The 2026 NBA All-Star Game, taking place at the Intuit Dome near Los Angeles, tipped off Friday with a plethora of superstar players arriving for a jam-packed weekend.
Some fresh new faces of the league got things started with the Rising Stars showcase Friday. With No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg out through the All-Star break with injury, the young troupe was headlined by Rookie of the Year contender VJ Edgecombe, who took home MVP honors.
On Saturday, the league’s top-tier talents demonstrate their skills in the 3-point contest, Shooting Stars competition and slam dunk contest. Most notably, Damian Lillard took home the 3-point contest despite an Achilles injury that has kept him out the entire season. Team Knicks (Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns and Allan Houston) followed up Lillard’s performance by winning the Shooting Stars competition before the Miami Heat‘s Keshad Johnson won the slam dunk contest.
Finally, on Sunday, three star-stacked teams will take the stage in a new format that rosters American players against international players. Can Victor Wembanyama lead Team World against Kevin Durant and Team Stripes? Or will Anthony Edwards spoil the fun leading Team Stars?
Our NBA insiders gave a sneak preview of what to watch heading into the 2026 NBA All-Star Weekend, including who they pick to win each event.
Expert picks were voted on by a panel of NBA insiders.
Previews: Rising Stars | Saturday skills | USA vs. World tournament
Saturday’s takeaways | Saturday’s results
All-Star Saturday’s takeaways
Overall takeaways
Damian Lillard’s triumphant return to the NBA stage captured the essence of what All-Star Weekend has always been about: Entertaining the fans and doing it with some flair.
Lillard was last seen on the court clutching the back of his leg during the NBA playoffs last season, knowing his Achilles tendon was ruptured when he was a Milwaukee Buck.
The last thing anyone expected was him winning his third 3-point contest title less than nine months later, and doing it back in that Portland Trail Blazers uniform he’s become so synonymous with.
He defeated Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker and Charlotte Hornets rookie Kon Knueppel in the finals to take home the trophy and tie Larry Bird and Craig Hodges for most 3-point contest wins.
In the aftermath, he spoke about doing this for the fans, prompting a roar from the still-arriving crowd.
As has become routine over the last decade, the 3-point contest brings out the best names, storylines and drama — relative to the perpetually underwhelming Slam Dunk Contest because the stars won’t agree to compete.
Miami Heat second-year forward Keshad Johnson was giddy to be there and used every bit of his 15 minutes of fame to etch his name in history with a dunk contest victory, beating San Antonio Spurs rookie Carter Bryant. Bryant had some flair of his own, but didn’t have enough energy to put down his final dunk — which ranked high in difficulty.
The New York Knicks contingent of Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, Allan Houston and Rick Brunson took home the Shooting Stars trophy with a last-second win over a group that featured Knueppel, Hawks forward Jalen Johnson and former NBA player Corey Maggette.
The day felt a bit awkward given the early start on the west coast, but the crowd was engaged by the end, even if there weren’t big stars delivering on the growing atmosphere. Perhaps it’s something the NBA, forever willing to tinker with its midseason showcase, will take a look at before next season in Phoenix. — Vincent Goodwill
Slam dunk contest
The Miami Heat’s Keshad Johnson looked happiest to be at the dunk contest — an event that sometimes lacks energy as the premier event of All-Star Weekend — on Saturday night and perhaps that was fitting, as he eventually walked away from the trophy.
The second-year forward defeated San Antonio Spurs rookie Carter Bryant in the final, when Bryant couldn’t convert a creative between-the-legs, over-the-head dunk. The two advanced to the final over Los Angeles Lakers center Jaxson Hayes and Orlando Magic guard Jase Richardson.
Richardson had a scary moment when he fell flat on his back during a dunk attempt, getting a bit stuck on a 360 dunk. Luckily, he popped back up and completed his next chance — nearly capturing the spirit of the dunk contest his dad, Jason, did as a two-time winner of the contest in the early 2000’s.
