NBA All-Star is fun again? First-of-its-kind format leads to surprisingly competitive event

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – No matter the format, the NBA All-Star Game works if, and only if, the players decide to compete.

For the first time in a while, that’s mostly what happened Sunday at Intuit Dome, in the 75th installment of the NBA’s midseason classic. Albeit with a new look.

A round-robin tournament of two teams of American stars, and a third of stars representing nine other countries, belonged to the U.S. In an all-American championship game, the team of mostly younger U.S. stars prevailed over a squad of their older countrymen, 47-21, behind nine points from 76ers star Tyrese Maxey.

Frankly, the finals, a rematch between the two American teams from earlier Sunday, was the only less-than-compelling competition of the four games. Perhaps the older U.S. team was drained by having played in three consecutive games without a break. That team, led by hometown, home-arena star, the LA Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard, won the second and third games of the afternoon on last shots, and Leonard had one of the best 12 minutes in All-Star history with 31 points in one of the games.

Leonard scored 37 points in three games; the Minnesota Timberwolves’ Anthony Edwards scored 32 for the championship team, en route to All-Star Game MVP honors. Edwards received 10 of 14 first-place votes from media members and fan voting.

“It means a lot,” Edwards said of his All-Star MVP. “I love Minnesota, and I know Minnesota loves me. I said I wasn’t going to put on a show for them, but I gave them a show. Appreciate you all, Minnesota.”

LeBron James, Leonard’s teammate on Sunday who stars for the crosstown rival Lakers, played in his NBA-record 22nd All-Star Game and finished with 15 points. He said earlier Sunday “When I know, you guys will know” about his possible retirement after this season, so he may have played in his final All-Star Game.

After two riveting games (three, if you count the first game of the night between the eventual champion U.S. team and the World team), the older American stars opened the finals by missing its first nine shots. They shot 8 of 31 in the finale and were led by six points from Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell. Again, the last game was not indicative of the rest of the day.

“The last one was tough,” said Houston’s Kevin Durant, 37, who was on the older American team and had said earlier this weekend that comparisons of player effort to past NBA eras were overblown.

“All three teams came out and played good ball. They hit a lot of shots,” Durant continued. “I think it was definitely a step up in the competitive department compared to last season.”

The team of world stars went 0-2 in two hard-fought losses. It was led in its two narrow defeats by Victor Wembanyama’s 33 points and three blocks, who had vowed to play hard and lived up to his word.

“I think it was pretty good,” said Wembanyama, the French star and San Antonio Spurs stalwart. “We got a guy like Kawhi going for 30, making every shot. It was a pretty good display of basketball. Better than last year, in my opinion. It was fun.”

The next international tournament at Intuit Dome will be a real one, the big one: the 2028 Olympic men’s and women’s tournaments.

This was unlike any previous NBA All-Star event in recent memory, not only because of the new format, but because the players’ effort was unquestionably present from the start. Even in the “heyday” of previous All-Star Games, the players played at half-speed for three quarters, and didn’t bother to try on defense while opponents threw lobs to each other and hoisted ridiculous shots.

For an All-Star Game, it would be hard to overstate the elevated level of play in the first three games on Sunday. If you’re trying to compare what unfolded at Intuit Dome to, say, a playoff game, or even a high-stakes regular-season game, you would be missing the point.

But this was, nevertheless, a day of defensive closeout on 3s, hard charges toward the rim, difficult shot-making, often with a defender standing there, timeouts and challenged calls by coaches, and close, thrilling competition. Players let their opponents go on fast-break dunks and perhaps for dunks on good slip screens, but otherwise, defense was constant.

“I’ve been asking for it. Fans have been asking for it. Media have been asking for it,” said Karl Anthony-Towns of the Knicks and the World team. “I feel that after today I think you all can see the competition is there, and I think that we all brought it today and a sense of effort. I hope that the fans and all of you appreciate it.”

