Starting 5: Looking back at 2026 All-Star Game

• Three game-winners
• An overtime opener
• An All-American buzzer-beater
• A World vs. Stripes classic
• A homecourt Kawhi eruption
• Three-hundred fifteen points of non-stop action
• A U.S. rematch for the title
• One young squad of All-Star champions

5 STORIES IN TODAY’S EDITION 🏀

All-Star Game Thrillers: USA Stars, USA Stripes & World combine for classics

All-Star Championship: The younger USA Stars top USA Stripes to claim the crown

MVP Ant: Edwards shines to earn the Kobe Bryant Trophy as Kia All-Star MVP

On The Ground: All-access Sunday moments and the buzz of a bright future

All-Star Frames: Some of our favorite snapshots from Sunday’s 75th All-Star Game at Intuit Dome

BUT FIRST … ⏰

What’s Next: With All-Star Weekend in the books, regular-season play resumes Thursday with 10 games, as teams gear up for the final push toward the postseason.

• April 12: Regular season ends (All 30 teams play)
• April 13: Rosters set for NBA Playoffs 2026 (3 p.m. ET)
• April 14-17: SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament
• April 18: NBA Playoffs begin

1. USA STARS WIN ALL-STAR TITLE IN EPIC RUN OF THRILLERS

Four games. Three teams. One champion.

The new U.S. vs. World format at the 75th NBA All-Star Game featured three squads – USA Stars, USA Stripes and World – dueling in a round-robin mini-tournament, with a 12-minute championship waiting at the end.

What transpired in between was an all-time night at Intuit Dome – starting with an OT-winner from the eventual champs.

USA Stars 37, World 35 (OT): In the first of three pool-play games, Victor Wembanyama (14 pts, 6 reb, 3 blk) and Karl-Anthony Towns (10 pts) set the tone early, building a 9-point lead for World with 4:34 left.

But the young American All-Stars, USA Stars, came alive late, closing on a 13-6 run – capped by Anthony Edwards’ game-tying bucket with 13 ticks left to force a ‘first-to-5’ overtime.

Ant stayed on the attack, opening OT with a fadeaway J before Wemby responded with a 3. But, with both teams one shot away from victory, the Stars answered again, as Scottie Barnes splashed the game-winning trey to open the All-Star Game with a bang. | Recap

The fireworks were just getting started.

Up next for the young USA Stars was the field’s most experienced team, boasting a combined 139 All-Star selections: USA Stripes.

USA Stripes 42, USA Stars 40: Down 4 with 40 seconds to play, Edwards turned up, shaking Kevin Durant for a highlight bucket, before a pick-pocket turned pull-up 3 gave the Stars the lead with 18 ticks left.

It was too much time for the American OGs.

LeBron James orchestrated, finding Donovan Mitchell inside. Mitchell found De’Aaron Fox outside, and the former Kia Clutch Player of the Year did the rest: Pump. Dribble. Bullseye.

A buzzer-beating game-winner had the USA Stripes at 1-0. | Recap

• Big-Time Buckets: Jaylen Brown paced the Stripes with 11 points, while James (8 pts) and Mitchell (6 pts, 3 ast) each hit massive 3s in clutch time
• Ant & Motor City: Edwards led the Stars with 11 points and 4 dimes, while Detroit’s star duo, Cade Cunningham (11 pts) and Jalen Duren (7 pts), combined for 18

Pool Play Finale: With the USA Stars at 1-1, the championship picture came down to the final pool play game: USA Stripes vs. World.

At 1-0, a Stripes win would punch their ticket to the title game, while World (0-1) needed a 3+ point victory to advance.

With every possession carrying extra weight, an instant classic unfolded – and the host played hero.

USA Stripes 48, World 45: Wemby was a force again, dropping 19 points as World jumped out to a 27-20 lead. Then Kawhi Leonard hit a 3. Then another. And another.

The Klaw kept cooking, pouring in 15 straight points, then punching home a go-ahead dunk with 1:25 left as his home building erupted.

He wasn’t done. After Wemby tied it at the line, Kawhi called for the ball, and called game. A cross, ‘tween, step-back 3 with 3 seconds left served as the final heat check and ultimate dagger, sending USA Stripes to the championship and Intuit Dome into a frenzy. | Recap

• Home Takeover: Leonard finished with an absurd 31 points in 12 minutes, going 6-of-7 from deep and 11-of-13 from the field while adding 2 steals
• Clutch Boost: Jalen Brunson (8 pts) and Jamal Murray (8 pts, 4 ast) each provided secondary scoring as Leonard and Wemby dueled
• Pure Cinema: LeBron added a team-high 4 dimes before throwing down a clutch putback jam in a wild finish that saw 3 ties and 3 lead changes in the final 1:35
• Cold-Blooded: And with the game on the line, the Stripes called for Kawhi
• “They know who the hot man is,” said Leonard on his teammates giving him the rock late. “They’re willing to sacrifice their greatness for someone else to shine.”

2. THE CHAMPIONSHIP: USA STARS BEAT STRIPES TO CLAIM ALL-STAR TITLE

Kawhi’s eruption set the stage for an All-American rematch: the experienced, unbeaten USA Stripes facing the younger USA Stars – the team they had beaten just an hour earlier to jumpstart their electric run.

But this time, with a title on the line, the next generation rose up.

