Anthony Edwards Crowned as All-Star MVP as Young American Stars Outlast Old American Stars and International NBA Stars
In the latest example of the the NBA's ongoing quixotic quest to make the All-Star Game meaningful again--or at least worth watching--for the fourth year in a row the league changed the All-Star Game format. This time, the All-Star Game was divided into four 12 minute games in a round robin tournament featuring three All-Star Teams: young American stars (Stars), old American stars (Stripes), and international stars (World).
Without getting bogged down in the various scenarios that could have occurred under the new rules, what actually transpired is that Stars beat World 37-35 in the first game, Stripes edged Stars 42-40 in the second game, Stripes defeated World 48-45 in the third game, and Stars routed Stripes 47-21 in the fourth game. The Stars' Anthony Edwards scored 32 points on 13-22 field goal shooting while playing 27 minutes in three mini-games. He received the 2026 Kobe Bryant NBA All-Star Game MVP award--and he candidly admitted after the event that he did not fully understand all of the rules for this year's format (he thought that the games were decided by the first team to score 40 points).
When the All-Star Game MVP does not understand all of the rules, perhaps the rules are too convoluted, or at least are not explained clearly enough to the players and the fans.
The first three mini-games were competitive and entertaining, which was a welcome change--but competing hard should be the minimum expectation for the world's greatest athletes on one of their league's biggest stages. World's Victor Wembanyama made it clear that he took the event very seriously, and Edwards later stated that Wembanyama set the tone for everyone else to follow. Wembanyama led both teams with 14 points (4-5 field goal shooting) and six rebounds in the first mini-game, which was tied 32-32 at the end of 12 minutes. Under the rules, the overtime would be decided by the first team to score five points, which Stars accomplished when Scottie Barnes drilled a three pointer after World's defense foolishly collapsed in the paint to give him a wide open shot. Wembanyama could not hide his disgust at his team's mental gaffe. Edwards led Stars with 13 points on 5-9 field goal shooting.
Jaylen Brown scored a team-high 11 points on 5-9 field goal shooting as Stripes beat Stars on a De'Aaron Fox three pointer at the buzzer in the second mini-game. Edwards (11 points on 5-8 field goal shooting) and Cade Cunningham (11 points on 4-6 field goal shooting) paced Stars.
The third game was the Kawhi Leonard show, as the L.A. Clippers' star poured in 31 points on 11-13 field goal shooting in his home arena as Stripes eliminated World. Wembanyama led World with 19 points on 6-8 field goal shooting.
In the final game, Tyrese Maxey paced a balanced Stars attack with nine points on 4-8 field goal shooting, while Edwards added eight points on 3-5 field goal shooting. Leonard played all 12 minutes in the final game, but he scored just one point while shooting 0-4 from the field as Stripes shot 8-31 (.258) from the field. Donovan Mitchell led Stripes with six points on 2-4 field goal shooting.
The post-game spin from many media outlets is that the 2026 All-Star Game was a great success because of the new format. I willingly concede that the first three mini-games included the most competitive basketball seen in the NBA All-Star Game in quite some time--but it also must be stated that the grand finale was difficult to watch. I am not sure if the older All-Stars became fatigued, disinterested after eliminating World, or both, but the four NBA champions on Stripes--LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, and Jaylen Brown--shot a combined 4-22 from the field, including 1-13 from three point range. Stars shot 20-33 (.606) from the field as Stripes' defense was at least as bad as their anemic offense.
The NBA All-Star Game used to feature the best players doing what they do best in one full-length game with no gimmicks or special rules: Julius "Dr. J" Erving showcased his balletic moves, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar drained skyhooks, Magic Johnson made deft passes, and Isiah Thomas did ballhandling wizardry--and this took place while opposing players put up at least some defensive resistance. In the 1986 NBA All-Star Game, the teams combined to commit 50 fouls while attempting just 10 three point field goals. NBA teams averaged 25.2 fouls per game during the 1985-86 regular season, so 50 combined fouls is in line with that era's norm (teams are committing 20.1 fouls per game so far this season); the East's 139-132 win over the West in 1986 was not a defensive struggle, but the players took the ball to the hoop against resistance and the game at least resembled a real NBA game.
In yesterday's four mini-games, the teams combined to commit 23 fouls in more than 48 minutes of action, which is barely half the foul rate during the 2025-26 regular season. This is an improvement over six combined fouls in the three mini-games in the 2025 All-Star Game and three combined fouls in the 2024 All-Star Game, but let's not pretend that making minimal effort in three mini-games before producing a dud in the fourth mini-game is remotely close to what should be expected from the NBA's best players.