The timing of it all may prove to be its biggest downfall. NBC, back in the saddle as a media partner to the NBA, is also broadcasting the Winter Olympics, and wanted the Milan games on prime-time TV on the East coast. It meant an All-Star start of 2 p.m. local time in greater Los Angeles on both weekend days. While we wait for TV ratings, it can already be reported that Intuit Dome was less than full – with rows of empty seats just before tip-off. People simply have other stuff to do near the beach on a Sunday afternoon.

But an abbreviated pregame program – one of the players’ remedies for fixing the All-Star Game was to stop with the circus of entertainment before the ball went up – was highlighted by John Tesh doing a live version of “Roundball Rock” as the players were quickly introduced. Sarah McLaughlin belted out the Canadian national anthem, and Brandy (with a full complement of backup singers) harmonized the “Star-Spangled Banner.”

And then it was on. If you found your way to your seat, or to a TV (or tablet or phone), you were entertained.

The last “traditional” All-Star Game, with a team from the East against a team from the West, was in 2019. Since then, we’ve seen alternate scoring formats, captains picking teammates like it’s the playground, and a team from the Rising Stars Challenge playing its way into All-Star Sunday by winning the festivities Friday night (that was last year – you see how long that lasted).

There are, of course, still kinks to be worked out. Making the older team (LeBron is 41, for goodness sake) play three consecutive games is just one example.

Due to injuries and a general case of smoothing over the bumps, the “younger” American team included Devin Booker, a five-time All-Star, and Edwards, a four-time All-Star. Meanwhile, the elder American team had Jalen Brunson (three All-Star appearances), Brandon Ingram (two All-Star nods) and De’Aaron Fox (two All-Star selections). Ingram and Fox are also younger than Booker. The “world” team had two players – Towns and Norm Powell – who were born in the U.S. And so it goes.

Each team played two, 12-minute games, and the teams with the best records advanced to the finals.

Folks, there was overtime straight away.

The lid-lifting game, featuring the U.S. “Stars” (the younger team and eventual champ) against the World featured seven lead changes and went past the 12-minute allotment because Edwards tied the game on a 3 with 13.3 seconds left.

“Overtime” on Sunday meant the first team to five points, and Scottie Barnes did that for the U.S., burying a 3 off a pass from Jalen Duren for a 37-35 triumph. Edwards scored 13 points in Game 1 while Wembanyama notched 14 points for the World.

The U.S. “Stars” stayed on for Game 2, because they won the opener, and they lost an equally thrilling contest to U.S. “Stripes” (old heads), 42-40. Fox’s 3-pointer, off a pass from Mitchell at the buzzer, won it – erasing some near heroics from Edwards. On the previous possession with the Stripes ahead by two, Edwards stole the ball from Mitchell and canned a go-ahead 3 with 18.8 seconds remaining.

Jaylen Brown’s 11 points led the Stripes in Game 2, while Edwards and Cade Cunningham scored 11 points apiece for the younger Americans.

Game 3 belonged to Leonard. The hometown, home-arena favorite who was an injury replacement in the game, poured in 31 points, including the game-winning 3-ball with 3.5 seconds left, to push the Stripes past the World, 48-45. Leonard’s 31 points would have tied Towns’ All-Star record for points in a quarter, set two years ago, but these 12-minute sessions are technically “games” now.

So did Leonard tie the record? Who could say? Who cares? It was a brilliant display. Leonard was 11 of 13 in the game, besting Wembanyama’s 19 points for the World.

“It was great. Happy that 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.”

For reference, Leonard’s 31 points in that third game would be the highest-scoring quarter by a player in the NBA this season. The season-high in an actual game is 27 by James Harden in the first quarter of a Nov. 22 matchup against the Charlotte Hornets. And there may have been more defense played on Leonard, in the All-Star Game, than there was on Harden that night.

“Obviously, these guys aren’t competing at a regular-season schedule game, but it’s always fun to go out and compete with those guys and just cherish the court with them,” Leonard said. “They’re all legends, and they’re playing great basketball.”

The 76th NBA All-Star Weekend is slated for Phoenix.

Whatever the format, fans will leave happy if the players put forth the same kind of effort.