The City of Angels spreads its wings for the 2026 NBA All-Star Weekend

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Hollywood is known for being the city of stars. A couple of them, like Denzel Washington and Dyan Cannon, frequent downtown Los Angeles’ La La Lakerland to watch a few more in leading scorer and vote getter Luka Dončić and The King, LeBron James.

But this All-star weekend in Los Angeles belonged to Kawhi Leonard’s big hot hand and the Clippers’ home of Inglewood’s Intuit Dome. That was until Ant-Man, Anthony Edwards got into it and crushed everyone to go home with the 2026 ASG MVP.

The only thing that looked better were those baby powder blue warm ups that threw it back and looked like all the All-stars were about to enter an ice bar. The NBA throwing snowballs with this year’s Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina for viewing figures.

These starter’s jackets are guaranteed to be a throwback for decades to come.

Warm-up pants seem to be the new trend in the Three-Point Contest with three players sporting that look. Winding the clock back for the weekend, the ‘Dame Time’ of Damian Lillard called it a comeback and history, winning his third Three-Point Contest. Edging out Phoenix Suns scorcher Devin Booker 29-27 in the final round, the numero zero at the buzzer joined the great Larry Bird and Chicago Bulls sharpshooter Craig Hodges to be the only player to win a trio of three-point contests. All of this after calling it a season because of a torn Achilles.

Can he make it four? Don’t be so sure. The greatest from downtown, Steph Curry with the shot, has just vowed to compete in next year’s competition, raising the roof in Arizona.

The New York Knicks, who just added Jeremy Sochan to their Hudson deep roster, a week after Jose Alvarado, won the Shooting Stars event (the Skills Challenge revamped) thanks to their inside and outside dynamic duo of Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns, plus pure legend Allan Houston and Jalen’s father Rick Brunson throwing passes and catching playful shade from his son. That was worth a watch, but has the former biggest draw of the weekend gone rotten?

Some fans online are calling to change the Slam Dunk Contest, too. We enjoyed it, mind you. Don’t they remember the wheel? Have they forgotten how Mac McClung redefined it for the last few years? The dunks he posted on social media, however, including an incredible behind the back tip in, would have brought the house down here, as well as going viral.

In this contest, even Lakers big-man rim-rocker Jaxson Hayes, representing for LA, couldn’t quite come up with all the goods. Perhaps he needed an alley from The Don. Because that in-game Eastbay Hayes pulled off through the legs, a few weeks back, was better than the first basement hop Jax put on display here. All before he brought it right back with a nice NBA jam.

With a slam dunk champ name like Carter Bryant, the young San Antonio star almost spurred on a victory following his star rise, but he couldn’t quite put down a jam off the glass that would have had everyone sticking up 50, like ‘How To Rob’. The Magic of Orlando’s Jase Richardson also showed like father (Jason), like son, but it was another Floridian side that got it done.

Miami’s effervescent energy of Keshad Johnson danced his way to victory, jumping over fellow Bay Area native and rap legend E40 with a Karl Malone pose, but even that didn’t get a 50. It seems that everyone is over jumping over people. The dunks were dynamic, a circus of creativity (the trial and error all part of the process), but the best thing about the contest was judge Brent Barry showing up in the same warm-up he won in back in 1996. Sometimes you can’t beat nostalgia, even if you can pay homage.

More than 200 creators played for the PlayStation Creator’s Cup, that played out like a 3×3 event. It would have been nice to see some true 3×3 professionals honoured, but in the words of the late, great Charlie Murphy talking about playing Prince on ‘Chappelle’s Show’, “these cats could ball” too. More importantly, the HBCU classic, played in the Lakers’ old sneaker stomping grounds of the Kia Forum, saw a more pure form of hoops, and maybe the best game, as North Carolina A&T edged Hampton, 71-70, off of Trent Middleton Jr.’s free throw with a Derek Fisher 0.4 seconds left to play.

The HBCU coveted Robert Covington couldn’t have been prouder.

Other celebs, from Marvel’s Shang-Chi, Simu Liu, to Brandon Ingram’s beau GloRilla, ruffled rims for the All-Star Celebrity Game, with insider Shams dropping more bricks than he does social media bombs now that Woj is retired. Big, big man Tako Fall rose, but Rome Flynn won his second-straight MVP, as his 17-points helped Team Giannis win the contest 65-58.

The G-League game was really what should be Next Up. The best of who’s got next only bested by the real Rising Stars game that saw Vince Carter’s team beat Carmelo Anthony’s thanks to a pair of free throws from MVP VJ Edgecombe. And get the Vinsanity of Carter’s slick suit. Craig Sager is looking down from hoop heaven proud.

Before the main event in Kobe’s city, the R&B icon Bean took to the prom, Brandy, performed an amazing a-cappella rendition of the US National Anthem. As for the actual All-star game(s), we may miss East versus West, but the USA shows that they still run the world when it comes to basketball. No matter how much talent lies across the rest of the globe.

Speaking of which, CORTIS became the first K-Pop act to perform at an All-star game’s halftime show. With plenty more to come from South Korea, we’re sure.

A Most Valuable Ant Edwards and Philly’s Tyrese Maxey combined for 17 points in a more competitive series of games than the previous year’s shoot happy showcases, were the only D was in dunk. A fabulous new format, even if we are looking forward to them throwing it back again in the future.

President Barack Obama was impressed with the hoops he saw on display, as we got our wish upon an All-star that NBA Hollywood could script a better turn of events.

For us, we still can’t get enough of the biggest names in the brightest lights.

Here’s to next year in the desert.