The NBA All-Star-Weekend is one of the biggest celebrations in basketball, bringing the league’s best players and celebrities together in one event. Held in February, the weekend showcases the best players while also highlighting music and fashion. This year’s All-Star Weekend takes place in Los Angeles at the newly built Intuit Dome. The weekend began on Friday with the Celebrity all star game and the Rising Star Challenge, which features young NBA standouts. Then, Saturday night was really popular with the three-point contest, skills challenge and dunk contest, while the weekend concluded with the main event, the All-Star game, on Sunday.
The NBA chose the Intuit Dome for the 2026 All-Star Weekend to showcase the league’s newest state-of-the-art arena, which is designed exclusively for basketball with an intimate, high-tech experience. The venue, owned by Steve Ballmer, features the massive “Halo Board” and is a premier location for major events in Southern California, including the upcoming 2028 Summer Olympics. As the newest arena in professional basketball, it serves as a premier venue for the 75th edition of All-Star Weekend, aligning with the NBA’s desire to modernize the fan experience.
The NBA Celebrity game delivered an exciting showcase of entertainment and surprising on-court talent. The biggest standout was former NBA player Tacko Fall. He was one of the tallest NBA players ever, standing at 7’6. Fall finished with an incredible stat line of 20 points, 21 rebounds and 5 blocks. Beyond Tacko Fall’s dominance, the game featured fun moments and competitive energy that kept fans engaged throughout the whole game. Despite Tacko Fall’s amazing performance, actor and model Rome Flynn took home the MVP, making it his second MVP in a row, finishing with 17 points.
The NBA Rising star challenge showcased the league’s brightest young stars, featuring top rookies and sophomores, who gave fans a glimpse into the NBA’s future. VJ Edgecombe was carrying his team, scoring 17 points to help his team win in a 1 point victory. Overall, the Rising Stars challenge proves that the next generation of the NBA is ready for the years to come.
The 3-point contest has the best shooters in the league, and fans are most excited to see Kon Knueppel, who is second in the league in made 3-pointers, and has been breaking multiple rookie shooting records. Fans were also excited to see Damian Lillard, who is one of the best 3-point shooters of all time, but he hasn’t played all year because he suffered a torn achilles in April last year. In the first round, Devin Booker started off hot and was the leading scorer with 30 points, qualifying for the final round, followed by Damian Lillard and Kon Knueppel with 27 points each. In the final round, Devin Booker needed to make two shots to tie with Lillard and three to win the contest, but he missed all of his shots, and Lillard won the contest. That is Lillard’s third 3-point contest win and tied in league history with the most wins.
The traditional Skills Challenge wasn’t held in its classic form this year, but it was replaced with a Shooting Stars-style team event that tested big shotmaking and teamwork across different spots on the court. Team Knicks, featuring Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, and NBA legend Allan Houston, came out on top. They finished with 47 points to defeat Team Cameron in the final round and take the title.
The 2026 Dunk Contest delivered plenty of dramatic moments, even though fans had mixed reactions about the overall energy of the event. Keshad Johnson, a forward for the Miami Heat, came away as the champion after a strong performance in the final round. Johnson’s final score in the title round totaled 97.4 points, which was enough to edge Carter Bryant, who missed a lot of dunks in the final round and ran out of time.
After an action-packed weekend, the 2026 NBA All-Star game and surrounding events delivered one of the most entertaining celebrations in recent memory. From the revamped competition format in the main event to all of the excitement of Saturday night. Damian Lillard added to his legacy with another three-point contest title, while Keshad Johnson rose to the occasion in the Dunk Contest. The 2026 All-Star weekend successfully blended star power, young talent and amazing energy, leaving fans excited about what next year’s showcase will bring.
