Sports
Did the NBA Fix the All-Star Game? Mixed Reviews After New Format Debut
The knobs were turned, the recipe tweaked, and the NBA sat back and watched the latest version of its embattled showcase event unfold in the Los Angeles area this weekend.
The verdict? It was entertaining until it wasn’t as the NBA learned there actually can be too much of a good thing when it comes to the All-Star Game.
What went right was that one team of young stars, one team of veteran heroes and another of international standouts seemed to return an improved sense of pride to the event.
And 12-minute games, where energy and effort play is needed to move forward, added the sense of urgency that had been lacking in All-Star Games from the past.
But by essentially playing the equivalent high-stakes games that mirrored full-game fourth quarters, there were heavy legs and wayward shots by the time the title-game matchup rolled around.
It was hardly a surprise that the younger USA Stars were the last team standing. Their lopsided 47-21 victory over the veteran USA Stripes failed to deliver the proper crescendo that had been building from the beginning.
With victory and the MVP in hand, though, Anthony Edwards of USA Stars gave the event’s new format his stamp of approval.
“Yeah, I think they ain’t really going to take in what I’m saying, but I like this format,” the Minnesota Timberwolves’ star 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.”
There are still those who want to put the old pieces back together.
“I mean, East-West is definitely a tradition,” said LeBron James of USA Stripes, before playing in his record 22nd All-Star Game. “It’s been really good. Obviously, I like the East and West format. They’re trying something. We’ll see what happens.”
Kawhi Leonard of Team Stripes leaned into the urgency and scored 31 points in 12 minutes to end Team World’s title hopes. He had fans in his home arena chanting “MVP” before running out of gas in the final when he scored one point.
“I thought it was good, but I still think going back to East-West will be great,” Leonard said. “I think guys will compete still.”
As promising as Sunday’s format was, there was plenty of confusion on the court after USA Stripes earned a 42-40 victory over USA Stars on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from De’Aaron Fox.
“I hit a 3 to get to 40, and we thought the game was over,” Edwards said. “Fox came back and hit a 3, and they won. I kind of felt like we got wigged out, but it’s all good.”
Leonard said Saturday that he wasn’t sure how the round-robin format was going to work. He still had questions Sunday.
“Even as the game’s going on, trying to figure out the records for being 2-1 and how you play that out as well,” Leonard said. “Is it like by points? How many? Point spread or what?”
Kevin Durant of Team Stripes failed to score in the title game and had 12 points on the day but went on the record multiple times begging to stop the criticism madness.
“I just feel like fans and media need something to complain about, and the All-Star Game don’t make them feel like they felt when they were kids,” Durant said this past weekend. “They need something to complain about. I don’t think it’s that big of a deal, to be honest.”
The NBA showed it is listening with its newest format. The league even added a Shooting Stars competition to All-Star Saturday. The addition of an international team in the All-Star Game gave the day an Olympics/Ryder Cup flavor.
There will still be plenty of detractors. Having the veteran USA Stripes play three consecutive high-energy 12-minute games didn’t seem like a good idea. And it wasn’t.
“The format, yeah, I liked it,” Team World’s Victor Wembanyama said. “I liked it. I wouldn’t be against this format in the future, and I wouldn’t be against the regular East versus West either.”
Now comes the wait to see what the NBA does next year as the Suns’ Devin Booker gets set to welcome the All-Star circus Phoenix. Booker validated Sunday’s festivities.
“I think every team honestly wanted to win,” Booker said.
Of course that is easy to say when you did actually win.
“I know the world guys wanted to win,” Booker said. “I know Victor wanted to win bad. You could see it. And I know our team did. 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.”
Sports
Celtics' Brad Stevens named NBA Executive of Year
Feb 28, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens before their game against the Cleveland Cavaliers at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-Imagn Images Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens was named the NBA Basketball Executive of the Year for the second time in three seasons on Tuesday.
Stevens’ Celtics finished with the second-best record (56-26) in the Eastern Conference in 2025-26 and secured a top-two playoff seed for the fifth time in his five seasons in his current role.
Boston accomplished that despite parting ways with Al Horford, Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday before the season and only having All-NBA forward Jayson Tatum for 16 games after he recovered from an Achilles injury.
Stevens, who also won the award in 2023-24, is the 12th executive to receive the honor multiple times since it was first presented in 1972-73.
Stevens, 49, received 11 first-place votes and 69 total points in voting by his fellow executives. Atlanta Hawks general manager Onsi Saleh was second with 41 points, one more than Detroit Pistons president of basketball operations Trajan Langdon.
Before joining Boston’s front office, Stevens served as the team’s head coach for eight seasons and tallied a 354-282 record. During his 13-year tenure with the franchise, the Celtics have made 12 playoff appearances.
