The 2026 NBA Rising Stars mini-tournament was filled with some of the most talented rookies and sophomores, but the event’s venue, Intuit Dome, was seemingly empty. The lack of attendance at the Los Angeles arena concerned fans on social media, who also discussed the role of the new venue in the reduced viewership.
Team Melo took on Team Austin in the first semifinal of the three-game series, played in a first-to-40-points format, and won 40-34. The second semifinal, between Team Vince and Team T-Mac, also went to a wire, but Team Vince came out victorious, 41-36. In the final game, which was a first-to-25-points format, Team Melo registered another win in a nail-biting finish, 25-24.
Team Melo was headlined by the San Antonio Spurs’ Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper. However, it seems fans weren’t interested in young talents going at each other in an interesting format. A user on X shared the picture of the empty arena along with the caption:
“The arena is 95% EMPTY during the NBA Rising Stars Game
The NBA has a HUGE problem on it’s hands”
Fans seemed concerned about the state of affairs during the All-Star weekend. While some blamed the players for not showing enough enthusiasm, others believed that it was normal for Rising Stars games to go unnoticed.
The NBA All-Star events have been under scrutiny by fans due to a lack of intent from competitors, resulting in a deficiency of viewers in the arena. However, the league has constantly tried to change formats each season, in a bid to revive the high-value weekend.
The 2026 NBA All-Star weekend almost shifted from Intuit Dome
The Los Angeles Clippers eventually received their home arena before this season after playing at Crypto.com Arena for several years. For this year’s All-Star game, the NBA decided to use the new arena.
However, some fans believed that, given that the Intuit Dome is one of the biggest venues, the league should have chosen another venue, as it would be difficult to garner such a viewership for an event that’s already under criticism for a lack of interest. A fan wrote on the above-mentioned post on X:
“It’s not 95% empty. The capacity is 18,000, and there’s 4000-8000 people there, maybe ~33% full. Still extremely empty, but not 95% empty.”
Even before the weekend kicked off, the league was reportedly eyeing the idea of moving the event to a different venue due to an ongoing investigation into Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard. He allegedly signed a $28 million contract with tree-planting nonprofit Aspiration, which was essentially a “no-show” job. The company was allegedly funded by Steve Ballmer, owner of the Clips franchise and Intuit Dome.
The league has since launched an investigation into it. Adam Silver said that, to take action against the team, the league would need “clear evidence” that the Clippers violated its rules. Fans will hope for a better turnout as the weekend progresses to more anticipated sections.
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