For basketball fans, NBA All-Star Weekend remains one of the most anticipated events of the year. Apart from the NBA Playoffs and March Madness, the annual showcase stands as one of the sport’s biggest stages.

The 2026 festivities began Friday, Feb. 13, with both the Celebrity Game and the Rising Stars Challenge.

The Celebrity Game featured a lineup of entertainers and athletes including GloRilla, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Mustard and Rome Flynn. Flynn led the field and was named Celebrity Game MVP.

Later that evening, the Rising Stars Challenge showcased top rookies and second-year players from across the league in a four-team mini tournament.

Team Melo defeated Team Austin in the opening game, with Blazers center Donovan Clingan dropping nine points for Team Melo. In the second matchup, Team Vince faced Team T-Mac. 76ers rookie guard VJ Edgecombe caught fire for Team Vince, scoring 17 points as he carried Team Vince to the championship game.

Team Melo fell to Team Vince in the championship game, with Edgecombe being too hot to handle, putting up six points, and taking home the Castrol Rising Stars MVP.

NBA All-Star Saturday Night was on Feb. 14, which included the Three-Point Contest, Shooting Stars event, and Slam Dunk Contest. The Three-Point Contest contestants were Devin Booker (Suns), Kon Knueppel (Hornets), Damian Lillard (Trail Blazers), Tyrese Maxey (76ers), Donovan Mitchell (Cavaliers), Jamal Murray (Nuggets), Bobby Portis (Bucks), and Norman Powell (Heat). The contest got competitive down the stretch, and the final three players consisted of Lillard, Booker, and Knueppel.

Booker scored the highest out of the three in the first round of the contest with a 30. Lillard and Knueppel scored 27s respectively.

Knueppel’s hot start was short-lived, and his second-round performance was good for a score of just 17. Lillard scored 29, putting pressure on Booker.

It was evident that Booker couldn’t miss in the final round, and it looked like he was going to take home the easy victory. But he struggled to hit shots on his final rack, scoring just 27, resulting in the win for Lillard. 

“I was praying on his downfall,” said Lillard during the post-contest interview.

The win marked Lillard’s third Three-Point Contest title in four years, joining Larry Bird and Craig Hodges as the only players to ever win the contest three times.

The Three-Point Contest was followed by the Slam Dunk Contest, the event many fans consider to be the crown jewel of All-Star Weekend.

Carter Bryant (Spurs), Jaxson Hayes (Lakers), Keshad Johnson (Heat), and Jase Richardson (Magic) made up the pool of contestants in this year’s contest.

Johnson and Bryant established themselves as the top contenders early on, trading impressive dunks. In the final round, Bryant scored the first and only 50 of the contest, catching a self alley-oop into a between-the-legs windmill slam. Johnson followed that up with a reverse between-the-legs stuff, which earned him a score of 49.6. Bryant choked in the championship’s final round, and ran out of time, settling for a simple dunk that the judges ruled a 43.0. All Johnson needed in the final round to win was a 47.6 score. Johnson delivered with a windmill dunk from just inside the free-throw line, which the judges gave a 47.8, narrowly edging out Bryant to win the Slam Dunk Contest.

The main draw of All-Star Weekend is of course the legendary NBA All-Star Game, and this year. The four-game (12-minute games) round-robin tournament tipped off at 5 p.m. Pacific time on Sun, Feb. 15, as the 24 best basketball players on the planet. This year featured a new format, starring three teams in a USA vs. World format, two of which represented the United States, and one represented the World, with eight players on each roster.

Spurs center Victor Wembanyama came out hot early for Team World, bringing the energy from the jump. “He set the tone, man. He came out and played hard, and we had to match that. It woke me up for sure,” said Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards.

Team Stars snuck past Team World in the first game, upon Scottie Barnes hitting the game-winning shot in the overtime thriller, with Edwards dropping 13 points, leading the way.

The second game matched up Team Stripes and Team Stars. Spurs guard De’Aaron Fox knocked down the game-winning buzzer-beater for the Stripes, for the 42-40 win. Celtics forward Jaylen Brown led the Stripes with 11 points on 5-of-9 shooting.

Stripes met World in the third matchup. Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard carried Stripes on his back, putting up a ridiculous 31 points on 11-of-13 shooting, lifting Stripes over World, hitting the game-winning shot in the 48-45 victory.

Stripes and Stars faced off in the championship game. Stars walked all over Stripes for the 47-21 win. Edwards took home MVP honors, scoring eight points in the championship, and 32 points throughout the entire All-Star Tournament.

The All-Star Game brought out a mostly positive reaction from fans. Many critics enjoyed watching the players hustle and play solid defense, which has not been the case in past years.

This year’s All-Star Weekend offered a snapshot of the league’s present, while also showcasing a preview of its future. It brought fans of the sport together to enjoy the best basketball players in the world play at the highest level.

The focus now returns to the playoff push and the remainder of the regular season, but the energy of All-Star Weekend will carry forward.