The sad reality for the modern NBA is that teams and players demand extraordinary incentives to play hard and try to win; a handful of teams play hard during the regular season because they believe that they have a chance to win the NBA title, but at least a third of the league's teams are actively tanking to try to improve their draft positioning and many other teams engage in "load management," which is a polite way of saying that they accept losing by not putting their best team on the floor every game. Star players sit out large numbers of games and then complain that they are not eligible to win postseason awards (because of rules that the NBA enacted to try to dissuade star players from sitting out so often).
Far too many NBA players chase every last dollar that they can receive on and off the court while not taking pride in perfecting their craft or even showing up for every scheduled game; there are a few exceptions to the trend, but in general the players seem to be more focused on making money than on making the game great, and it is not clear what--if anything--can be done to reverse this trend.
Michael Jordan had a "love of the game" clause included in his NBA contract to prevent the Chicago Bulls from limiting his participation in non-NBA games, including pickup games for which he was not paid anything; current NBA players do not even love the game enough to play hard all of the time when they are being paid tens of millions of dollars per year.
The contrast between Jordan's era and the modern era could not be more stark, or more sad.
Recent NBA All-Star Game Recaps:
New All-Star Format Produces Same Desultory Results (2025)
"At least some of the players tried some of the time.
Sadly, that is the best that can be said about the NBA's new All-Star Game format featuring four teams playing a mini-tournament consisting of games that are each an untimed race to 40 points. TNT's Charles Barkley, Shaquille O'Neal, and Kenny Smith picked the rosters for three of the four teams out of a player pool consisting of this year's 24 NBA All-Stars. Barkley's Global Stars included players with an international connection, O'Neal's OGs included veteran American players, and Smith's Young Stars included young American players. Trae Young was selected by Commissioner Adam Silver as a replacement for the injured Giannis Antetokounmpo on the Global Stars, and Silver tapped Kyrie Irving to replace the injured Anthony Davis on the OGs. LeBron James (OGs) and Anthony Edwards (Young Stars) waited until the day of the game to decide that they could not play, and thus no replacements were selected for either of them. The fourth team, Candace Parker's Rising Stars, included rookies and second year NBA players who won the Rising Stars event on Friday night.
I've been following the NBA since the 1970s, and the NBA All-Star Game used to be one of my favorite events, but recently it has become something that I watch more out of a sense of duty than a feeling of joy; during the 1980s, I loved watching the East's Julius Erving, Larry Bird, Moses Malone, and Isiah Thomas compete against the West's Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and George Gervin because the players had fun and showed off their individual skills while playing to win--but in recent years the All-Star Game has featured various gimmicky formats while the only thing the players competed at was showing who was least interested in playing hard."
The 2024 NBA All-Star Game Descends to New Lows as Any Pretense of Defense is Abandoned (2024)
"The 2023 NBA All-Star Game may have been not only the worst NBA All-Star Game ever, but possibly the worst basketball game ever played by high level players--until the 2024 NBA All-Star Game sunk to a new low: the teams launched 168 three point shots while attempting just five free throws as the Eastern Conference All-Stars routed the Western Conference All-Stars, 211-186. That is not competitive basketball, and it is unrecognizable compared to what the All-Star Game used to be: in 1994, the East beat the West 127-118 in a game featuring a combined 60 free throw attempts but just 30 three point field goal attempts; there was no shortage of highlight plays/moments but the most important thing is that the players competed.
During the wonderful 2024 NBA Legends Brunch, Larry Bird praised today's players and made a request: "The one thing I would really like to see is they play hard in tonight's All-Star Game. I think it's very important when you have the best players in the world together you've got to compete and you've got to play hard."
Instead, the players disrespected themselves, the sport, and the legends who built the game that provides them with the opportunity to receive generational wealth. No one is expecting the All-Star Game to resemble game seven of the NBA Finals, but the refusal of the modern players to even pretend to want to compete is sad...
We hear so much about how great Commissioner Adam Silver is, but it appears that he is praised because he tends to let the players do whatever they want, in contrast to his predecessor David Stern, who viewed himself as a caretaker of the sport as a whole.
