NBA All-Star Game: Four key stories after the busy weekend in Los Angeles

Anthony Edwards smiled as he held up the NBA Most Valuable Player trophy for the first time in his career, just a day after he claimed Sunday’s USA-Worlds matchup wouldn’t bring any competitive fire back to the league’s midseason showdown.

Either the Minnesota Timberwolves guard was excited or he played a smart bait-and-switch game, and he knew he was He was He competed and showed how much he cared about the competition and the approval of the fans. By the time Edwards and the team’s young stars wrapped up the festivities, defeating the Stripes’ veterans in Sunday’s championship game, the weekend was already one of the most impactful in modern league history.

Here are four of the biggest storylines to emerge from Los Angeles, including whether the new-look All-Star Game has staying power, why the 3-point crown is safe with Damian Lillard and what NBA commissioner Adam Silver’s comments over the weekend could mean for the future of the draft.

Will the All-Star Game return? Sunday proved that it’s up to the stars

All you had to see was Victor Wimpanyama falling to the ground after the first match.

After leaving the Stars’ Scottie Barnes open for a game-winning 3-pointer in overtime, the 7-foot-4 San Antonio Spurs phenom was looking the other way, talking to himself because someone had missed an assignment.

“This was the second time we allowed the number 3 when we weren’t supposed to,” Wembanyama said. “I expected us to be smarter here, so that was disappointing.”

Rarely does any player use the word “disappointing” to describe an All-Star game loss, at least in the past few years. It’s usually the game itself that doesn’t live up to its billing.

Although Wembanyama did not win the MVP award on the night, he might as well have won it. Edwards admitted as much in his post-match press conference, stating that Wimpanyama’s massive presence motivated him to show up for fear of being outed. It is shown higher. So much so that their fellow All-Stars were on high alert.

“Of course I played a role in it,” Wembanyama said. “Let’s say someone blocks me or someone on the other end gets blocked. You don’t want to let the opponent score, you know what I mean?”

This is how you know this game meant something after years of indifference and criticism: the players did their best, made (and argued) mistakes, and showed emotion. Wimbanyama doesn’t seem to mind taking on the responsibility of bringing this powerhouse back to the All-Star game, but is this a sign that he’s ready to take on the responsibility of being the face of the league?

For his part, Wimbanyama has no problem saying the quiet part out loud.

“It’s natural, of course,” Wimbanyama said. “The NBA can promote whoever it wants. But at the end of the day, it’s going to be the best players and the ones people demand. Being the face of the league, it’s something that can be manufactured but only to an extent.”

His words had the biggest impact of the weekend, and the other players followed suit. They didn’t need financial incentives or a letter from Silver. Showing more effort and charisma is what the viewers wanted. Yes, players are exhausted over the weekend and have little time to rest before the challenges of the regular season continue. But Sunday proved the league can achieve success by injecting drama into the game.

Although Wimbanyama did not get an MVP or any win, his play on the court and his passion for it helped the NBA get the win it desperately needed.

He plays

Ant Edwards explains why he enjoys the competitiveness of the All-Star Game

Anthony Edwards tells Malika Andrews why he’s enjoying the competitiveness of this year’s NBA All-Star Game.

Ant Man plays a great role before he plays the hero

Edwards rose to the occasion, even in his team’s loss to the Stripes, as he chased down Kevin Durant on a steal and made a stop in transition for a 3 that would have given his team the decisive advantage until De’Aaron Fox hit his own buzzer-beating triple. All night long, Edwards’ energy carried his team, especially in the championship game when Team Stripes’ older players were starting to tire. Edwards was fresh and had no problem leading Team Stars to a win that wasn’t as convincing as the first three games.

His nonchalant attitude was a cover for his competitiveness. That was clear to Detroit Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff, who had not spent much time with Edwards until last weekend.

“You like people who bring that kind of energy every day, people who have that spark to them,” Bickerstaff said. “People who enjoy the game, where basketball isn’t a chore for them, it’s something they really love.”

