Last year's All-Star Game roster had a combined salary of $877,582,449—just shy of a billion dollars. Why can't players give the fans 20 minutes of effort and make the ASG competitive again?

Once again, it's that time of the year.

I don't know about you guys, but when I first got into basketball, the All-Star Game felt like Christmas to me. My favorite players sharing the court, creating a unique event I only got to witness once a year. Even back then (mid-to-late 2000s), I remember older fans saying the ASG wasn't as good as it used to be, but I never paid much attention to them because I enjoyed it so much.

But as time went on, the lack of competitiveness became more and more obvious.

What I can’t wrap my head around is this: nobody is asking them to dive into the stands to save a loose ball. Nobody is asking them to play through injuries. But come on—why can’t they just put in 18–20 minutes of real effort to make the game competitive again?

Am I the only one who finds this whole "finding the right motivation" thing a little ridiculous?

Why can't they put in the same effort they show in summer pick-up games?