Everything that happened during NBA All-Star Saturday

The 2026 NBA All-Star Saturday events took place at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles. Scroll down for everything you need to recap the 3-Point Contest, Shooting Stars competition, and Slam Dunk contest.

Need to know 📌

• Keshad Johnson wins Slam Dunk contest
• Team Knicks claim Shooting Stars event
• Damian Lillard captures 3rd 3-Point Contest
• Rising Stars lead way on All-Star Friday

Johnson edges Bryant for Slam Dunk contest honors

Johnson takes the crown: Keshad Johnson is the 2026 NBA Slam Dunk contest champion with a final-round score of 97.4. Carter Bryant was in the driver's seat after a perfect 50 before struggling with several missed attempts on his last dunk. This was Bryant's contest to lose, and he obliged.

Bryant sets the tone: Bryant received a score of 50 from all five judges for his first try of the final round for the cleanest dunk we've seen thus far. Johnson is up next and converts a windmill from just inside the foul line on his second attempt for a score of 47.8.

Johnson, Bryant advance to final round: Bryant and Johnson advanced to the final round courtesy of some solid dunks that were enough to satisfy the judges. Bryant's second dunk was the highest-scoring attempt in the opening round. Still no perfect 50s.

Richardson takes a spill: Full credit to Jase Richardson, who hit the deck on a failed attempt at his second dunk. Reggie Miller said on the broadcast that Richardson's hair might have saved him from a concussion. Miller doesn't know how concussions work. Richardson got a 43.4 for his efforts.

Johnson leads early: Miami Heat forward Johnson leapt over Bay Area rapper E-40, converting the dunk on his second try to take the lead after one dunk per competitor. The judges were very generous with Jaxson Hayes' limp attempt.

Jase channels his pops: The first round is underway and Orlando Magic guard Richardson, whose father Jason won this event in 2002 and 2003, gets on the board with a 45.4 score, just behind Carter Bryant's 45.6.

The judges are unveiled: Julius Erving, Dwight Howard, Dominique Wilkins, Corey Maggette, and Brent Barry are introduced as the judges. Here's hoping they're not feeling charitable tonight and hand out 50s for mid dunks like in recent years.

Luda takes the stage: Atlanta rapper-turned-actor Ludacris performed a family-friendly medley of some of his biggest hits while those in attendance prepared themselves for the Slam Dunk contest. Move, Druski, get out the way!

Preview

There will be no Return of the Mac this year. Three-time reigning winner Mac McClung has opted not to compete, citing that he'd rather be known as all-around basketball player than merely a dunker. I've got bad news for you, Mac. So much for the adage "a jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one."

Los Angeles Lakers center Jaxson Hayes is joined by three players who've amassed a total of zero NBA starts in an All-Star event that's all but lost its luster. Could this year buck a recent trend? Stay tuned and find out.

Each player will be scored on two dunks in Round 1, and the two with the best combined score will progress to the final round. The two finalists will again attempt two dunks each. The player with the highest combined score in the final wins the event.

Team Knicks claim Shooting Stars competition

Let's hear it for New York: A pair of late four-point buckets was enough for Team Knicks to edge Team Cameron by a 40-38 scoreline. This is the first thing the Knicks have won in more than 50 years, not including the NBA Cup. Was it fun? Not really.

More like Carry Maggette: Former NBAer Maggette put Team Cameron on his back to drop 38 in the final round. Shout outs to celebrity passer Anthony Anderson of "Kangaroo Jack" fame.

Bing bong: Team Knicks trio Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Allan Houston set the standard with a first-round score of 31 to advance to the finals. They'll be joined by Team Cameron.

Team Cameron duke it out: Duke products Kon Knueppel, Jalen Johnson, and Corey Maggette put up a first-round score of 24 that would make Mike Krzyzewski proud, provided he's watching.

What is Druski good at? "Comedian" Druski was the "celebrity passer" for Team All-Star, and his passing was not a fitting tribute to Chris Paul as Scottie Barnes, Chet Holmgren, and Richard Hamilton posted an underwhelming score of 16.

Preview

Saturday's events continue with the return of the Shooting Stars competition after an 11-year hiatus, replacing the Skills Challenge on the 2026 itinerary after Victor Wembanyama and Chris Paul's rule-breaking routine from a year ago.

