Paul George makes his feelings clear on new rule changes in NBA All-Star weekend: "Just wasting time"

Philadelphia 76ers star Paul George isn't the biggest fan of the new All-Star Game format. On Dec. 19, the NBA declared that three games, rather than the customary one, will be played. According to the league, it will also bring in the winning team of the Rising Stars Challenge to play against the All-Stars.

On Monday's episode of "Podcast P with Paul George," the Sixers star was asked for his thoughts on the new format.

“We already have a hard time with one game, how we gonna have three games? All three All-Star games?” George said. “We had a hard enough time trying to get everyone to compete at a high level in one game.

“I don’t like the format if we’re not gonna go out, competing, be competitive. I think it’s still just wasting time.”

The Sixers forward isn't the only player who has expressed a negative reaction to the new format. Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant thought it would've been better if the league used the old East versus West format.

The LA Lakers' Anthony Davis shared the same sentiment and believes players would like it more if they used the old format.

George has played in nine All-Star games in his career. He's experienced enough to talk about the new format and whether the players will be more competitive or not. For the 2024-25 NBA season, however, the six-time All-NBA isn't putting up star-caliber players.

He's played 21 games for Philly, averaging 16.1 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.8 assists.

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Where does Paul George sit in the first fan returns of the All-Star voting?

The first fan returns for the All-Star Voting were revealed on Thursday, showing where some of the biggest stars are in the voting process.

For the Eastern All-Stars, Paul George is ninth in frontcourt voting with 167,613 votes. His teammate and 2023 MVP, Joel Embiid, isn't far off. Embiid is eighth in the voting with 170,420.

The big man has appeared in 11 games, averaging 23.7 ppg, 7.0 rpg and 3.8 apg.

The team's third option is the only player with at least 200,000 votes between the three of them. Tyrese Maxey is seventh in backcourt voting with 246,648. Maxey is averaging 25.9 ppg, 3.5 rpg and 5.4 apg this season.