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Feb 15, 2026, 08:27 PM ET
INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- Anthony Edwards won the Most Valuable Player award while leading Team Stars past their fellow Americans on Team Stripes, 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 LA Clippers' Intuit Dome.
The NBA's fourth format in four years matched two teams of American All-Stars against a team representing the World, hoping to stoke nationalistic passion from players and fans during an Olympic year.
The slightly older Stripes 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.
"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."
Indeed, Victor Wembanyama effectively challenged his fellow All-Stars to take this game seriously, and they largely appeared to do it. 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.
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.
"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."
NBA commissioner Adam Silver thanked the All-Stars for playing hard when he presented the championship trophy to the Stars.
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. Tyrese Maxey led the Stars with nine points in the clincher.
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.
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.
John Tesh took the court with his band before the game for a live rendition of "Roundball Rock," the iconic 1990s theme song of "NBA on NBC," to mark the league's return to the network this season. That network partnership is also the reason the All-Star Game was an afternoon affair on the West Coast, because NBC airs the Winter Olympics at night.
The Intuit Dome crowd included former President Barack Obama, who received a standing ovation pregame.
