An empty NBA All-Star Saturday shows what happens when sporting events become too corporate

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — If NBA All-Star Weekend has felt flat to you at times, you’re not alone.

Saturday afternoon inside the Intuit Dome often felt more like a lecture that needed to end. Sure, you were there, but given the lack of buzz, it was easy to quickly think about your Saturday-night plans thanks to the 2 p.m. PT start.

All-Star Weekend’s best elements usually have nothing to do with what happens during the Saturday “night” festivities or Sunday’s All-Star Game. It’s the parties. It’s the new shoe releases that have fans camping out for a chance to purchase the latest retro sneaker. And this year, the HBCU Classic between Hampton and North Carolina A&T Friday night at the Forum had plenty of folks talking.

Those events are filled with genuine emotion and dedication from the attendees.

Contrast that with the environment for All-Star Saturday — which had the vibes of a 7 a.m. Zoom call. With ample empty seats (despite the announced sellout crowd, via a league spokesperson) and a feeling of “meh” in the Intuit Dome, no amount of Ludacris performing “Stand Up” could increase the energy.

But when sporting events become too corporate, this is the result. This is big business for the NBA, so having accommodating sponsors and prioritizing famous faces courtside makes sense. Anything lacking in the live experience can be buffered by the many ways the NBA can showcase the game (YouTube, Instagram, X, etc.).

Maximizing ways to drive traffic on multiple platforms is logical, so this isn’t saying the NBA shouldn’t be about its business. It’s acknowledging this isn’t an event meant for fans — it’s a corporate showcase and money-maker.

Add in the fact that Saturday’s festivities are considered by many as too expensive. Individual ticket prices were starting in the $200 range, per StubHub. A family of four would have to spend roughly $800 to watch the three events from the “cheap seats.”

It’s just disappointing that a weekend to highlight the game’s biggest stars is sometimes playing in front of crowds who are seen and not heard nearly enough.

That’s not to say All-Star Weekend isn’t for the fans. It’s just not for the fans in the arena. I’ve visited multiple spaces this week, and there has been buzz about the activities. That buzz just doesn’t make it to the arena.

Arenas give up seats to accommodate more media. Those “cheap seats,” where you might find the most raucous fans, are occupied by people working. That’s a good trade-off for the NBA, because the more voices amplifying the league, the better.

But the media doesn’t cheer — well, the media is not supposed to cheer.

Some will blame the locations. Southern California has plenty to do, so maybe heading to the Intuit Dome midday wasn’t the right move on a Saturday. Last year’s festivities in San Francisco coincided with Chinese New Year, so maybe that was part of the lifeless environment inside of Chase Center.

But the location should not matter as much as who is in the building. The All-Star Game and other big events don’t have enough passionate people in the arena to make it feel like it is live.

The players take plenty of criticism for their lack of effort in the All-Star Game, so the NBA continues to try and find ways to generate a more competitive product by changing its format.

What might help give some juice to the on-court product would be a vibrant arena. Players feed off energy, too. That’s why Saturday’s contestants in the dunk contest kept signaling for it.

There were moments that seemed to awaken the crowd. Damian Lillard winning the 3-point contest was one of those. When eventual dunk contest winner Keshad Johnson made his entrance with rapper E-40, they brought so much energy that even the stiffest people had to pay attention.

The small boosts in energy were great, but it should be the norm.