Considering how little today's best players care about putting even
forth minimal effort, the NBA should get rid of not just the
All-Star Game but even the concept of being an All-Star: retain All-Star
Saturday Night (it could be renamed something else, like NBA Showcase
Saturday) and of course retain the Legends Brunch, but the All-Star Game
serves no purpose, and being selected as an All-Star in today's NBA has
no meaning. Only the awards given after the season matter, so let the
players grumble about having to play at least 65 out of 82 games--oh,
the suffering!--to be eligible to win those awards.
Here is
the challenge to Silver: fix the All-Star Game, or have the intestinal
fortitude to not only get rid of it but to publicly say that he is
getting rid of it because the players do not take it seriously enough to
deserve to have it and to receive the bonuses associated with being
selected for it."
The 2023 NBA All-Star Game May Have Been the Worst Basketball Game Ever (2023)
"The 2023 NBA All-Star Game was not only the worst NBA All-Star Game ever, but it may have been the worst basketball game ever 'contested'--and I use that word with hesitation--by high level players. Denver Nuggets Coach Michael Malone, who coached Team LeBron, made this statement after Team Giannis prevailed 184-175: 'It's an honor to be here, and it's an honor to be a part of a great weekend with great players, but it's the worst basketball game ever played.' Malone also admitted that he has no idea how to fix the game.
The NBA All-Star Game began its horrific slide to irrelevance several years ago (see game recaps appended to this article for more details), but yesterday the league's showcase midseason event descended to a nadir from which there may be no recovery.
At its best, NBA basketball
is about the world's greatest athletes competing at a high level at both
ends of the court while working together to help their team win. At its
worst--and its worst was on full display last night--NBA basketball is
about players flaunting their individual skills without any connection
to team success while their 'opponents' step aside and watch instead of
competing on defense. The 2023 NBA All-Star Game was such an abomination
that it is difficult to decide which moment was the worst."
NBA Formally Honors the 75th Anniversary Team, Stephen Curry Wins the All-Star Game MVP (2022)
"How much has the All-Star Game devolved from an actual competition featuring the league's best players to an exhibition of players demonstrating individual skills devoid of competition or team play? Free throws are a quick way to gauge physicality/defense. The 2022 All-Star Game included eight fouls, four of which were called in the fourth quarter, and Team LeBron shot 2-2 from the free throw line while Team Durant shot 7-7 from the free throw line. This season, NBA teams average a little over 21 free throw attempts per game, so it is obvious that the All-Star Game featured few fouls, few free throws, very little physicality, and token defense compared to a normal NBA game.
All-Star
Games used to be played much differently. In the first NBA All-Star
Game, the East beat the West 98-93 in overtime in 1954 with the East
shooting 36 of 44 from the free throw line and the West shooting 17-26
from the free throw line. In 1962, Wilt Chamberlain set an All-Star
single game scoring record (42 points) that stood for 55 years.
Chamberlain shot 8-16 from the free throw line, and his East squad shot
24-43 from the free throw line. The West, which won 150-130, shot 36-51
from the free throw line. Chamberlain's scoring record took place during
a competitive game, and the record stood until long after NBA All-Star
Games ceased to be competitive; his record is so exceptional that even
in an era during which it is much easier to score in All-Star Games only
two players have surpassed the standard that he set--and Curry did so
by making a bunch of uncontested three pointers.
"Giannis Antetokounmpo did not have the first perfect shooting performance in NBA All-Star Game history--Hal Greer shot 8-8 from the field en route to scoring 21 points and winning the 1968 NBA All-Star Game MVP--but he set the NBA All-Star Game record for most field goals without a miss (16), and he captured his first All-Star Game MVP by scoring a game-high 35 points as his Team LeBron routed Team Durant, 170-150. Antetokounmpo played just 19 minutes, so he scored nearly two points per minute. Most of Antetokounmpo's shots were lightly contested--if not uncontested--dunks, but he also shot 3-3 from three point range. Each team shot 3-5 from the free throw line as both teams spent most of the game not even pretending to care about defense. Perhaps the league and/or the players think that the fans want to see uncontested dunks and wide open three pointers, but I think/hope that true basketball fans want to see competition. A contested dunk is a great play; an uncontested dunk is just performance art."
"After
three quarters, it seemed that the new NBA All-Star Game format had not
inspired many players from either team to even pretend to play at a
fraction of their full capabilities. Fortunately, the fourth quarter--a
race to 157 points based on adding 24 points (in honor of Kobe Bryant)
to the 133-124 lead enjoyed by Team Giannis over Team LeBron at the end
of the third quarter--featured high level play as both teams looked
fully engaged: Team Giannis' Kyle Lowry seemed to try to take a charge
on every defensive possession, players from both teams contested almost
every shot, and the level of physicality ramped up to top notch regular
season levels, if not even first round playoff levels.
