The new format of the NBA All-Star Game was met with skepticism by some of the league’s biggest stars – most notably Kevin Durant.

“I hate it; I absolutely hate it,” Durant said Tuesday, minutes after the league announced the changes to its midseason showcase.

This season’s format is a four-team, three-game, one-night tournament involving three teams of eight All-Stars each, with the fourth team being the winner of the Rising Stars Challenge for first- and second-year players. The winning team of all games is the first to score 40 points.

The All-Star Game will take place on February 16th at the home of the Golden State Warriors. The Rising Stars event takes place on February 14th and is the headliner of All-Star Friday.

“Terrible – All-Star Game format change, all formats – terrible in my opinion,” Durant said. “We should just go back to East-West. Just play a game.”

NBA commissioner Adam Silver has wanted a more competitive All-Star event for some time, and this change comes after the teams combined for a record 397 points in last season’s game in Indianapolis – 211-186 in the finale.

In total, the teams took 289 shots in this game, 94% of which came either inside or beyond the 3-point line.

“I think we tried to kind of bring that flavor back with All-Star Weekend. I think we just keep the tradition,” Durant said. “We’ll see how this works. You never know, I could be wrong, I’m just a guy with an opinion, but we’ll see how it works out.”

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was more optimistic Tuesday, acknowledging the “elephant in the room” of player performance during the All-Star Game.

“Ultimately it will come down to whether the players want to get involved and I would like to see that,” he said. “I definitely love being a part of it and hopefully it happens.”

However, Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant seemed to agree with Durant when asked about the new format on Wednesday.

“KD said the same thing,” Morant said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.