NBA All-Star weekend turns out the stars 

(News4usonline) – The annual NBA All-Star game is an attraction for the stars to come out. They came out to Inglewood and the rest of Southern California for the 2026 NBA All-Star Weekend. 

And you know an event is a pretty big deal when a former U.S. president shows up and hangs out for a little while. Like a bee drawn to honey, the high-profile celebrity mixer turned out to be more than a pretty good networking event. It was the show in town. 

Compton, South Los Angeles and Inglewood all had events related to All-Star weekend. That meant former players, current stars and Hall of Famers collaborating with the entertainment world to bring the NBA to the world. 

There were stars everywhere. While the biggest stars were supposed to be on the basketball court, there were plenty of glam folks seated courtside mingling, talking, and people-watching. 

If you happened to walk down the hallway of Intuit Dome or the Kia Forum, it was likely you were going to rub elbows or bump into someone of note. Large sporting events such as the 2026 NBA All-Star Weekend have become a feeding ground for celebrity worship. 

The celebrity countdown started on Friday with the Ruffles NBA All-Star Celebrity Game. Los Angeles Dodgers star Mookie Betts and “Blackish” lead man Anthony Anderson served as coaches for their respective teams, Team Anderson and Team Giannis. 

Players like rapper GloRilla and former NBA baller Jeremy Lin got the celebrity hype going. Keegan Michael-Key and “Bold and the Beautiful” star Rome Flynn added to it. 

“It was great just to be back in the NBA environment and to be back on the floor. I had a lot of fun,” Lin said. 

On Saturday, Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay was seen chopping it up with team owner Stan Kroenke. 

On the final day of a week full of festivities, Sunday was more of the same except the name-dropping got a little bit bigger. Former President Barack Obama was accompanied by former First Lady Michelle Obama to the game. 

It was a good day to be a power couple as Meghan Markle (Duchess of Sussex) and Prince Harry were in the building as well. This was pretty much the theme of the afternoon as Oscar nominee Teyana Taylor, country artist Shaboozey and rapper/actress Queen Latifah sat courtside. Now enough of the star-gazing. There was some basketball to be played

The 2026 NBA All-Star game was interesting, if not confusing. The interesting part comes with the league designating three teams full of top-tier players playing in a series of four games. Basically, it was a regular basketball game sequestered into four 12-minute quarters. 

Instead of the usual four-quarter layup drill contest which the All-Star game had become, the NBA seemed to want to shake things up and give the fans more out the stars they pay to see. 

That means adding an element of competition, something that had been missing from previous All-Star games. 

NBA commissioner Adam Silver and the league brass got what they wanted. To make matters for you, the three teams were made up of two U.S. squads and one World unit (players from other countries). 

The World team, featuring Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Doncic and Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray, got beat up twice and lost both of the games they participated in. 

So the championship round got the best of both the U.S. with the likes of Los Angeles Lakers megastar LeBron James, Kevin Durant (Houston Rockets), Kawhi Leonard (Los Angeles Clippers), and Donovan Mitchell of the Cleveland Cavaliers representing the U.S. Stripes team. 

Phoenix guard Devin Booker, though, led the U.S. Stars to a surprising 47-21 win in the final game. The Stripes shot 25 percent from the field and couldn’t buy a basket even if it was sitting at the kitchen counter. 

Anthony Edwards, who was part of the winning team, said he likes the new All-Star format.

“Yeah, I think they ain’t really going to take in what I’m saying, but I like this format,” 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.”

Leonard was more than good against the World Team in an earlier game, scoring 31 points to lead the U.S. Stripes to a 48-45 win in just 12 minutes of action. Afterward, the Clippers star gave the new format two thumbs up. 

“I think it was good. Didn’t really figure it out until we got here,” Leonard said. “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.”

“Is it like by points? How many — point spread or what I thought it was good. But I still think going back to East-West will be great. I think guys will still compete,” he added. 

Cover Photo: Mark Hammond / News4usonline