By Vincent Goodwill | ESPN, 2026-02-17 01:55:00
安东尼·爱德华兹 (Anthony Edwards) 露出了灿烂的笑容，职业生涯首次捧起 NBA 全明星赛 MVP 奖杯。就在前一天，他还声称周日的“美国队对阵世界队”赛制无法为这项联盟赛季中期的盛会带回任何竞技火花。
这位明尼苏达森林狼队的后卫要么是被激发了斗志，要么是玩了一手漂亮的“声东击西”——他深知自己会全力以赴，并展示出他有多么在意竞争和球迷的认可。当爱德华兹和年轻的球星队 (Team Stars) 结束庆典，在周日的决赛中大胜老牌球员组成的条纹队 (Team Stripes) 时，这个周末已经成为了联盟近代史上最具影响力的周末之一。
以下是洛杉矶全明星周末浮现出的四个最大看点，包括焕然一新的全明星赛是否具有持久生命力，为什么达米安·利拉德 (Damian Lillard) 依然稳坐三分大赛王座，以及 NBA 总裁亚当·萧华 (Adam Silver) 在周末期间的言论对未来的选秀可能意味着什么。
全明星赛回归了吗？周日的表现证明这取决于球星们
你只需要看看维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 在第一场比赛结束后愤然离场的样子就明白了。
在球星队的斯科蒂·巴恩斯 (Scottie Barnes) 在加时赛中获得空位并投进绝杀三分后，这位圣安东尼奥马刺队身高 7 英尺 4 英寸的天才球员正朝着相反的方向走去，嘴里喃喃自语，因为有人在防守中漏人了。
“这是我们第二次在不该漏掉三分球的时候让对手投进，”文班亚马说，“我本以为我们在那种时刻会打得更聪明些，所以这令人失望。”
很少有球员会用“令人失望”来形容一场全明星赛的失利，至少在过去几年里是这样。通常情况下，让人失望的往往是比赛本身，因为它名不副实。
虽然文班亚马当晚没有赢得最有价值球员奖（MVP），但他其实表现得就像 MVP 一样。爱德华兹在赛后的新闻发布会上也承认了这一点，他表示文班亚马巨大的球场存在感激励了他，因为他害怕被这位后起之秀抢了风头。这种紧迫感甚至让其他全明星球员也保持了高度警觉。
“我当然起到了作用，”文班亚马说，“比方说，有人盖了我，或者有人在另一端被盖了。你不想让对手得分，你明白我的意思吗？”
这就是为什么你知道这场比赛在经历了多年的冷淡和批评后终于有了意义：球员们打出了汗水，送出了犯规（甚至还为此争论），并展示了情绪。文班亚马似乎并不介意承担起将这种强度带回全明星赛的责任，但这是他准备好承担起作为联盟门面责任的信号吗？
就文班亚马而言，他直言不讳地表达了自己的看法。
“这当然必须是顺其自然的事情，”文班亚马说，“NBA 可以宣传他们想要的任何人。但归根结底，谁是最好的球员，谁就是人们追逐的对象。成为联盟的门面，这种身份可以被包装，但在某种程度上也只能是这样。”
他的话是这个周末最具影响力的声音，其他球员也纷纷效仿。他们不需要经济激励，也不需要萧华的演讲。展现更多的努力和魅力正是观众想要的。诚然，球员们在周末期间忙得不可开交，在常规赛魔鬼赛程继续之前几乎没有休息时间。但周日证明了，联盟可以通过在比赛中注入竞争性来获得成功。
虽然文班亚马没有拿到 MVP 或胜利，但他在场上的表现和场下的激情帮助 NBA 赢得了一场急需的胜利。
“蚁人”在成为英雄前故作冷静
爱德华兹在关键时刻挺身而出，即使在他所在球队输给条纹队的那场比赛中，他也通过贴身防守抢断了凯文·杜兰特 (Kevin Durant)，并在转换进攻中命中了一记干拔三分，那球本可以让他的球队获得决定性优势，直到达龙·福克斯 (De’Aaron Fox) 投中了属于他自己的压哨绝杀。整个晚上，爱德华兹的能量带动了球队，尤其是在决赛中，当条纹队的老将们开始疲惫时，爱德华兹依然活力四射，毫无压力地带领球星队取得了一场大胜，虽然这场决赛远没有前三场比赛那么引人入胜。
他那种满不在乎的态度其实是他竞争心的掩护。底特律活塞队主教练 J.B. 比克斯塔夫 (J.B. Bickerstaff) 对此深有感触，他在上周末之前从未与爱德华兹有过深入接触。
“你会爱上每天都能带来这种能量的人，那种自带火花的人，”比克斯塔夫说，“那些对比赛充满热爱的人，对他们来说，篮球不是一件苦差事，而是他们发自内心热爱的东西。”
