Norman Powell for Team World is in action during the game of NBA All Star 2026 between Team World and USA Stripes at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Los Angeles, California. Anadolu Anadolu via Getty Images
The All-Star break gives most players around the NBA some time to rest and recover in the middle of a long 82-game regular season. But for the first time in Powell’s 11 NBA seasons, this year’s All-Star Weekend included a game that Powell was selected to play in.
That’s because after finishing in fifth place in Saturday’s Three-Point Contest, Powell capped off his All-Star Weekend by playing in his first NBA All-Star Game on Sunday at Intuit Dome in Los Angeles.
“Experience was amazing, no complaints,” Powell, 32, said after making his NBA All-Star Game debut. “Being able to participate in a full weekend for the first time, the Three-Point contest and the All-Star Game. Just enjoying and creating memories with all the guys that I’ve gone up against and competed with and looked up to before I even made it to the NBA. So it’s an A-plus weekend for me.”
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 Sunday.
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.
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 forward 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 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.
Norman Powell and Pascal Siakam at The 2026 NBA All-Star Game held at the Intuit Dome on February 15, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. Christopher Polk Billboard via Getty Images
But despite being eliminated before the championship game of Sunday’s All-Star tournament, Powell left Los Angeles with some special memories. Like a surprise party that was thrown for him over the weekend in Los Angeles that featured some of his closest friends and family members.
“The most memorable moment would be the surprise party that was put on for me,” said Powell, who was the Heat’s lone representative in Sunday’s All-Star Game. “Walking in and seeing everybody that has helped me along this journey of making it to the NBA and having an 11-year career. Since elementary school all the way up until the NBA. It’s just a moment that you can’t even put into words. Seeing everybody that’s encouraged you, helped you in your toughest and darkest times. To stay motivated, stay focused, and stay setting out to achieve the expectations and goals that I had out for myself.”
Powell 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 now turns his attention to getting the Heat back on track and moving up the Eastern Conference standings. After a strong 14-7 start to the season, the Heat has gone 15-20 to enter the All-Star break in eighth place in the East with a middling overall record of 29-27.
The Heat will reconvene for practice on Thursday in Miami before resuming its schedule on Friday against the Hawks in Atlanta.
“As a leader, the first thing you got to do if you want to make change and be the example for the team and how we need to play and what we want to go out and accomplish, you got to look inward,” said Powell, who’s averaging a career-high 23 points per game this season and is eligible for an extension from the Heat before becoming an unrestricted free agent this upcoming summer. “And so I’ve already had some thoughts and talks with my trainer, A.J., and what we kind of want to get accomplished in between now and when it’s time to return and play Atlanta. And how I need to come out mentally, and what I need to do to get this team on track.”