Kevin Durant Calls Out Nikola Jokic Before All-Star Weekend

With the 2026 NBA All-Star Game quickly approaching, the annual debate over the event’s true intensity and effort has resurfaced with it, as fans once again brace for Sunday night's events that are almost bound to be criticized for their declining competitiveness and seriousness.

This year, the events have been switched up to a USA vs. World format. The Denver Nuggets, in particular, will have two participants taking the stage on Team World, headlined by three-time MVP Nikola Jokic and first-time All-Star Jamal Murray.

Will the Nuggets' pair of stars be setting the tone with some high-intensity play on Sunday night? That remains to be seen. But one member of Team USA, Houston Rockets star Kevin Durant, almost seemed to challenge both Jokic and LA Lakers' star Luka Doncic to turn their competitiveness a notch up for this weekend.

"Go ask the Europeans and the World Team if they want to compete," Durant said leading up to the All-Star Game, per Michael Shapiro on X. "Because if you look at Luka and Nikola Jokic now, let's go back and look at what they did at the All-Star game, at that competition. So we have a question what they've been doing, but we're gonna question old heads and Americans."

"But these two dudes out there, Luka and Jokic, they don't care about this game at all. They're shooting half-court, but you gotta worry about the old heads playing hard. I can read between the lines, bro. I'm just thinking about the times, I'm just saying that I can read between the lines. And it's not just about you, it's just an overall topic that everybody's talking about."

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

KD Challenges Jokic, Doncic Ahead of All-Star Game

This year's new concept between USA and World teams is designed to increase that long-debated competitiveness that's been lacking in the weekend's events.

Perhaps this year will prove to be a different type of All-Star Game than years past. But before Durant is ready to hold up his end to elevate his intensity, he wants to make sure the Europeans on the World's side are judged with the same standard that guys like he, LeBron James, and Stephen Curry are held to.

It's a fair judgement made by Durant. But in reality, for the All-Star Game to be able to revert back to its previous standard where the league's top stars truly compete for a bit more of an intense showcase, it'll rely on not just one side buying in, but all players making the collective effort to make the product just a bit better.

At least for Nuggets' star Jamal Murray, he previously noted this season that he plans to play hard in the All-Star Game, which could help shift the tone slightly in favor of Team World, and change the narrative that's been largely criticized in recent years.

“I want to be one of those guys that’s known as somebody who’s going to play hard every time on the court,”he said, “not just half-a— it.”

The Nuggets' star duo of Murray and Jokic and the rest of the NBA's top stars will take the floor in Los Angeles later this weekend on Sunday night at the Intuit Dome, where we'll then see just how successful the All-Star Game pans out to be.

KD Challenges Jokic, Doncic Ahead of All-Star Game

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