The Celtics currently have a 3-1 lead in their first-round series with the Philadelphia 76ers. Game 5 is on Tuesday night in Boston.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Mexico makes Liga MX call-ups ahead of pre-World Cup camp
Nov 17, 2025; San Antonio, Texas, USA; Mexico Coach Javier Aguirre Onaindia speaks to the media ahead of his Mexican National Team match against Paraguay at the Alamodome. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Jefferson-Imagn Images Mexico’s FIFA World Cup roster began to take shape Tuesday with a dozen Liga MX players invited to the camp that begins on May 6.
Manager Javier Aguirre’s crew will be joined in training later in the month by players who are based in Europe and elsewhere. His final roster for this summer’s tournament is due at the end of May.
The 12-member Liga MX contingent includes 17-year-old midfielder Gilberto Mora of Club Tijuana, Toluca forward Alexis Vega, Club America defender Israel Reyes and five players from Chivas: goalkeeper Raul “Tala” Rangel, forward Armando Gonzalez and midfielders Brian Gutierrez, Roberto Alvardo and Luis Romo.
Also on the list are goalkeeper Carlos Acevedo of Santos Laguna, defender Jesus Gallardo of Toluca, midfielder Erik Lira of Cruz Azul and forward Memo Martinez of Pumas.
Mora is rounding into shape after missing two months with a groin injury and has a chance to become Mexico’s youngest World Cup participant, supplanting 18-year-old Manuel “Chaquetas” Rosas in 1930. Seven 17-year-olds have participated in the tournament, including Brazil’s Pele in 1958.
Mexico is co-hosting the FIFA World Cup along with the U.S. and Canada. Mexico is currently ranked No. 15 in the world, one spot ahead of the Americans.
Placed in Group A with South Africa, South Korea and the Czech Republic, Mexico opens the World Cup against South Africa on June 11 in Mexico City.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Pistons aiming to avoid historic early exit vs. Magic
Apr 27, 2026; Orlando, Florida, USA; Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero (5) looks to pass in front of Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) during the second half during game four of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Kia Center. Mandatory Credit: Mike Watters-Imagn Images The Detroit Pistons need a three-game winning streak to avoid joining an infamous list. Only six top seeds in NBA history have flamed out in the first round of the playoffs to a No. 8 seed.
The Pistons trail Orlando 3-1 in their best-of-seven series after a 94-88 road loss on Monday. The series resumes in Detroit on Wednesday night.
Detroit has to regain its swagger or join the 2023 Milwaukee Bucks as the only top seed since 2012 to get knocked out this early in the postseason.
The troubling reality for the Pistons, who won 60 regular-season games, is that the Magic — with the exception of Detroit’s third-quarter outburst in Game 2 — consistently have looked like the better team.
The Magic have throttled the All-Star pick-and-roll combination of Cade Cunningham and Jalen Duren, leaving Detroit’s offense in tatters.
“The way that we’ve been playing, that stuff’s not good enough to win games in this league,” Cunningham said. “This league’s too good, they’re a good team. They’re outrebounding us, turning me over and we haven’t hit enough shots. Our defense hasn’t caught its footing. It’s not shocking that we’re losing games playing like that.”
With Duren neutralized by counterpart Wendell Carter Jr. and Orlando’s defensive coverage, Cunningham has been left to carry the offense. He’s averaging 29.5 points in the series but shooting just 42.4% overall and 28.6% from 3-point range. Turnovers have been a bigger issue. He’s averaging 6.8 giveaways in the series and committed eight in Game 4.
“Yeah, it’s frustrating,” Cunningham said. “A lot of it was on myself; I was frustrated with my own play. Having numbers, not making plays in transition. Things like that, the things I do best, just not being able to make plays for my team. They killed us on the offensive glass, our defense didn’t hold up. All that stuff. We’re all frustrated with all that stuff. We’ve gotta fix it and come back better.”
The Pistons’ lack of 3-point shooting has come back to bite them — they’re making just 27.5 percent of their attempts in the series.
Orlando realizes that in order to complete the upset, it will have to grind out another victory against a now desperate club.
“This is a team that won 60 games,” guard Desmond Bane said. “I’m sure they will not blink an eye about being able to win three games in a row. They did it multiple times during the regular season. We are going to have to come ready to play. I’m excited about the challenge.”
Paolo Banchero (21.0 points per game) and Bane (19.0) have been the Magic’s offensive leaders in the series. Franz Wagner scored 19 points in Game 4 but left with calf tightness. His availability for Wednesday and the remainder of the series is a big question mark.
In his absence, Jamal Cain made a major impact, including a monster dunk over Duren in the second half. Cain finished with eight points and nine rebounds.
“We’ve put ourselves in position to try to get four (wins),” coach Jamahl Mosley said. “Right now, it means nothing. We have the advantage and now we’ve just got to make sure we’ve try to keep that advantage.”
–Field Level Media
Celtics' Brad Stevens named NBA Executive of Year
Mexico makes Liga MX call-ups ahead of pre-World Cup camp
