Bill Simmons loved the NBA All-Star Game. He just wanted Reggie Miller to stop talking.
The Ringer founder spent most of Sunday night praising the league’s new USA vs. World format, calling it “a huge win for a league that needed a win this weekend” and giving it “two thumbs up” on his live podcast with Zach Lowe. But Simmons also spent a good chunk of the broadcast frustrated with NBC’s lead color commentator, who kept emphasizing how hard the players were trying when Simmons could see that with his own eyes.
“Can NBC please tell Reggie to stop telling us how hard everyone is playing,” Simmons wrote on Twitter/X during the game. “Or just cut off his mic? I’d settle for either option.”
Can NBC please tell Reggie to stop telling us how hard everyone is playing? Or just cut off his mic? I’d settle for either option.
— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) February 15, 2026
Simmons elaborated on his eponymous podcast, explaining that Miller’s constant cheerleading for player effort became grating after the first hour. The All-Star Game featured three mini-games in a round-robin format, with two Team USA squads and one World team competing for a championship. And to the NBA’s credit, the players actually competed. Simmons could tell. Everyone watching could tell.
“That was probably my biggest gripe, other than Reggie Miller telling us for an hour that the guys were trying because I was watching,” Simmons said. “I could tell they were trying. But other than that, two thumbs up. I thought it was a huge win for a league that needed a win this weekend.”
Lowe agreed Miller oversold the effort angle.
“I do like it with the announcers, and Reggie was the most guilty of this,” Lowe said. “And I like Reggie overall. It’s just like, ‘The world is in desperation mode here, monster possession, got to get a stop.’ It’s like, no one’s really in desperation. Well, you don’t have to go, you don’t have to go that far.”
“Yeah, he was definitely cooking the drama,” Simmons added.
The NBA spent years trying to fix its broken All-Star Game. Last season’s mini-tournament format on TNT featured longer commercial breaks and a MrBeast shooting contest that interrupted the actual basketball. The 2023 game drew the lowest ratings.) in All-Star Game history. NBC took over this year, determined to make a splash with its first All-Star broadcast since 2002, and the USA vs. World format delivered exactly what the league needed.
Simmons acknowledged that NBC got most of it right. The network stripped out unnecessary filler, started the Three-Point Contest before the first commercial break on Saturday night, and kept the broadcast moving. Commercial breaks matched the length of a playoff game rather than dragging on forever. The presentation was crisp. The games were competitive. Everything worked.
Now, NBC just needs its lead analyst to let the product speak for itself rather than narrating the obvious every 30 seconds.
Simmons would settle for that. Or cutting off Miller’s mic. He’s flexible.