也许爱德华兹真的不想承担带领联盟走向下一代的责任。也许他不想让生活的方方面面都暴露在聚光灯下。但他出场的方式，他直视镜头并表现得如此泰然自若的样子，具有一种不可否认的魅力。对于习惯了球星形象完美且行为可预测的联盟办公室来说，这可能是件“可怕”的事，因为这些特质并不总是与这位富有激情的 24 岁年轻人联系在一起。
爱德华兹的个性几乎掩盖了他在球场上付出的努力。在过去两年的 NBA 版“四强”（分区决赛）中，明尼苏达森林狼队是唯一的常客，而爱德华兹正是其中的催化剂。他虽然还不是总冠军，但在过去的两个季后赛中，他已经击败了一些联盟巨人：尼古拉·约基奇 (Nikola Jokic)、勒布朗·詹姆斯 (LeBron James) 和凯文·杜兰特。
萧华关于“摆烂”的言论是否预示着选秀改革？
在萧华全明星周末期间最具影响力的一次采访中，这位总裁讨论了联盟扩军和球队搬迁的可能性。但最大的议论焦点集中在“摆烂”上，这已经成为联盟的一大祸害，多达 10 支处于重建期的球队似乎在积极争夺更好的选秀顺位。
联盟是否会进一步平摊乐透签的中签概率？或者干脆取消选秀，让新秀们自行选择球队？
据消息人士告诉 ESPN，目前后一个议题尚未出现在竞赛委员会的会议中。让无缘季后赛的球队通过锦标赛竞争选秀权的初衷也没有得到支持，这表明取消选秀距离联盟的计划还很遥远。几个主要障碍，包括通过集体谈判达成任何选秀改革，都需要被扫除。
目前，随着犹他爵士队成为最新一支备受指责的球队，NBA 似乎正在探索所有其他抑制摆烂的选项。这包括讨论更沉重的罚款，以及如果摆烂手段过于明目张胆，球队可能会失去选秀权。
在周末与联盟官员的讨论中，一些消息人士对其他方法持开放态度，例如在赛季早期就确定乐透赔率，而不是在完整的 82 场赛程结束后。但一位高级官员建议，最重要的是讨论对公然规避规则的球队的罚款金额。
“你要让他们在钱袋子上感到疼，”他们说，“如果联盟发现球队有违规行为，就不让他们获得全额的收入分成，会发生什么？”
摆烂挑战了联盟竞争的基础。即使本赛季出现了完美的“风暴”——球队为了在一个潜在的选秀大年之前保住选秀权而不断输球，联盟也应该考虑所有方案，以遏制每年一度的“向底部冲刺”的竞赛。
“利拉德时间”回归，三分大赛之王
没有人想看到达米安·利拉德在三分大赛中表现得像个躯壳，尤其是人们对他最后的印象还是他在上赛季季后赛首轮捂着断裂的跟腱。但利拉德知道他不会就这样谢幕，他击败了菲尼克斯太阳队球星德文·布克 (Devin Booker) 和夏洛特黄蜂队新秀康·克努佩尔 (Kon Knueppel)，拿下了他的第三座三分球大赛冠军奖杯。
“一开始这就像是个玩笑，”利拉德在谈到参加比赛时说，“正好有个名额……事情就是这么简单。我说我会参加，第二天我就出现在了比赛中。”
他现在还不能冲刺，也无法在球场上进行任何高强度的训练。但他绝对依然可以在三分线外百步穿杨。
“我认为这是必要的，也是球迷需要的，”利拉德说，“我想起我还是个孩子的时候，去参加 2000 年在奥克兰举行的全明星周末，我最兴奋的事情就是，天哪，这个家伙要在扣篮大赛里对阵那个家伙，还有这些家伙要在三分球大赛里较量。我曾经也是那样的球迷。”
与波士顿凯尔特人队球星杰森·塔图姆 (Jayson Tatum) 不同，利拉德并不急于在今年重返赛场帮助竞争对手进行冲刺，但这位 35 岁的未来名人堂成员似乎激励了一些神射手同僚在下个赛季加入他的行列。
联盟历史三分王斯蒂芬·库里 (Stephen Curry) 周日宣布，他将参加明年在菲尼克斯举行的比赛，并补充说他愿意说服前队友克莱·汤普森 (Klay Thompson) 一起参加。
库里和汤普森的 NBA 职业生涯都已接近尾声，但由于全明星周六之夜需要注入强心针，看到库里的竞争本能再次被点燃也就不足为奇了。如果明年的三分大赛表现出色，那要感谢利拉德，他似乎捕捉到了这个周末应有的精神，并激励了其他大牌球星加入其中。也许长期以来作为全明星周六之夜压轴戏的扣篮大赛，也需要类似的巨星推动。
由生成式人工智能翻译，译文内容可能不准确或不完整，以原文为准。
点击查看原文：NBA All-Star Game: Four major storylines after busy weekend in L.A.
