Many people were tuned in to the 2026 NBA All-Star Game on Sunday night, not necessarily to watch the game, per se, but rather to see if the league's latest try at resuscitating its midseason classic would work.
With a fourth All-Star format in as many years, the NBA has been looking for a fix for an iconic game that had lost its luster due to the lack of effort by the players who were supposed to give the fans their money's worth. Their latest attempt — a USA vs World tournament-style format was a big success, according to podcasters Bill Simmons and Zach Lowe .
"Two thumbs up," said Simmons. "I thought it was a huge win for a league that needed a win this weekend. I thought it worked. And I think it comes back. And I think at the very least, with all the other things that this league has to solve, it seems like we have found something that might work here with the All-Star Game, after 15 tries. So maybe there's hope for the lottery now."
Sunday's All-Star event was divided into four 12-minute games, and the first three lived up to the hype with no contest decided by more than three points. Team USA Stars defeated Team World 37-35 in a race-to-five-point overtime as Victor Wembanyama and Anthony Edwards went toe-to-toe. In the second outing, Team Stripes survived a furious finish by Edwards and needed a De'Aaron Fox 3-pointer with one second left to win the game.
Perhaps the best game was the third, when Team World faced Team Stripes. Playing on his home floor, the Intuit Dome, Kawhi Leonard scored 31 points in 12 minutes, including a stepback 3-pointer with three seconds left to give them a 48-45 win. The Finals clash was anticlimactic as the older Team Stripes, playing in their third straight set, was run off the building by a well-rested, younger Team Stars who wanted to show that it's now their time.
Edwards won the All-Star Game MVP award after telling Carmelo Anthony in an interview before the game that he did not like it when fans think the best players in the NBA are internationals. He also said after the win that the young guns wanted to repay the OGS for paving the way by " giving them belt ."
While Simmons already talked about bringing back the USA vs. World format next year and beyond, his buddy Zach Lowe wasn't as convinced about the setup, though he was also extremely impressed by the performance. According to Lowe, the heavy criticism that the NBA received this past week regarding the blatant tanking by several teams got to the All-Stars' heads, and they wanted to redeem their league.
"I love USA versus the World," added Lowe. "Nailed it. Don't need to change that. Clearly, the game was better. There's just no question. It was a pretty competitive basketball game. There were fouls. There was physicality. All of that. We have to see next year: Is it a carry-over effect? Is it this format, USA vs the World, that actually made them try? Or was the outcry of how bad the All-Star Game had gotten, was the shaming to loud?"
"Plus the shaming that the general league has taken, I don't know if the players care about that, but the whole of last week has been a catastrophe, as you've remarked. Maybe that was like a perfect storm of like, 'You know what, we've got to put on a decent show tonight.' Does it happen again next year? Like, I kinda want to see it. But this was undeniably a big success," the analyst added.
Whether it was the format or the criticism, it is besides the point and just secondary for now. What was important was that at a time when Adam Silver and the whole Association needed its players to step up, the All-Stars did. And although the final 12 minutes weren't as competitive, it also showed that the young stars are ready to take over for Team USA in the next Olympics.
Because of that, it does seem like at least two more USA vs World All-Star Games would provide the perfect prelude to the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Games.
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Feb 16, 2026, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
