Steph Curry, Jayson Tatum lead team of veterans to win in first-ever All-Star tournament

SAN FRANCISCO — Player introductions still had too much pomp and circumstance, lasting more than 25 minutes. The greatest NBA All-Star ever pulled himself out about an hour before play began, leaving no time to replace him, and the evening program devoted more time to gimmicks than basketball.

Hiccups for the NBA’s first-ever All-Star tournament, held Sunday at Chase Center? Yes. But the players who did suit up gave more effort and paid more attention than in any All-Star basketball game in recent memory — which was always the main point of the new format.

In the first-ever NBA All-Star championship game, Shaquille O’Neal’s team of veteran All-Stars, nicknamed the OGs and led by Stephen Curry, beat Charles Barkley’’s team of mostly international players, 41-25.

“I really feel like the All-Star game just needed a fresh look,” Curry said. “I think it worked out perfectly.”

Curry, the de facto host for All-Star weekend as the face of the Golden State Warriors, was named tournament MVP after scoring 12 points — all on 3s — in the final game. The home crowd roared as Curry was awarded the Kobe Bryant All-Star MVP trophy. Curry didn’t come off the court in two games and scored a combined 20 points. One of his 3s in the championship game was from halfcourt.

Jayson Tatum led the OGs in the championship game with 15 points. The OGs won $125,000 per player for winning the tournament. Victor Wembanyama, living up to his promise to play hard, paced Barkley’s Global Stars in the title game with 11 points. Each player on the team earned $50,000 for reaching the championship round.

Jayson Tatum’s phenomenal outing in his 6th #NBAllStar Game helps Shaq’s OGs secure 2 wins for the Championship!

21 PTS
5 REB
4 AST
9-11 FGM pic.twitter.com/MClsbDnCyg

— NBA (@NBA) February 17, 2025

“I don’t want to compare it to any other era because the world has changed,” Curry said. “Life is different. The way people consume basketball is different. It’s not going to look like it used to. But it can still be fun for everybody. I think this was — I had fun. Our team had fun. That’s kind of all that matters.”

This season, NBA commissioner Adam Silver switched to the tournament format of three teams of All-Stars, and the winner of the Rising Stars Challenge on Friday night, after last year’s traditional All-Star Game featured the most points scored in history and probably the least defense ever played.

The All-Star teams were picked by TNT’s three famous analysts: O’Neal, Barkley, and Kenny Smith, whose team didn’t make it out of the first round. Each of the three games Sunday were played to 40 points, and prior to the championship game was the All-Star weekend’s typical halftime concert — this year headlined by rapper Too Short and R&B legends, En Vogue.

During an extended break in the championship game of nearly 20 minutes, with the OGs ahead 11-0, comedian Kevin Hart, the master of ceremonies for the night, paid tribute with help from the All-Stars to TNT’s Inside the NBA team of O’Neal, Barkley, Smith and Ernie Johnson. This is the last season of NBA basketball on TNT, so this was the last All-Star event on the cable network, though Inside the NBA and its famous cast are moving to ESPN and ABC next season.

Because the games were scored with the NBA’s traditional 2- and 3-point model, with no game clock, TNT had far more air time to fill during a 3-hour broadcast. It drew out the championship game, especially with the TNT tribute, to the point that the action felt stale after two reasonably competitive opening games. Up until that break, teams went for steals near midcourt and contested shots all over the floor. There were even a few no-calls on fouls that drew complaints from players — which never usually happens in an All-Star Game.

“The format was cool,” Tatum said. “I think the toughest part, they stopped the game to do the presentation while we were kind of halfway through it. We were sitting down for 20 minutes, whatever it was. It was kind of tough to get back into the game after that.”

“Breaks, I guess, weren’t ideal,” said Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who shot 18-of-23 from the field in two games for the Global Stars. “I would rather play without breaks. But I had fun nonetheless. I feel like it was a little bit more towards the competitive side tonight, which is a good feeling. A step in the right direction.”

The OGs won without LeBron James, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer with more All-Star Games and starts than any player in history, who announced Sunday he would not play in order to rest nagging left foot and ankle “discomfort.” He had appeared in and started 20 consecutive All-Star games, a record that will likely not be broken for decades.

“I was hoping that it would be a lot better this morning, but it’s still not where I want it to be,” James said. “We have 30 games left and I’m just trying to make a playoff push in the wild, wild West, and I just thought it was important to take care of myself with what’s going on.”

James has started every All-Star game since 2005 and said he hopes to be available for the Los Angeles Lakers’ game on Wednesday. Typically when a player bows out for injury, Silver names a replacement. But James’ status changed too late for him to be replaced.

The Global Stars beat Smith’s Young Stars, 41-32, in the first-ever All-Star tournament game. Gilgeous-Alexander scored 12, including the game-clinching dunk. Wembanyama contributed six points, four rebounds, one block and one steal off the bench. Tyler Herro, the 3-point champ on Saturday night, and the Cavaliers’ Darius Garland and Evan Mobley all scored six for the Young Stars. Anthony Edwards, a member of the Young Stars, didn’t play due to what a Minnesota Timberwolves official said was groin soreness.

SGA WINS IT FOR CHUCK’S GLOBAL STARS

Scoring the final 5 PTS…

They’ll advance to the #NBAAllStar Championship on TNT! pic.twitter.com/BAHSxAQejt

— NBA (@NBA) February 17, 2025

“The games are kind of short,” said Jalen Brunson, a Knicks All-Star who played for Smith and therefore lost in the first round. Brunson’s on-court time: 8 minutes.

“I like the format. It’s something new, something unique. Maybe just score to 50 maybe,” Brunson said.

The OGs avoided what would have been an embarrassment — for them and maybe for the NBA — by besting the Rising Stars team of non-All Stars, 42-35, in game 2. Damian Lillard scored nine points, including a game-winning 3 after his teammates — notably Curry — took several poor shots once they got to 37 to try and end the game on a trick-shot 3. Lillard, from nearby Oakland, Calif., tapped his wrist to signal “Dame Time” after his game winner.

Jaylen Brown scored eight points off the bench and was noticeably trying on defense. Dalton Knecht, the Laker turned Hornet turned Laker rookie, scored eight points for the Rising Stars. Ryan Dunn from the Suns also scored eight.

“I got mixed emotions or feelings, I guess, about the Rising Stars part,” Tatum said. “Obviously happy for those guys. But there is something to be said, it’s kind of a big deal to be an All-Star and play Sunday night, which a lot of guys — some guys get snubbed and other guys have to work really, really hard to make the All-Star Game.

“Playing on Sunday night is special, and it always has been,” Tatum continued. “I’m not saying that that was the right or wrong decision. I think whoever we play in that first game, the new format, would have been competitive.”

Just before the second game, Lillard found himself in a bit of a strange situation. YouTube star MrBeast, who stages competitions for large cash giveaways, picked out a random fan to compete against Lillard in a 3-point contest between the first two games. The contestant, Jaren Barajas, needed to hit one 3 from near midcourt before Lillard made three of them.

Lillard, the MVP of last year’s All-Star Game, connected on two, and then the fan banked in a clinching 3 to win $100,000 and get mobbed by Curry, Shaq, Smith and seemingly every NBA mascot in attendance at the Chase Center.

Lillard has picked up some nice extra cash this season. His regular team, the Milwaukee Bucks, won the NBA Cup in December, which was worth $514,971 per player to the winning side. An extra $640,000 for a season isn’t so bad.

Required reading

(Photo: Ezra Shaw / Getty Images)