NBA All-Star Game: Four major storylines after busy weekend in L.A.
Anthony Edwards beamed a smile as he cradled the NBA All-Star MVP trophy for the first time in his career, just a day after making the claim that Sunday’s U.S. vs. World format wouldn’t return any competitive fire to the league’s midseason showcase.
Either the Minnesota Timberwolves guard was motivated or he played a clever game of bait-and-switch, knowing he would compete and show how much he cares about competition and fan approval. By the time Edwards and the young Team Stars capped off the festivities, routing Team Stripes’ veterans in Sunday’s championship game, the weekend was already one of the more impactful in recent league history.
Here are four of the biggest storylines that emerged from Los Angeles, including whether the new-look All-Star Game has staying power, why the 3-point contest crown is safe with Damian Lillard and what NBA commissioner Adam Silver’s comments over the weekend could mean for the future of the draft.
Is the All-Star Game back? Sunday proved it’s up to the stars
All you had to see was Victor Wembanyama stomping off the floor following the first game.
After Team Stars’ Scottie Barnes was left open for a winning 3-pointer in overtime, the San Antonio Spurs’ 7-foot-4 phenom was headed in the opposite direction, talking to himself because someone missed an assignment.
“It was our second time allowing a 3 when we shouldn’t have,” Wembanyama said. “I would have expected us to be smarter right here, so that was disappointing.”
Rarely has a player used “disappointing” to describe an All-Star Game defeat, at least in the past few years. Usually, it has been the game itself that hasn’t lived up to billing.
Although Wembanyama didn’t win the night’s Most Valuable Player, he might as well have. Edwards admitted as much in his postgame news conference, stating Wembanyama’s massive presence motivated him to show up out of fear of being shown up. So much so that fellow All-Stars were on high alert.
“Of course I played a part in it,” Wembanyama said. “Say somebody blocks me or somebody gets blocked on the other end. You don’t want to let the opponent score, you know what I mean?”
That’s how you know this game meant something after years of apathy and critique: Players broke a sweat, committed (and argued) fouls and showed emotion. Wembanyama didn’t seem to mind the responsibility of bringing that intensity back to the All-Star Game, but is it a sign he’s ready for the responsibility of being the face of the league?
For his part, Wembanyama has no problem saying the quiet part out loud.
“It’s something that’s got to be natural, of course,” Wembanyama said. “The NBA can promote whoever they want. But at the end of the day, it’s going to be the best players and who the people ask for. Being the face of the league, it’s something that can be manufactured but only to some extent.”
His words were the weekend’s biggest influence, and other players followed suit. They didn’t need financial incentives or a speech from Silver. Showing more effort and charisma was what the viewers wanted. Yes, players are stretched thin through the weekend with little time to rest before the regular-season gauntlet continues. But Sunday proved the league can find success injecting drama into the game.
And although Wembanyama didn’t get MVP or a victory, his play on the court and passion off it helped the NBA secure a much-needed win.
Ant Man plays it cool before playing hero
Edwards rose to the occasion, even in the game his team lost to Team Stripes, hounding Kevin Durant into a steal and pulling up in transition for a 3 that would have given his team the deciding advantage until De’Aaron Fox hit his own buzzer-beating triple. Throughout the night, Edwards’ energy carried his team, especially in the championship game when the older players on Team Stripes started to tire. Edwards was fresh and had no problem leading Team Stars to a victory that wasn’t nearly as compelling as the first three games.
