World's dumbest hot take has made me mad as hell

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Zero-time NBA All-Star Chandler Parsons declared today "kids aren't going All-Star weekend to watch Josh Giddey play basketball."

"I think people wanna see stars, people wanna see guys that you have jerseys on, not some not a player from Australia," Chandler added on some random NBA panel show.

I've had enough. I'm as mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore.

For a start, 23-year-old Australian point guard Giddey is playing at an All-Star level, next, he's not a "too cool for school" Primadonna that have ruined the showcase and, next, there are thousands of Australian kids that would love to see him compete in the All-Star Game not to mention a few million Chicago Bulls fans, including kids, that would love to him as an All-Star.

Only five players in history have averaged his numbers over an extended number of games. Giddey has a way to go for it not to be considered a "hot start" but he's already in the most elite company in the history of the game:

Only five players in NBA history have averaged 23+ PTS, 10+ REB, and 9+ AST over a meaningful period:

• Oscar Robertson
• Magic Johnson
• Luka Doncic
• Russell Westbrook
• Nikola Jokić

Josh Giddey 2025-26 Averages

• PTS: 23.1 │ RPG: 10.0 │ APG: 9.1 │ STL: 0.9 │ BLK: 0.3

Chandler Parsons Career Averages

• PTS: 12.7 │ RPG: 4.5 │ APG: 2.7 │ STL: 0.9 │ BLK: 0.3

It's such a dumb American elitist take by Chandler, especially since the NBA has been forced into trying to make the game more watchable by changing its format multiple times because the players selected don't actually play. The game is unwatchable.

It's not even an echo of the All-Star Games in the '80s and '90s. So much so, the NBA is now trying to leverage American pride by including an international team in 2026 in a round-robin in the hope it will make it competitive.

Modern NBA stars have ruined it - not players like Giddey, who I'm certain grew up in an environment that every game was competitive and every possession is important. From the outside looking in, I get the feeling he'd be uncomfortable in that type of game ... and would play harder than anyone else.

The NBA said: "In the 2026 NBA All-Star Game, two teams of U.S. players and one team of international players (known as the World team) will compete in a round-robin tournament featuring four 12-minute games. The three teams will each have a minimum of eight players.

"In the round-robin tournament, Team A will play Team B in Game 1. The winning team from Game 1 will take on Team C in Game 2, followed by the losing team of Game 1 meeting Team C in Game 3. After Game 3, the top two teams by record will advance to face each other in the championship game (Game 4).  If all three teams have a 1-1 record after Game 3, the tiebreaker would be point differential in each team’s two round-robin games."

Gone are the days when All-Stars actually played in a 48-minute game with two halves, you know, a basketball game.

Modern era players have a responsibility to the game, even more so, with the size of their pay cheques that those players who came before laid the ground work for these multi-multi million dollar contracts. They are getting paid because of the All-Stars that came before them.

But every year on All-Star weekend I'm compelled to watch the greatest game ever played, the 1987 NBA All-Star Game.

Sixteen Hall of Famers suited up in the 37th edition at the Seattle King Dome, still the most of any All-Star Game, including Julius "The Doctor" Erving's last appearance in the showcase. The line-ups we so stacked Kareem Abdul-Jabbar came off the bench in his 16th All Star Game ... the Greatest Men's Basketball Player of All-Time came off the bench.

All-Star Saturday's Dunk Contest was Michael Jordan's Kiss the Rim and Free Throw Line Dunk. Photos from that dunk contest are now some of the most iconic in NBA history. Compare that to any dunk contest since, only Vince Carter in 2000 produced innovative dunks — without jumping over a mascot, a car or Shaquille O'Neal. There is nothing pure or creative about gimmicks.

Then there was Larry Bird winning the three-point shooting contest, the second of three in row. Carter said yesterday he wants Australian Johnny Furphy in the 2026 dunk contest. He gets it, Parsons ... not so much.

One thing is for certain, if Giddey is selected an NBA All-Star in 2026 I'll watch because he's a player's player, a pass-first Australian who is adding more to his offensive bag every year, leading the Bulls to a great start, had back-to-back triple doubles — the first Bulls player since Michael in 1989.

And Chandler, I won't be the only one tuning in for the first time in a long time.

As for your show, I'm tuning out.

About the Author

Peter Brown is the head coach of the Sydney Comets Women’s Youth League team in the Waratah Basketball League in NSW. He is also the assistant coach for the Comets NBL1 women’s team in the NBL East Conference. Peter is a 30-year journalist, starting as a sports reporter at the NT News in the early 1990s. He played junior basketball for the Northern Territory at national championships from U16 to U20 and for the Territory’s senior men’s team at numerous international tournaments. Peter has been a basketball fan since the early 80s, especially the NBA. Basketball is his passion — and his opinions his own. Email peter.brown@basketball.com.au with feedback.