Fans wanted the excitement and competition of All-Star Weekend’s past, and Adam Silver delivered…times four.
With the competition broken into a mini round-robin tournament of four games, the first game was World vs. Stars. As expected, Victor Wembanyama led the World’s scoring with 14 points, including two 3s. But he was no match for Anthony Edwards’ 13 points as the Stars got the win in overtime.
After eking out the 37-35 win, it was time for the Stars to take on the fellow American team, dubbed the Stripes, in Game 2.
Anthony Edwards again went off for 11 points, alongside Cade Cunningham, yet the Stripes, stacked with LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, and Kevin Durant, were able to band together to take down the young guns.
The final sequence began with defense (yes, actually) when Edwards stole the ball and confidently sank a pull-up three-pointer. But down with the clock dwindling, it was Donovan Mitchell who swung the ball to De’Aaron Fox on the wing, who sank a three.
Stripes won 42-40, and they kept the momentum going in Game 3 when they took on the World.
Wembanyama once again proved why he’s being groomed as the face of the league and delivered a standout 19-point performance for the World team. However, he did miss the game-tying three at the buzzer after Kawhi Leonard put on a clinic.
While in Los Angeles, he put on for his hometown, scoring 31 out of the team’s 48 points, and at one point scoring 15 in a row.
Team World needed 3 points to advance, and Leonard iced the last three with a step back jumper to secure the win 48-45.
Just as fans were finally on the edge of their seats to see who would win the championship game between the Stars and Stripes, it turned into a dragging blowout. At one point, the Stars were up 33-9 and eventually won 47-21.
The Kobe Bryant MVP trophy went to Anthony Edwards, who scored 32 points through three games.
They also skipped the mid-event concerts and social media skits this year, but did give us a solid interview with President Obama, who approved of the new format and spoke about the Obama Presidential Center opening up soon in Chicago.
The 2026 All-Star Weekend is in the books, and social media is ripe with criticism. See the reactions below.
Great Job Bruce Goodwin II & the Team @ Black America Web Source link for sharing this story.