His nonchalant attitude was a cover for his own competitiveness. It was evident to Detroit Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff, who had never spent significant time with Edwards until this past weekend.
“You love people who bring that type of energy every single day, people who have that spark to them,” Bickerstaff said. “People who have that joy around the game, where the game of basketball is not a chore to them, it’s something they genuinely love.”
Perhaps Edwards truly doesn’t want the responsibility of leading the league into the next generation. Perhaps he doesn’t want a white-hot spotlight on every facet of his life. But there’s something undeniable about the way he shows up, the way he looks into the cameras and appears so comfortable in his own skin, which could be scary for a league office that likes its stars clean-cut and predictable, attributes not always associated with the electric 24-year-old.
Edwards’ personality almost obscures the work he has put into his game. The Minnesota Timberwolves are the only constant in the NBA’s version of the Final Four the past two years, with Edwards being the catalyst. He’s not yet a Finals champion, but he has taken out some of the league’s giants in the past two postseasons: Nikola Jokic, LeBron James, Kevin Durant.
Do Silver’s comments on tanking spell draft changes?
In one of Silver’s most impactful All-Star Weekend interview sessions, the commissioner discussed expansion and the possibility of relocation. But the biggest buzz centered around tanking, which has become a scourge on the league with as many as 10 rebuilding teams seeming to actively chase better draft position.
Could the league flatten the lottery odds even further? What about abolishing the draft altogether and letting prospects select their own teams?
So far, the latter talking point has not come up in meetings with the competition committee, sources told ESPN. The idea of lottery-bound teams competing against each other in a tournament also hasn’t gained traction, showing how far eliminating the draft is from the league’s plans. Several major hurdles, including getting any draft changes collectively bargained, would need to be cleared.
For now, with the Utah Jazz the latest team under fire, the NBA is seemingly exploring every other option to curb tanking. That has included discussions on heavier fines and the possibility of franchises losing draft picks should the tactics become so blatant.
In discussions with league officials over the weekend, some sources have been receptive to other methods, such as setting lottery odds earlier in the season instead of after the full 82-game schedule. But most important, a high-ranking official suggested, was discussing fine amounts for teams that are blatantly skirting the rules.
“You hurt them in the pocketbook,” they said. “What happens if they don’t receive their full revenue share if the league finds them guilty?”
Tanking challenges the fabric of competition in the league. And even if this season has provided the perfect storm of teams losing to keep pick protections ahead of a potential generational draft class, the league should consider every option to curtail the annual race to the bottom.
The return of Dame Time, 3-point contest king
Nobody wanted to see Damian Lillard looking like a shell of himself in the 3-point competition, especially when the last view of him was clutching a torn Achilles in the first round of last season’s playoffs. But Lillard knew he wasn’t going out like that, outlasting Phoenix Suns star Devin Booker and Charlotte Hornets rookie Kon Knueppel for his third 3-point crown.
“It started off as kind of a joke,” Lillard said of entering the contest. “Something opened up … It was literally that simple. I said I would do it, and the next day I was in the competition.”
He can’t sprint or do any serious on-court work right now. But he can absolutely still let it fly from beyond the arc.
“I think this was necessary and was needed for the fans,” Lillard said. “I think about when I was a kid and I went to All-Star Weekend in 2000 when it was in Oakland, and the No. 1 thing I was excited about was like, man, this dude is going to go against this dude in the dunk contest and these dudes going against each other in the 3-point shootout. I was once a fan like that.”
Unlike Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum, Lillard isn’t angling to get on the floor this year to help a contender for the stretch run, but the 35-year-old future Hall of Famer seems to have inspired some of his sharpshooting brethren to join him next season.
Stephen Curry, the league’s career 3-point king, announced Sunday that he’s entering next year’s competition in Phoenix, adding that he’s willing to talk former teammate Klay Thompson into joining him.
Both Curry and Thompson are closer to the end than the beginning of their respective NBA careers, but with Saturday nights in All-Star Weekend needing a boost, it’s not surprising to see Curry’s competitive juices flare up one more time. If next season’s 3-point contest delivers, thank Lillard, who seems to capture the spirit of what this weekend is supposed to be and who is inspiring other big names to join him. Perhaps the dunk contest, which has long been the anchor to All-Star Saturday night, needs a similar superstar push.
By Vincent Goodwill | ESPN, via ESPN