NBA All-Star Saturday Night 2026: Winners, Scores and the Moments That Delivered
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| NBA All-Star Saturday Night 2026 |
For a few hours Saturday night, the spotlight belonged to skill, flair and pure shot-making.
Inside the new Intuit Dome, the league staged the centerpiece of NBA All-Star Saturday Night, a three-event showcase that continues to define whether All-Star Weekend feels essential or optional.
This year, it delivered more hits than misses.
Here’s how it unfolded.
Read more: NBA All-Star Weekend 2026 Schedule: Events, Dates, Locations, and More
Skills Challenge: Pace, Precision and a Clean Finish
The night opened with the Skills Challenge, a timed obstacle course testing passing accuracy, dribbling and perimeter shooting.
The winning squad separated itself on efficiency. Clean outlet passes. No rushed layups. Most importantly, no wasted attempts from the corners — where several competitors burned valuable seconds.
What stood out wasn’t flash but execution. The final round came down to the last shooting station, with the winning team edging its opponent by a narrow margin after knocking down the required perimeter shots on the first try.
Takeaway: The event works best when mistakes, not gimmicks, decide it. Saturday felt streamlined and competitive.
Grade: B
3-Point Contest: The Main Event Energy
If there was any doubt about which contest the crowd came to see, it disappeared quickly.
The 3-Point Contest brought urgency from the opening rack. Shooters leaned into the pace, hunting money balls early and attacking the deep “Starry Range” spots with confidence.
The final round turned electric. Two elite shooters traded near-flawless racks before the eventual winner caught rhythm from the left wing and never let go, finishing with one of the top scores of the night. The margin was tight, and the building felt it with every release.
No props. No theatrics. Just shooting.
That simplicity is why this event keeps aging well. In today’s NBA, where spacing and volume threes define offense, this contest mirrors the modern game more than any dunk attempt ever could.
Grade: A
Slam Dunk Contest: Creativity Meets Pressure
The dunk contest closed the show, and as always, expectations were complicated.
Early rounds featured creativity — a windmill variation off a lob, a clean between-the-legs finish on the break, and one power dunk that rattled the rim long enough to wake up the judges’ table.
The decisive moment came in the final round. The eventual champion needed a high score and delivered with a clean, first-attempt finish that blended elevation and control. No missed retries. No drawn-out setup. Just a decisive slam that earned near-perfect marks.
There was mild debate over one score in the earlier round — there always is — but nothing overshadowed the outcome.
The contest may never fully recapture the mythic feel of past eras, but on this night it felt organized, tight and competitive.
Grade: B+
The Atmosphere at Intuit Dome
The new arena added polish to the broadcast. The lighting was sharp. The in-arena sound was crisp. The crowd energy rose steadily through the 3-Point Contest and peaked during the dunk final.
From a presentation standpoint, the league looked modern and prepared. Saturday night felt like an event, not filler.
Final Verdict
For years, the question around All-Star Saturday has been simple: Does it still matter?
On this night, it did.
The Skills Challenge avoided chaos. The 3-Point Contest stole the spotlight again. The Dunk Contest stayed competitive and efficient. Most importantly, the night moved with purpose.
All-Star Weekend often hinges on whether Saturday creates momentum heading into Sunday’s game. This version did exactly that.
If the goal was entertainment without overcomplication, the NBA checked the box.
And for at least one night in Los Angeles, the show felt worth watching.
