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NBA All-Star Game: Anthony Edwards, USA Stars top USA Stripes to cap new-look event

February 16, 2026

San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama of Team World drives to the basket against Team USA Stars during the first game of the 75th NBA All-Star Game on Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026, at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

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INGLEWOOD — For all the talk about how the NBA All-Star Game had become obsolete and outdated, and that not even a new format was going to change perceptions, the 75th edition of the league’s midseason spectacle proved otherwise.

In short, Sunday’s USA vs. the World three-team tournament provided flashes of defense, an overtime period, dramatic game-winners and individual greatness. Bigger still was how much effort the players put into winning each game, perhaps none bigger than Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards.

Edwards totaled 31 points in three games to lead his team, USA Stars to the inaugural USA vs. World team All-Star championship with a 47-21 rout of USA Stripes in the final, which was the only chapter without a dramatic late finish in this mini-tournament at the Intuit Dome. Edwards was named the All-Star MVP.

“I feel like it comes from the work,” Edwards said of his performance. “All the hours I put in at the gym. I’m always in the gym. So being in the gym, shooting those shots all the time, it’s just you build confidence with the net.”

The NBA’s fourth format in four years hoped to stoke nationalistic passion from players and fans during an Olympic year. The slightly older Stripes had beaten the slightly younger Stars on De’Aaron Fox’s 3-pointer at the buzzer in the second 12-minute, round-robin game. But Edwards led the Stars to victory in the rematch with the Stripes, who appeared to run out of gas while playing in their third straight mini-game.

“We chose to compete today, and we came out on top,” said Edwards, who credited San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama of the World team for some of the intensity that led to a largely entertaining event. “I ain’t going to lie, Wemby set the tone. He came out and played hard, and we had to follow that.”

Indeed, the 7-foot-5 Frenchman effectively challenged his fellow All-Stars to take this game seriously, and they largely appeared to do it. Despite going 0-2, Wembanyama led the World team in scoring in both games with 14 points in the opener and 19 in the third game.

“It was a pretty good display of basketball,” Wembanyama said. “Better than last year, in my opinion. It was fun. … I think being honest with ourselves is good. It’s a game we love; it’s a game I personally cherish, so being competitive is the least I can do.”

Edwards’ play overshadowed (barely) Clippers star Kawhi Leonard, who looked like a solid favorite for MVP honors before the final, but his USA Stripes squad couldn’t sustain their momentum.

Leonard, who initially was left off the All-Star roster, seemed determined to prove he belonged in the game that was played on his home court. Leonard played with purpose, scoring a total of 37 points in three games, including 31 in the third game of the day, which eliminated the World team. He shot 11 for 13 from the field and 6 of 7 from behind the arc against the World, making a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 3.5 seconds left in that 48-45 victory.

“It was great. Happy that [Commissioner] Adam [Silver] let me in,” Leonard said. “That’s what the home crowd wanted to see. I’m glad I was able to do something in that game.”

Miami Heat guard Norman Powell, who previously played alongside Leonard on the Clippers, said what Leonard did wasn’t anything new.

“It’s nothing that I haven’t seen before, but I mean, when he’s healthy, he’s like that. He’s unstoppable,” Powell said. “It’s his mindset every single time he steps on the floor.”

Lakers star Luka Doncic, who missed the past four regular-season games with a strained left hamstring, was uncertain how much he would play in the weekend’s showcase event. He said a day earlier that he planned to “play a little bit.”

Doncic’s little bit proved to be five minutes for the World Team in the first game, a 37-35 overtime victory for the USA Stars team, a game that featured blocked shots, defensive close-outs and a five-minute overtime period. Three-time league MVP Nikola Jokic also played just five minutes in the opener before sitting out Game 2 for a World Team that was also without Giannis Antetokounmpo, who didn’t suit up at all. Scottie Barnes won the opener for the Stars with a game-ending 3-pointer after Edwards forced OT with a tying 3-pointer.

The fans seated in “The Wall” section wanted to see more of the league’s leading scorer and began chanting “We want Doncic” late in the opening game, but he stayed put on the bench as the USA Stars sent the game into overtime on Edwards’ 3-pointer with 13.3 seconds left.

Much of the attention of this All-Star Game was on a group of players who mostly were well past their 30th birthdays, and that included LeBron James, the 41-year-old who was making his 22nd All-Star appearance.

“Old heads 1-0,” James said after his USA Stripes team defeated USA Stars, 42-40, on that last-second 3-pointer by Fox in the second game. James totaled 18 points in three games.

Kevin Durant, 37, said he enjoyed the experience of playing with some of the game’s greatest players on the Stripes team. The Stripes team also had Leonard, 34, and Stephen Curry, 37, who didn’t play because of a knee injury.

But in the end, it was the 24-year-old Edwards, the 22-year-old Wembanyama and the rest of the younger generation who put their stamp on the event.

“I definitely think that we are ready to try to keep stepping forward,” said Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey, 25.

“We got a lot of guys in that locker room who are ready to take the next steps. Ant, Cade [Cunningham], myself, D-Book [Devin Booker] is still ascending upwards, I think, Chet [Holmgren], JD [Jalen Duren], Scottie [Barnes], all those guys, man. That was a good group.”

OBAMA IN THE HOUSE

The crowd included former President Barack Obama, who received a standing ovation pregame – and even motivated Edwards’ performance.

“He’s my favorite person in the world,” Edwards said. “We were kicking it (Saturday). Me and him had a great time. I told him I was going to put on a show for him.”

NBA All-Star Game: Anthony Edwards, USA Stars top USA Stripes to cap new-look event Orange County Register

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NBA All-Star Game: Anthony Edwards, USA Stars top USA Stripes to cap new-look event

OBAMA IN THE HOUSE

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