Maybe Edwards doesn’t really want to take on the responsibility of leading the league into the next generation. Maybe he doesn’t want to highlight every aspect of his life. But there’s something undeniably about the way he looks, the way he looks into the cameras and seems so comfortable in his own skin, that might be intimidating for a league office that likes its stars plain and predictable, traits not always associated with the electric 24-year-old.

Edwards’ personality almost overshadows the work he has put into his game. The Minnesota Timberwolves have been the only constant in the NBA’s version of the Final Four over the past two years, with Edwards being the catalyst. He’s not a Finals champion yet, but he has beaten some of the league’s giants in the last two seasons: Nikola Jokic, LeBron James, and Kevin Durant.

Silver’s comments on the spelling draft changes?

In one of Silver’s most poignant All-Star Weekend interview sessions, the commissioner discussed expansion and the possibility of relocation. But the biggest buzz has centered around tanking, which has become a blight on the league as as many as 10 rebuilding teams appear to be actively chasing a better draft position.

Can the league flatten lottery odds even further? How about scrapping the draft altogether and letting prospects choose their own teams?

The latter talking point has not yet been raised in meetings with the competition committee, sources told ESPN. The idea of ​​lottery-related teams competing against each other in the tournament also hasn’t gained traction, showing how far the draft has been left out of the league’s plans. Several major hurdles must be cleared, including collectively negotiating any draft changes.

Right now, with the Utah Jazz under fire, the NBA appears to be exploring every other option to limit the tanks. This has included discussions about harsher fines and the possibility of losing privileges for draft picks if the tactics become too blatant.

In discussions with league officials over the weekend, some sources were receptive to other approaches, such as setting lottery odds early in the season rather than setting the full 82-game schedule. But more important, a senior official noted, is discussing fine amounts for teams that blatantly skirt the rules.

They said: “You hurt them in your pocket.” “What happens if they don’t get their full share of the revenue if the league finds them guilty?”

The tank challenges the fabric of league competition. And even if this season presents the perfect storm of teams losing out to keep protections selected ahead of a potential generational draft class, the league must consider every option to shorten the annual race to the bottom.

The Lady of Time returns, king of the competition with three points

No one wanted to see Damian Lillard look like a shell of himself in a three-point contest, especially when they last looked at him clutching a torn Achilles tendon in the first round of last season’s playoffs. But Lillard knew he wouldn’t go out that way, holding off Phoenix Suns star Devin Booker and Charlotte Hornets rookie Kuhn Knoebel for his third title by three points.

“It started out as kind of a joke,” Lillard said of his entry into the contest. “Something clicked… It was that simple. I said I would do it, and the next day I was in competition.”

He can’t run fast or do any serious work on the field right now. But he could still let it fly from beyond the arc.

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Damian Lillard earned his third three-point shooting title

Off-season, Damian Lillard competes in the NBA’s three-point shooting competition and wins his third title.

“I think it was necessary and it was necessary for the fans,” Lillard said. “I think about when I was a kid and I went to All-Star Weekend in 2000 when it was in Oakland, and the No. 1 thing I was excited about was, ‘Man, this guy’s going to go up against this guy in a dunk contest and these guys are going up against each other in a 3-point shootout. I was a fan of that way back in the day.’

Unlike Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum, Lillard doesn’t want to get on the floor this year to help a rival make a stretch run, but it appears the 35-year-old future Hall of Famer has inspired some of his shooting brethren to join him next season.

Stephen Curry, the league’s 3-pointer king, announced Sunday that he will enter the competition next year in Phoenix, adding that he is willing to talk to former teammate Klay Thompson to join him.

Both Curry and Thompson are nearing the end of their NBA careers, but with Saturday nights All-Star Weekend needing a boost, it’s no surprise to see Curry’s competitive juices reignited. If the three-point contest is a success next season, thank Lillard, who seems to embody the spirit of what this weekend is supposed to be and who is inspiring other big names to join him. Perhaps the dunk contest, long the anchor of Saturday night’s All-Star Game, needs a similar star boost.