and is the bigger of the two snubs. He could still get in if another player elects to sit out the game.
Players can earn bonuses for making the All-Star Game. Timberwolves forward Julius Randle netted a $1.3 million bonus for making the team. But bonuses for Irving, who has a history of injury, are tied more to his availability. He netted $1 million in bonuses last season for playing in 58 games and for the team winning 50 games, making his snub less lucrative compared to other players.
Cuban is the latest to go after the NBA’s ratings, which has become an ever-bigger storyline this season. Even Adam Silver recently admitted they were down. The NBA has tried to resuscitate the All-Star Game to what it was during the ’90s and early 2000s when players showed meaningful effort in it and the game drew well on television.
Before the 2024 All-Star Game, Silver said he expected more effort out of both teams. Instead, the teams combined for nearly 400 points scored in a game that saw no defense being played. Despite the 2024 game being played with minimal effort, ratings were still up 14% with 5.5 million viewers compared to the 2023 game, which drew 4.6 million viewers. It didn’t hurt that last year’s game had multiple broadcasts to aid its ratings boost.
This season the NBA did away with the Eastern vs. Western Conference format as well as a previously adopted one in which the two players who get the most votes picked teams. There is now a four-team tournament, which has already drawn player criticism. Suns forward Kevin Durant said he “hates” the new format.