Johnson brought out rapper E-40 in his introduction and ultimately leapt over him while cupping the ball on his first dunk, surprising many in the crowd who hadn’t seen or heard much from him before.
And even though it took him a couple of tries in the final, he put his last dunk away with ease, earning a close to perfect score from the judges.
It put the pressure on Bryant, who couldn’t complete his attempts in the allotted time before putting away a basic dunk just so he could register a score.
In the end, Heat czar Pat Riley stood to his feet while Johnson danced in celebration as the winner. — Goodwill
Shooting Stars
Team Knicks had its work cut out for it, with Team Cameron (Atlanta’s Jalen Johnson, Charlotte’s Kon Knueppel and former NBA player Corey Maggette) hitting a bevy of half-court shots to put the pressure on Allan Houston, Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns to beat the clock and hit deep shots of its own. Team Knicks needed four half-court shots to win, and Towns unleashed from 30 feet to bring the team closer, while Brunson played the finisher to clinch the Shooting Stars competition.
“I felt very confident in our team, especially Allan Houston,” Towns said afterward.
The NBA has tried various versions of this, at times using WNBA players and most recently, deploying a skills competition that didn’t return after last year’s debacle in San Francisco.
This competition had a twist, with Knicks assistant coach Rick Brunson, Jalen’s father, delivering passes to the shooters. Houston, now in the Knicks’ front office, was one of the most prolific 3-point shooters during his NBA days and showed his skills from midrange, while the current Knicks hit from deep to seal the victory. — Goodwill
3-point contest
The 3-point contest came down to two repeat winners and one new kid on the block — it did not disappoint.
Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard won for the third time in the last four years — becoming the third three-time winner since the competition started in 1986 — to thwart the Phoenix Suns‘ Devin Booker from winning his second and Charlotte Hornets rookie Kon Knueppel from winning his first.
This win might have been the most impressive of his three, as Lillard entered the shootout despite not playing a game all season for the Blazers as he recovers from a torn Achilles.
“To get some competition, feel a little pressure, get in front of the fans again is a great experience,” Lillard told NBC on the court after receiving the trophy.
Booker went last in the final round and had a shot at beating Lillard’s score of 29, but he missed his final three “money ball” shots — which would have been worth two points apiece — to stall out at 27 points and fall two points short of Lillard. — Dave McMenamin
Saturday’s results
3-point champion: Damian Lillard (Portland Trail Blazers)
Shooting Stars champion: Team Knicks (Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns and Alan Houston)
Knueppel and Queen usher in the next wave of Rising Stars
There will be a Cooper Flagg-shaped void in this event, with a foot sprain sidelining 2025’s No. 1 pick for the duration of the weekend. Plus, former No. 2 pick Alex Sarr will be absent from Friday’s faceoffs after sustaining a right hamstring strain, which will keep him out for two weeks. The game should still be a fun spotlight for the strong 2025 draft class, with Kon Knueppel, Dylan Harper and VJ Edgecombe all on different teams. Stephon Castle, reigning Rookie of the Year, is one of the top second-year players involved. Originally, I would have picked Flagg’s team to win the mini-tournament, but with him sidelined, I suppose I’ll take Team Vince, which includes Edgecombe, Derik Queen and Matas Buzelis. Whether I’m right or wrong, I’m willing to bet history won’t remember in this case. — Jeremy Woo
Game 1: Team Melo 40, Team Austin
Game 2: Team Vince 41, Team T-Mac 36
Game 3: Team Vince 25, Team Melo 24
Winner: Team Vince
Celebrity takeover!
Friday, 7 p.m. ET (ESPN)
The celebrity game returns with familiar faces on the court, but what stands out this year is the fact that two current NBA governors will participate — the Phoenix Suns‘ Mat Ishbia and the Charlotte Hornets‘ Rick Schnall, who have a combined age of 103.