It is mystifying that most NBA players seem to need external motivation
to play their best in the All-Star Game, but with a substantial portion
of the weekend's festivities dedicated to the memory of
Bryant--including naming the All-Star MVP award for him--it would have
been a travesty for the players to just sleepwalk through the entire
proceedings. Kawhi Leonard is a pioneer of the less than commendable
load management scourge, but at least he always plays hard when he is on
the court. Leonard scored a game-high 30 points on 11-18 field goal
shooting (including 8-14 from three point range), grabbed seven
rebounds, dished for four assists, and received the first Kobe Bryant
All-Star Game MVP Award as his Team LeBron won, 157-155."
Kevin Durant Wins his Second All-Star MVP as Team LeBron Overcomes 20 Point Deficit to Defeat Team Giannis, 178-164 (2019)
"The All-Star Game sunk to such depths a few years ago that there were
even whispers that it might be discontinued. Instead, the league changed
the format from East versus West to a format in which the top two
vote-getters conduct a draft consisting of a pool of other All-Stars
selected by fans, coaches and media members. LeBron James faced off
against Giannis Antetokounmpo in this year's All-Star draft. Popular
consensus was that James, whose draft strategy seemed to be focused on
acquiring every major player who will be a free agent soon, got the
better of Antetokounmpo--but it did not look like that initially, as
Team Giannis led 53-37 after the first quarter and 95-82 at halftime.
Antetokounmpo scored a game-high 38 points on 17-23 field
goal shooting, including 10 dunks. He also had 11 rebounds and five
assists. He set the tone in the first quarter with 16 points.
Antetokounmpo's
Milwaukee teammate/All-Star teammate Khris Middleton added 20 points on
7-13 field goal
shooting, including 6-10 from three point range. Middleton scored 12
first quarter points.
To coin--or repeat--a phrase, it seemed like Team LeBron was in 'chill
mode' during the first half, but in the second half they exerted at
least some defensive effort and they rained down a barrage of three
pointers. Team LeBron outscored Team Giannis 96-69 in the second half
while shooting 22-49 from three point range. The teams combined to
attempt 167 three pointers during the game, compared to 108 two pointers
attempted.
Kevin Durant earned MVP honors by scoring 31 points on 10-15 field goal
shooting (including 6-9 from three point range) while also contributing
seven rebounds. He had 11 points on 4-4 field goal shooting in the
fourth quarter. Durant's Golden State teammate Klay Thompson finished
second on Team LeBron with 20 points on 7-16 field goal shooting (6-12
from three point range) and he had eight rebounds and four assists as
well."
LeBron James Earns Third All-Star Game MVP as Team LeBron Outlasts Team Stephen, 148-145 (2018):
"LeBron James scored a game-high 29 points on 12-17 field goal shooting,
grabbed a game-high tying 10 rebounds and dished eight assists as Team
LeBron defeated Team Stephen 148-145 in the first year of the NBA's new All-Star selection format;
instead of the traditional matchup featuring the Eastern Conference
facing the Western Conference, a team of All-Stars picked by LeBron
James faced a team of All-Stars picked by Stephen Curry. The NBA tweaked
the All-Star Game in the wake of several subpar All-Star Games,
culminating in last year's farce.
Before the 2018 All-Star Game, James already held the NBA All-Star Game
career scoring record (314 points) and yesterday he surpassed Julius
Erving (321 points) to set the record for most points scored in ABA and
NBA All-Star Games combined. Bob Pettit (1956, 58, 59, 62) and Kobe
Bryant (2002, 2007, 2009, 2011) share the record with four All-Star Game
MVPs each, while James joined Oscar Robertson, Michael Jordan and
Shaquille O'Neal as three-time winners; James previously earned the
All-Star Game MVP in 2006 and 2008."
The NBA All-Star Game Has Become a Farce (2017):
"The Western Conference's 192-182 victory over the Eastern Conference is
without question the worst NBA All-Star Game that I have ever watched.
Other than the MLB All-Star Game that ended in a tie (and many NFL Pro
Bowls of recent vintage) it may be the worst major professional league
All-Star Game ever. When the reigning two-time regular season MVP
literally lies down on the court instead of attempting to play defense,
you know that the event has jumped the shark."
Labels: 2026 NBA All-Star Game, Anthony Edwards, Kawhi Leonard, Victor Wembanyama
posted by David Friedman @ 12:09 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home