Players praise USA vs. World All-Star Game format but open to change

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — The ultimate key to a competitive All-Star Game is getting the players to buy in. That has been elusive in recent years.

Then we saw it on Sunday in Los Angeles. After the game the players praised the new USA vs. World format, and the 12-minute, one quarter mini-games.

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“I think they ain’t really going to take in what I’m saying, but I like this format,” All-Star MVP Anthony Edwards said. “I think it makes us compete because it’s only 12 minutes, and the three different teams separate the guys. I think it was really good … I feel like the old heads played hard, too. They were playing real good defense.”

Edwards was not the only player thinking that way.

“I think it was definitely a step up in the competitive department compared to last season,” Kevin Durant said.

“I know the world guys wanted to win. I know Victor [Wembanyama] wanted to win bad,” Devin Booker said. “You could see it. And I know our team did.

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“Shout-out Kawhi. We were watching that game in the back. That’s probably one of the most special quarters of basketball we’ve witnessed.”

Booker also threw the NBA league office some love for changing around the players’ schedules during All-Star Weekend.

“The NBA did a good job of us doing all our media and pictures yesterday. So today, we could just come in and properly get our bodies activated. I think that was a big part of it,” Devin Booker said. “I think every team honestly wanted to win.”

Philadelphia’s Tyrese Maxey — who got the young Stars off to a fast start in the championship game — said it was really about player buy-in.

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“We wanted to play hard. It doesn’t matter what the format was, I came in, I’m going to play some defense,” Maxey said. “I’ll score when I can, but I want to play hard, bring energy, get some steals, and have fun.”

Karl-Anthony Towns said this was his favorite All-Star Game he’s played in, partly because he got to represent the Dominican Republic on the World Team, and partly because of the level of competition.

“Fans have been asking for it. Media have been asking for it,” Towns said. “I feel that after today, I think…

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Publish date : 2026-02-16 22:29:00

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