Stephen Curry received his All Star Game MVP after a strong championship game performance. photo courtesy of NBA.com
A look back on the action packed 2025 NBA All-Star Weekend.
Every year, fans from around the world tune into the NBA All-Star Weekend to witness a showcase of the best, most extraordinary talents the league has to offer. With events such as the dunk contest, 3 point contest, skills contest, and the All-Star game, this fun-filled weekend is exceptionally appealing for new basketball fans and hoop heads alike.
The action kicked off on Friday, February 14thwith the classic Rising Stars Game; this is a competitive duel between the league’s best rookies and sophomores. This year’s game was a little different than past years, though, with an updated tournament bracket replacing the classic East vs. West game. Instead of two teams, there were a total of three 7-man teams of NBA players, and a 4th roster with G League players. The first game was Team T, led by the number one and two overall picks from the 2025 NBA draft, Zaccharie Risacher and Alex Sarr vs. Team C, who had Rookie of the Year front runner and former national championship winning guard Stephon Castle. Team C ultimately came out victorious, winning 40-34 with the Utah Jazz guard Keyonte George dropping 10 points. The next game was the gritty, scrappy G League team vs the Julian Strawther-led Team M. Team M was the heavy favorite to not only win this game but the entire tournament. However, Team M let the underdog G League team win with help from a 14 point, 7 rebound game from Minnesota Timberwolves forward Leonard Miller. The two victorious teams dualed for the crown and the chance to be the 4th team in the All-Star tournament late Friday night, with Team C winning off of Stephon Castle’s 12 point performance, concluding the Friday night action.
Saturday had even more in store with the dunk contest, three point shootout, and skills competition. The dunk contest this year was extremely memorable, with Mac McClung jumping over multiple people, Shaquille O’Neal, and even a car. In the end, McClung won his third dunk contest in a row. The three point contest featured some of the most prominent shooters of all time, including 2-time winner Damien Lillard and longtime sharpshooter Buddy Hield, but Miami Heat shooting guard Tyler Herro brought the medal back to South Beach. The skills competition included some of the most talented players the game have ever seen, with teams having basketball prodigy Victor Wembenyama and basketball legend Draymond Green. Despite these great players, the Cavaliers duo of Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley took the trophy home to Cleveland.
The All-Star game is always the main event of the weekend, and this year the game did not disappoint. The Charles Barkley-coached team competed against Kenny Smith’s team to start, and, with help from a huge game with Oklahoma City Thunder’s Shai Giligeous-Alexander, Team Chuck advanced to the final round for a chance to be crowned All-Star tournament champions. The next game featured the Rising Stars tournament champions and the incredibly stacked Team Shaq, with all-time greats like Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, and James Harden participating. This was a surprisingly close game, but in the end Team Shaq was just too much for the future faces of the league. The last event of the weekend was the All-Star championship, where Shaq’s OGs blew Chuck’s Global Stars out of the water, with a final score of 41-25, and an All Star Game MVP award for Stephen Curry. Players now get back with their teams and play their best basketball in hopes of getting the chance to play in the NBA Playoffs.
