The NBA’s new three-team, round-robin All-Star format delivered the intensity the league has sought in recent years, and 22-year-old guard Anthony Edwards walked away with the Kia MVP trophy after scoring 32 points on Sunday at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California.
Edwards credited Victor Wembanyama for setting an early tone in the first 12-minute contest. “Wemby set the tone,” Edwards told reporters, noting that the San Antonio Spurs rookie “woke me up” by playing with playoff-level effort.
New format, immediate stakes
This year’s exhibition abandoned the traditional East-vs-West setup in favor of Team Stars, Team Stripes and Team World. With just 12 minutes per game and an overtime tiebreaker, players had little time to coast.
Wembanyama responded by posting 14 points, six rebounds and three blocks in Game 1. He nearly carried Team World to a win before Scottie Barnes drilled a walk-off three-pointer in overtime, prompting a visibly irritated Wembanyama to storm to the bench.
“Being competitive is the least I can do,” the 7-foot-4 rookie said afterward.
Standout performances
Edwards’ 32-point outburst secured MVP honors, edging Kawhi Leonard, who lit up Team World for 31 points in just 12 minutes in front of his home crowd. Barnes later joked, “Damn, this guy is killing,” referring to Leonard’s run.
Kevin Durant endorsed the revamped format, calling it “a step up in competitiveness” and the brand of play fans expect.
Edwards said he is “all in” on bringing the same structure back next year, convinced that short games and Wembanyama’s example leave “no time to sleepwalk.”
Source: Hoops Wire
