INGLEWOOD – With youth on its side, USA Stars outlasted all challengers to come out on top during the new-look National Basketball Association (NBA) All-Star Game on Feb 15.
Tyrese Maxey scored nine points and Anthony Edwards added eight as USA Stars earned an easy 47-21 championship victory over USA Stripes.
The three-team round-robin tournament of short 12-minute games also included Team World, made up of international stars, and was the latest incarnation of the ever-changing All-Star Game format that went with four teams in a tournament-style bracket in 2025.
“Yeah, I think they ain’t really going to take in what I’m saying, but I like this format,” said Edwards, who was named Most Valuable Player. “I think it makes us compete because it’s only 12 minutes, and the three different teams of separate guys. I think it was really good.”
Chet Holmgren of the Oklahoma City Thunder also scored eight points and Jalen Duren of the Detroit Pistons added six as the younger USA Stars avenged an earlier 42-40 defeat by the veteran USA Stripes in the three-game round robin.
“We wanted to play hard,” Maxey said. “It doesn’t matter what the format was, I came in, I’m going to play some defence. I’ll score when I can, but I want to play hard, bring energy, get some steals, and have fun.”
The Philadelphia 76ers’ standout went four of eight from the floor in the 12-minute title game and the Minnesota Timberwolves’ Edwards went three of five with a pair of three-pointers. Edwards scored 32 total points in his teams’ three games.
“Before we walked out (for the final), Cade (Cunningham) said we got to get our lick back,” Edwards said of the earlier loss to USA Stars. “So we came out and stomped on them.”
The Cleveland Cavaliers’ Donovan Mitchell scored six points and the Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James added five for USA Stripes. In his record 23rd NBA season James was making his 22nd All-Star Game appearance.
The 41-year-old James said ahead of the game that his playing future beyond this season remains uncertain.
“Yeah, I want to live,” James said of his post-season plans. “When I know, you guys know. I don’t know. I have no idea. I just want to live, that’s all.”
James has already mentioned that he would like to become an NBA team owner when his playing days are done, but that is far from his only post-playing pursuit.
“There’s a lot of things that I have on the table that I can tap into if I would like to, that being one of them,” James said of NBA team ownership.
“There’s other ventures as well I’ll continue to explore and see what will engage me and motivate me in a post-career. But right now I’m still locked in on what’s going on right now.”
USA Stars took control early in the title game by grabbing an 12-1 lead, with Maxey scoring seven of the points. Team Stripes was within 18-9 with 7:03 remaining after consecutive three-pointers from James and Jalen Brunson of the New York Knicks, but USA Stars dominated from there.
A 15-0 run eliminated any potential drama as USA Stars led 33-9 with 4:19 remaining.
The Los Angeles Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard scored just one point in the title game, going zero-of-four from the floor. It came after he dominated the final round-robin game with 31 points in 12 minutes of a 48-45 victory over Team World to advance his side to the final.
Leonard said: “Obviously these guys aren’t competing at a regular-season game, but it’s always fun to go out and compete with those guys and just cherish the court (time) with them. They’re all legends, and they’re playing great basketball.”
In the opening game of the three-team round robin, USA Stars defeated Team World 37-35 in overtime on a three-pointer from the Toronto Raptors’ Scottie Barnes.
Even though Team World lost both of its games with Victor Wembanyama, Edwards credited the San Antonio Spurs star for getting the day off to a competitive start.
“Yeah, he set the tone, man, and it woke me up, for sure,” Edwards said.
The 2.24m French star scored 33 points in 20 minutes across Team World’s two games.
Meanwhile, Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry said Sunday he will compete in the three-point shooting competition during the 2027 All-Star Weekend in Phoenix.
Curry is a two-time champion in the event, but last appeared in 2021 when he claimed his second title. He also won in 2015.
Curry, 37, said he will attempt to persuade former teammate Klay Thompson to compete. Thompson now plays for the Dallas Mavericks.
Curry, who holds the NBA record of 4,233 regular-season three-pointers and 650 post-season treys, did not suit up for the All-Star Game due to a knee injury.
In other NBA news, Giannis Antetokounmpo is once again a committed Milwaukee Buck. For now.
“As of today, I’m committed to the Milwaukee Bucks,” Antetokounmpo told ESPN in an interview that aired on Feb 15. “What I’ve said from the beginning of this year is that, out of my mouth and the way I’ve carried myself, you will never hear me say I don’t want to be a Milwaukee Buck.”
ESPN also reported ahead of the Feb 5 trade deadline that Antetokounmpo had been ready to play elsewhere for months, and that the Bucks had listened to offers for one of the best players of his generation. Both sides are expected to re-examine a possible trade this offseason, ESPN reported on Feb 15. REUTERS, AFP