2023 NBA All-Star Game was the least watched edition of the annual midseason event ever

Sunday’s NBA All-Star Game was the least-watched edition of the midseason showpiece ever as it made history for the wrong reasons this year.

Just 4.59 million viewers tuned in to watch Team Giannis beat Team LeBron 184-175 last weekend, according to Sports Media Watch.

The report revealed viewership across TNT and TBS was well short of five million viewers with a 2.2 rating, eclipsing lows from 2021 and 2022 of a 3.1 rating and around six million viewers two years ago.

The poor figures come after ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith blasted the spectacle on his show First Take.

‘Hell no, I didn’t enjoy it,’ Smith said on his show the day after the event.

‘Here’s what’s inexcusable… as pathetic as the All-Pro Game was in football, it’s kind of understandable, guys, because football is a violent sport and we get all of that. 

‘And I’m not trying to say that you need to go all out as basketball players for All-Star Weekend because you got the second half of the season to consider.

‘What I’m trying to say about the sport of basketball is that we don’t need to see an All-Star Game taking place where you play harder in summer competition when you’re working out than you do at the All-Star Weekend. 

‘If you can go and play in summer league competition, I don’t mean summer league as in an organized league. I’m talking about go to the gym and watch these guys work out in the summertime, in the off season.

‘They’re working out in the offseason and we all know they’re not going all out, but they play harder than what you saw last night. There was no effort whatsoever. 

‘What we should be able to see, other than dunks, we should not be able to look at a basketball game and know that anybody could be on the court with you based on the effort you’re putting on display. 

‘It just reeks of a level of arrogance and taking fans for granted that we continue to lament. 

‘So again, you know what, I just look at it from that perspective and I applaud Coach [Michael] Malone for highlighting the flagrant lack of effort.’

Both team captains Giannis Antetokounmpo and LeBron James barely featured while Golden State Warriors star Steph Curry was not involved at all.

James left the game in the second quarter after hitting his hand on the rim after going up for a block. 

Giannis sprained his right wrist in Milwaukee’s final regular-season game before the break on Thursday night. 

Fans, media and players hit out at the defenseless game that was ‘hard to watch’ on Sunday.

‘I think it’s time to retire “the Elam ending saved the All-Star game,” considering it was a 6-point game and the game point and there was exactly zero uptick in defense,’ wrote Knicks beat writer Fred Katz. 

‘I get it, I really do, but if you love basketball this is so hard to watch,’ wrote Sporting Tribune founder Arash Markazi.

‘All-Star Games are a glorified open gym but idk the fact nobody actually tried in the fourth quarter was a little annoying,’ wrote Complex Sports’ Kameron Hay.