However, history says when it comes to the celebrity game, age is just a number. Former U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan routinely showed up while playing in his late 40s/early 50s (he won MVP in 2014 at 49).
NFL star wide receivers Keenan Allen and Amon-Ra St. Brown will take the court, too, as well as ESPN’s own NBA insider Shams Charania. Luckily, the trade deadline is behind us, meaning Charania can play phone-free. — Anthony Gharib
Introducing the 2026 @NBAAllStar #RufflesCelebGame rosters
🏀 Friday, Feb. 13 | 7p ET | ESPN
More: https://t.co/wCR9iDfnJB pic.twitter.com/RMttC7dOmg
— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) February 3, 2026
Legendary team-ups, high-flying dunks and Dame Time for All-Star Saturday
Saturday, 8 p.m. ET (NBC, Peacock)
Can Spida spoil Dame Time?
Any of the eight 3-point contestants could get hot for a minute and produce the winning score. But based on each participant’s 3-point percentage on wide-open 3s this year, according to NBA Advanced Stats, the favorites should be Donovan Mitchell (50% on wide-open 3s), Norman Powell (49%) and Jamal Murray (48%). Bobby Portis, Kon Knueppel and Tyrese Maxey are in the lower 40s, while Devin Booker is all the way down at 31%.
The eighth contestant is the wild card: Damian Lillard hasn’t played an NBA game since tearing an Achilles in the 2025 postseason. But Lillard won this event in 2023 and 2024, and he could become the first three-time winner in the 21st century. (Larry Bird and Craig Hodges each won three times in the 1980s and 1990s, respectively.) — Zach Kram
Expert picks: Damian Lillard
New faces and a family affair for the dunk contest
This isn’t the most star-studded field in the dunk contest’s history, and three of the four contestants have scarcely dunked in NBA games. Jaxson Hayes is a seven-year veteran with his fair share of slams from the center position, but second-year forward Keshad Johnson and rookies Carter Bryant and Jase Richardson have recorded single-digit dunk tallies this season.
At least there’s star lineage in this field. Richardson’s father is Jason Richardson, who won back-to-back dunk contest crowns in 2002 and 2003 — a few years before Jase was born. — Kram
Expert picks: Keshad Johnson
When you wish upon a shooting star(s)
In place of the skills challenge, the NBA is bringing back the shooting stars competition, which previously ran from 2004 through 2015 and featured three-person teams: a current NBA player, an NBA legend and a WNBA player.
There’s no WNBA presence in the renewed competition, with a second current player joining the three-man teams instead. Two aspects of this year’s teams stand out: Team Harper — with Ron Harper as the NBA legend and Dylan and Ron Jr. as the current NBA players — offers a compelling family element, while first-time All-Star Jalen Johnson‘s presence on Team Cameron is ironic, given that Johnson controversially left Duke University in the middle of his freshman season to focus on his preparation for the draft. — Kram
Expert picks: Team Knicks
International vs. homegrown? What to watch in the All-Star game
Sunday, 5 p.m. ET (NBC, Peacock)
In its latest attempt to inject some life into the NBA’s midseason showcase, the league is leaning into NBC’s Olympic coverage by deploying a Team USA versus The World format. Sadly, though, the three-team round-robin tournament has already lost some significant participants, with Giannis Antetokounmpo, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Stephen Curry ruled out for the All-Star Game, with others to potentially follow.
Still, there’s at least some hope this format could inspire some interesting moments this weekend. The World roster features only one guard (Jamal Murray), and he’s the only player below 6-foot-8. This also could be the final All-Star appearance for LeBron James, so perhaps he’ll show up to play, wanting to go out with a bang. Either way, it will serve as another referendum on Adam Silver’s ongoing attempts to salvage the event into something more competitive to watch. — Tim Bontemps
Game 1: Stars vs. World
Game 2: Stripes vs. Game 1 winner
Game 3: Stripes vs. Game 1 loser
Game 4: All-Star Championship
Expert picks: Team World
