The 2026 NBA All Star break occurred this weekend in the city of Los Angeles. The break is something many fans look forward to, and it did not disappoint this year. Many stars shined and role players shined even brighter.
The weekend started out as it does every year, the rising stars game where young talent can show themselves off to the league. The number one draft pick, Cooper Flagg decided to not participate in the game this year due to a previous foot injury. These stars were split up into four teams in a tournament style atmosphere being coached by previous NBA stars. Team Vince and team T-Mac would face off first which would result in team Vince winning and then team Austin against team Melo resulting in team Melo winning. The championship game would be a nail biter with a set score of 25 for either team Melo or team Vince to hit first. Team Vince would end up winning the tournament my just one point with a final score of 25-24 and V.J. Edgecombe a rookie from the Philadelphia 76ers taking home the MVP.
Next up on the schedule was the famous NBA Celebrity game. it featured some familiar faces in the league such as former center for the Boston Celtics, Tacko Fall and former NBA All-Star, Jeremy Lin. The roster also included plenty of funny characters such as rap producer, Mustard, rapper Glorilla, and former celebrity game MVP, Amon-Ra St. Brown. This event featured just two teams, team Giannis and team Anderson. Team Giannis would come out on top with a final score of 65-58 and Amon-Ra St. Brown was named celebrity game MVP for the second year in a row.
Moving on to Saturday, this day featured two fan favorites in the NBA dunk contest and the NBA three-point contest. The NBA frowns upon putting All-Stars in the dunk contest due to the fairness and the ability to see some new faces in the spotlight. The dunkers this year featured Carter Bryant of the San Antonio Spurs, Jaxon Hayes of the Los Angeles Lakers, Keshad Johnson of the Miami Heat, and Jase Richardson of the Orlando Magic. The thrilling event would end off in Keshad Johnson being crowned the victor with a score of 49.6 on his last dunk, an almost perfect score. He beat out some major talent in Jaxon Hayes who has been in contention for dunk of the year many times and Jase Richardson who is the son of former dunk contest champion, Jason Richardson.
The NBA three-point contest consisted of eight total competitors but then eventually shrank to three in the final round consisting of Damian Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers, Kon Knueppel of the Charlotte Hornets, and Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns. Damian Lillard ended up pulling off the win after Devin Booker had a chance to take the win if hitting his final shot. This would mark the third time that Damian Lillard would win and makes him one of just three players to do so.
The final event of the weekend is typically marked as the best, the NBA All-Star game. This is where the best of the best around the league either team up or go against each other. The format was changed this year for the all-star game and would now feature three teams, USA Stars, USA Stripes, and Team World. Team USA Stars would win the first game against team World 37-35 and would go on to game two where they would lose to team Stripes 42-40. Team USA Stripes would then take on team World and come out on top 48-45 which would lead to a rematch between USA Stripes and USA World for the championship. USA Stars would blow USA Stripes out of the water 47-21, led by Anothony Edwards of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Tyrese Maxey of the Philadelphia 76er’s who would combine for 17 points. The MVP would eventually go to Anthony Edwards who had a total of 32 points across the three games.
The All-Star weekend was for sure exciting this year and many players stepped up. The new format of the All-Star game is for sure unique and the important thing to ask is, “Will this new format last?”