Anthony Edwards won the Most Valuable Player award while leading his “Stars” team past their fellow Americans on the “Stripes” team 47-21 to win the final of the NBA All-Star Game on Sunday.
The Minnesota Timberwolves star claimed his first All-Star MVP award with a tying 3-pointer in the first round-robin game followed by eight points in the final, which was the only chapter without a dramatic late finish in this mini-tournament comprising the main event of All-Star weekend at the Los Angeles Clippers’ Intuit Dome.
The NBA’s fourth format in four years matched two teams of American All-Stars against a team representing the World in four 12-minute games, hoping to stoke nationalistic passion from players and fans during an Olympic year.
The slightly older Stripes – led by LeBron James in what could be his final appearance after 22 straight All-Star games – had beaten the slightly younger Stars on De’Aaron Fox’s 3-pointer at the buzzer in the second 12-minute round-robin game.
But Edwards led the Stars to victory in the rematch with the Stripes, who appeared to run out of gas while playing in their third straight mini-game.
Anthony Edwards, left, shakes hands with commissioner Adam Silver after claiming his first All-Star MVP award
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Kawhi Leonard scored 31 points in 12 minutes for USA Stripes against World in All-Star Game Championship in Los Angeles.
Along with the late-game theatrics, the event generally appeared to be played at a higher level of competitiveness than most All-Star Games in recent years, suggesting the league might have finally cracked the code on the long-standing question of how to make this midseason showcase more entertaining, as acknowledged by NBA commissioner Adam Silver and MVP Edwards after the game.
“We chose to compete today, and we came out on top,” Edwards said. “I ain’t going to lie, Wemby set the tone. He came out and played hard, and we had to follow that.”
USA Stripes forward Kawhi Leonard notched 31 points in 12 minutes in a vintage display vs Team World
Victor Wembanyama appeared to challenge his fellow All-Stars to take this game seriously – despite going 0-2, Wembanyama led the World team in scoring in both games with 14 points in the opener and 19 in the third game.
“It was a pretty good display of basketball,” Wembanyama said. “Better than last year, in my opinion. It was fun. … I think being honest with ourselves is good. It’s a game we love, it’s a game I personally cherish, so being competitive is the least I can do.”
Clippers star Kawhi Leonard thrilled his home crowd with a 31-point barrage for the Stripes in the final round-robin game, but he managed just one point in the final. Sixers point-guard Tyrese Maxey led the Stars with nine points in the clincher.
Barack Obama talks to Sixers legend Julius Erving during the NBA All-Star game
Scottie Barnes won the opening 12-minute game for the Stars with a game-ending 3-pointer in overtime, beating the World 37-36 after Edwards forced OT.
After Fox’s dagger in the second game, Leonard utterly dominated the third game before hitting a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 3.5 seconds left in the Stripes’ 48-45 victory.
Queen Latifah, left, sits with Meghan Markle and Prince Harry
The World team was loaded with talent, but NBA scoring leader Luka Doncic and three-time MVP Nikola Jokic both sat out its second game, likely to preserve the health of two superstars who have struggled with injury in the past month.
A plethora of celebrity guests filled out the Intuit Dome crowd including Prince Harry and Meghan Markle alongside Queen Latifah, with Spike Lee and rapper 2 Chainz among other glamourous names courtside. Former President Barack Obama, alongside his wife Michelle, received a standing ovation pregame.
