Two American teams, “Stars” and “Stripes,” will compete, in addition to one team composed entirely of players from other countries. Kevin Durant, who has been vocal in his criticism of the All-Star Game’s lackluster performance in the past two years, took aim at two of Europe’s top ballers.
The question of whether the U.S. vs. World plot will genuinely motivate players to compete is one of the most common ones before the game begins. Following the Rockets’ defeat to the Clippers earlier today, Durant was questioned about if the veteran guard will “play hard.” His answer? Call Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic lazy.
Durant stated:
“You should ask the Europeans plus the World Team if they want to compete,”. “Look at Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic, let’s go back and look at what they do at the All-Star Game. Is that competition?”
“So we haven’t questioned what they’ve been doing, but we question the old heads, the Americans. But these two dudes out there, Luka and Jokic, they don’t care about the game at all. They be laying on the floor, shooting from half-court, but you gotta worry about the old heads playing hard,”
Fun moment w/Kevin Durant postgame. I asked if his self-proclaimed “Old Heads” team will play hard in All-Star Game.
KD says he can “read between the lines.”
“You should ask the Europeans + the World Team if they want to compete. Look at Luka Doncic + Nikola Jokic, let’s go… https://t.co/bCpLobUUFE pic.twitter.com/xUuU8AEeVQ
— Michael Shapiro (@mshap2) February 12, 2026
While it’s true that neither Doncic nor Jokic appear overly focused on winning the best-Star game, the truth is that even Americans don’t give it their best. In a game during the regular season, Stephen Curry would never make circus threes. Even LeBron James prioritizes highlight-reel jumpers and dunks over playing good ball.
However, after participating in All-Star Games for almost 20 years, Durant does not want the aging guards’ ability to compete to be questioned.
