Steph Curry claimed the Kobe Bryant MVP trophy and led Shaq’s OGs to the All-Star title at Chase Center in San Francisco.
The NBA rolled out a new format with four teams, each coached by a legend, competing in a single-elimination tournament as two semi-finals and a championship game.
Curry, 36, scored 12 points in the final to seal a 41-25 victory against Chuck’s Global Stars.
“I had a lot of fun,” Curry said.
“The intensity was definitely different than last year, a step in the right direction. It’s something new, everybody is still trying to figure it out.”
Four-time NBA champion Shaquille O’Neal coached the winning team, with two-time NBA winner Kenny Smith, 11-time All-Star Charles Barkley and three-time WNBA champion Candace Parker in charge of the other three sides.
Curry ended the competition with 20 points in total, having scored eight points in the 42-35 semi-final win against Candace’s Rising Stars was named MVP.
The Golden State Warriors point guard is the 15th player in NBA history to win the All-Star MVP on more than one occasion.
The 2024 All-Star game drew criticism with both teams combining to score 397 points in Indianapolis and organisers were hoping a new format might help to bring back a competitive edge.
Aside from making it a mini-tournament with semi-finals and final, one of the key changes was games being played on a first-to-40-points basis rather than across four quarters.
MVP Curry was among those to praise the NBA for trying something new.
“I think it was a good step in the right direction to reinvigorate the game in some way,” Curry said.
