The younger Team Stars had way more juice left in their legs, and they jumped out to an early double-digit lead. Team Stripes briefly gave itself some hope with back-to-back 3s from LeBron James and Jalen Brunson to cut the deficit down to nine with seven minutes to play, but never got closer.

Unlike recent years, when effort was absent, competition was central to the exhibition, thanks in large part to France's Victor Wembanyama, who literally set the tone from jump.

NBA All Star 2026 showed real effort again, led by Anthony Edwards, Victor Wembanyama and Kawhi Leonard. Damian Lillard and VJ Edgecombe delivered strong moments. However, Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic had quiet outings,

Track all the 2026 NBA All-Star Game stats in one place with points, threes, rebounds and assists for each player.

The round-robin format featured multiple buzzer beaters, a Kawhi Leonard scoring binge and a renewed effort by the players.

The NBA introduced its Three-Point Contest in 1986, when Celtics legend Larry Bird was the inaugural winner. He won the first three Three-Point Contests the league conducted until Dale Ellis of the SuperSonics became the first winner other than Bird in ’89.

The NBA All-Star slam dunk and 3-point contests again offered clear winners and losers. Here are the best and worst from Saturday:

NBA All-Star weekend kicked off in Los Angeles Friday night

The Sporting News takes a look at each NBA Slam Dunk Contest winner through the years.