Miami Heat guard Norman Powell’s first NBA All-Star Game experience turned into one of the most competitive NBA All-Star events in years.
But Powell didn’t come away victorious in his first NBA All-Star Game, as his squad in the revamped and entertaining three-team All-Star tournament lost both games it played on Sunday at Intuit Dome in Los Angeles.
Under the new NBA All-Star Game format, two teams of U.S. players (Team Stars and Team Stripes) and one team of international players (Team World) competed in a round-robin tournament featuring four 12-minute games for this season’s showcase event. Each of the three teams played one game against each of the other two teams, with the top two teams based on round-robin play qualifying for the championship game.
Powell, who was selected for the All-Star Game as an Eastern Conference reserve, was placed on Team World for the event because of his Jamaican roots. Powell was part of a Team World roster that also included Deni Avdija of the Portland Trail Blazers, Jamal Murray of the Denver Nuggets, Alperen Sengun of the Houston Rockets, Karl-Anthony Towns of the New York Knicks, Luka Doncic of the Los Angeles Lakers, Nikola Jokic of the Nuggets, Pascal Siakam of the Indiana Pacers and Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs.
But Team World lost the first game of the round-robin tournament to Team Stars 37-35 in overtime and then lost to Team Stripes 48-45 in the second game to finish 0-2.
Powell played off the bench in Team World’s first game, entering for his first action with 6:55 left in the 12-minute contest. He played the final 6:55 of regulation but went scoreless and missed all three of his three-point attempts, including an air-ball three at the end of the 12-minute quarter that would have won the game for Team World and avoided overtime.
With overtime played to a target score of five, Team Stars won by outscoring Team World 5-3 in the extra period. Powell did not play in overtime.
Powell again played as a reserve in Team World’s second game, coming off the bench with 6:45 remaining in the 12-minute contest against Team Stripes. He played the rest of the game, finishing with five points on 2-of-4 shooting from the field, 0-of-2 shooting on threes and 1-of-2 shooting from the foul line, two rebounds and one assist.
But Team World also dropped that game, as Los Angeles Clippers foward Kawhi Leonard totaled an incredible 31 points on 11-of-13 shooting from the field and 6-of-7 shooting from three-point range in the 12-minute game to lead Team Stripes to the victory over Team World.
With Team World going 0-2 in the round-robin tournament, Team Stars and Team Stripes were the two teams that advanced to the championship game.
It was Team Stars that prevailed in the championship game, dominating Team Stripes 47-21 to win Sunday’s All-Star Game tournament. Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards was named the MVP of the All-Star Game, totaling 32 points over three games on Sunday.
With Powell making his All-Star Game debut this year, he became the 12th Heat player in franchise history to be selected as an NBA All-Star (Alonzo Mourning, Tim Hardaway, Anthony Mason, Shaquille O’Neal, Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, Chris Bosh, Goran Dragic, Bam Adebayo, Jimmy Butler, Tyler Herro and Powell).
Powell also became the 10th different Heat player in franchise history to take part in the Three-Point Contest, joining Jon Sundvold (1989 and 1990), Glen Rice (1991 and 1995), Jason Kapono (2007), Daequan Cook (2009 and 2010), James Jones (2011 and 2012), Mario Chalmers (2012), Wayne Ellington (2018), Duncan Robinson (2020) and Herro (2023 and 2025). But Powell didn’t win Saturday’s Three-Point Contest, finishing in fifth place.
The Heat’s All-Star Weekend also included representation in Friday’s Rising Stars event (Kel’el Ware’s team and Jahmir Young’s team were both eliminated in the semifinals), Saturday’s NBA Slam Dunk Contest (Keshad Johnson won the event), and Sunday’s G League Up Next Game (Young’s team lost in the semifinal game of the four-team tournament).
With All-Star Weekend coming to an end on Sunday, Powell and the others who represented the Heat in Los Angeles now have a few days off before the team reconvenes for practice on Thursday in Miami.
The Heat, which entered the All-Star break in eighth place in the Eastern Conference with a 29-27 record, resumes its schedule on Friday against the Hawks in Atlanta.