USA Stars 47, USA Stripes 21: The Stars exploded out of the gate with a 12-1 opening burst, then slammed the door shut with a decisive 15-0 run, avenging its buzzer-beating loss to the veteran U.S. All-Stars with a championship statement to win the 75th All-Star Game title. | Recap

• Tyrese Time: Maxey scored 7 of the Stars’ first 12 points to take control, before finishing with a game-high 9 points along with 3 steals
• Ant Ignition: After Maxey’s open, Edwards shut it down, scoring all 8 of his points in succession to spark the 15-0 surge, as the Stars went up 33-9 and never looked back
• Ant MVP: Edwards finished the night with 32 total points and 8 rebounds in 26 minutes, earning himself the Kobe Bryant Trophy as Kia All-Star MVP
• Said LeBron: ‘Love Ant-Man’

Meeting The Moment: With an average age of 24.8, the USA Stars were the youngest squad in the field, with a combined 18 total All-Star selections, including three first-timers.

But under some of basketball’s brightest lights, the young Stars shined from start to finish.

• All Out Early: Maxey helped set the tone in Game 1 with an acrobatic hustle save leading to an Edwards layup
• Jalen Squared: Jalen Duren found Barnes for the opening OT-winner, while Jalen Johnson provided steady scoring across all three games (14 pts, including 1 big jam)
• All-Around Anchors: Chet Holmgren came up big in the championship (8 pts, 2 reb, 2 blk), while the vet, Devin Booker – the only USA Star over 25 – delivered timely buckets throughout
• “I had fun with it, man,” said Booker. “The young crew, we had a lot of energy in there. I think it showed.”
• Maxey: “We won … because we are young and turnt!”

3. INSIDE ANTHONY EDWARDS’ MVP ALL-STAR PERFORMANCE

Anthony Edwards gave us the full “Ant Man” experience in the 75th All-Star Game.

And for that, he was awarded the Kobe Bryant MVP Trophy.

Just like fans around the world (including LeBron) have come to love and expect, the charismatic, 6th-year guard came out to put on a show — and have fun doing it.

• Jumping up with Wemby, Ant pleaded his case to the refs: “He’s 8 feet. I’m 6 feet. I need a little advantage.”

As the shots started falling, the Wolves’ All-Star’s instincts kicked in to find new ways to win it all.

• “I want to cook them every time,” he said of his mindset by the time he faced KD and LeBron a second time in the Championship
• “All my people were like: ‘Go for MVP!’ and I was kind of downplaying it,” Ant said. “But when I came out here and got warm, I was like, ‘Man, I’m [gonna] try to do something.’”

Edwards credited Wembanyama for the shift.

“Wemby set the tone. He came out playing hard … so we had to turn up.”

Ant turned up in time to send that opening game against Wemby and World to overtime, setting Team USA Stars on an event-winning path.

• Taking On The World: Ant was his team’s only double-digit scorer in Game 1, netting 13 of 37 points in the comeback, OT win
• “They say they’re the best players in the world, so beating them is the best feeling in the world,” Edwards said
• Winner Stays: In his first go-round against the OGs of Team USA Stripes, Ant erased a 4-point gap with a layup-steal-3 sequence before falling at the buzzer. His 11 points matched the mini-game high
• Title Rematch: When the OGs came around again, Ant got to cook up all 8 of his points in three consecutive possessions, en route to Team USA Stars clinching the mini-tournament

He finished the night joining Kevin Garnett as the only Wolves players to win All-Star Game MVP in the event’s 75-year history.

“It’s a step in the right direction, that’s all that is,” Ant said of his trophy.

4. ON THE GROUND: ALL-ACCESS IN LA & THE NEXT WAVE

Sunday’s feeling of “anybody’s game” was a testament to the league growing into a bright future.

• “We are ready to step forward,” Tyrese Maxey said of the next generation of All-Stars. “We have a lot of guys in the [Team USA Stars] locker room ready to take the next step.”
• “It shows how the game went global, which is amazing to see,” first-time All-Star Deni Avdija said. “It’s a fun format.”
• Future Faces Of The League? The question came up throughout the weekend, after Wemby announced he’d embrace it Saturday. Said Ant on Sunday: “If it happens, I’m not gonna shy away from it. If he’s going for it, I hope he gets it.”

Two areas where the game is always growing? On-site, in scale, and online, in following. Here are some of All-Star Sunday’s fan-favorite moments.

• Play The Song: John Tesh opened the action with the first-ever live performance of Roundball Rock
• Shot Of The Day? Steph was automatic from the NBA On NBC perch, leading to his commitment to next year’s State Farm 3-Point Contest
• “That’s Unc:”  Rookie Dylan Harper is a natural behind the mic as our All-Star Weekend player correspondent
• Cap’n Dap’n: Jesser is out to find the 2026 All-Star with the best dap
• Dad Time: Giannis’ kids marvel at Wemby, leading to the most wholesome Dad moment, while Ant’s daughter has a special message for the MVP
• President Obama: The 44th President was in the house, joining the NBC broadcast, catching a loose ball and inspiring Ant to put on a show

5. SOME OF OUR FAVORITE FRAMES FROM THE 75TH ALL-STAR GAME

From a new U.S. vs. World format to game-winning buzzer-beaters and a homecourt Kawhi eruption, the 75th All-Star Game had it all.

Before we turn the page on a scintillating Sunday in Los Angeles, let’s look back at a few of our favorite snapshots.