A quartet of teams made up of two current players and one "legend" are tasked with making shots from seven marked spots on the floor in 70 seconds.

Lillard returns to win 3rd 3-Point Contest

Dame wins it all: Damian Lillard went second in the championship round after Knueppel's 17-point display and dropped 29, including a 4-pointer from the "From the Logo" spot. Devin Booker went last and scored 27, crowning Lillard as the third three-time 3-Point Contest winner in event history.

It's Dame Time: Despite a torn Achilles, Lillard advanced to the final round with a score of 27. Booker (30), Knueppel (27), and Lillard will participate in the championship round.

Wet like I'm Book: Phoenix Suns star Booker went Sicko Mode in Round 1, putting up 30 points to claim the lead.

Maxey, Portis put up bricks: Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey and Milwaukee Bucks veteran Bobby Portis Jr. posted 17 and 15 points, respectively, immediately bowing out of the competition. Good stuff.

Murray has shaky debut: First-time All-Star Jamal Murray, the best thing from Kitchener, Ontario since Canada's 10th and longest-serving Prime Minister, William Lyon Mackenzie King, posts a first-round score of 18.

Knueppel starts hot: Hornets rookie Knueppel went first and drained the final three money balls to set the standard with 27 points.

Preview

The festivities tip off with the 3-Point Contest, which replaces the Skills Challenge as Saturday's curtain-raising event. The most intriguing name on the list of perimeter threats is Portland Trail Blazers guard Lillard, who has not played this season due to a torn Achilles.

Lillard, who won the competition in 2023 and 2024, and Booker (2018) are the only previous winners participating in the event this year.

Portis, Knueppel, Maxey, and Murray are all making their 3-Point Contest debuts. Knueppel will attempt to become the first rookie to win the event since its introduction in 1986.

The players will attempt to score as many points as possible from multiple 3-point locations during a 70-second round. The three highest scorers from the opening round advance to the championship round, where the highest score determines the winner.

All-Star Friday

All-Star Weekend kicked off Friday with the Rising Stars mini-tournament and All-Star Celebrity Game. Here's a quick look at what went down:

Rising Stars tournament

Team Vince defeated Team Melo 25-24 in the "next bucket wins" final behind an enormous performance from Philadelphia 76ers rookie VJ Edgecombe. Edgecombe earned MVP honors after recording 17 points in the semifinal and six in the final.

Edgecombe scored the final 10 points in a 41-36 victory over Team T-Mac in the second semifinal, icing it with an isolation step-back jimmy against Cam Spencer of the Memphis Grizzlies.

The highlight of the annual mini-tournament was a 1-on-1 situation with San Antonio Spurs rookie Dylan Harper and older brother Ron Harper Jr.

Dylan isolated his brother with some crafty dribbling before nailing the game-winning bucket in the semis to lead Team Melo to the final.

So much for brotherly love.

All-Star Celebrity Game

Canadian sprinter and seven-time Olympic medalist Andre De Grasse, two-time FIFA World Cup champion Cafu, All-Pro NFL wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, and ESPN insider Shams Charania were among the competitors for the annual event.

If the NBA All-Star Game is a contest marred by indifferent - and often nonexistent - defense, than this exhibition is an outright decree against it.

Giannis Antetokounmpo, who will not participate in Sunday's game due to injury, coached one of the teams alongside brothers Thanasis and Alex. The fourth Antetokounmpo bro, Kostas, is currently playing in Greece with Aris, and opted out. Actor Anthony Anderson coached the other team.

Back-to-back MVP Rome Flynn scored 17 points with four assists to lead Team Giannis in a 65-58 win over Team Anthony. Former Boston Celtics center Tacko Fall, who currently plays in China with the Ningbo Rockets, chipped in with 20 points, 21 rebounds, and five blocks for Team Giannis.

Charania did not have the same impact as teammates Flynn and Fall, posting a Tony Snell-inspired stat line in a winning cause.

Don't quit your day job, Shams.

Also, it would be wrong not to shine a spotlight on a thrilling ending to the annual HBCU Classic, which also took place Friday at the Intuit Dome.

North Carolina A&T's Trent Middleton Jr. converted an acrobatic and-1 with seconds remaining to seal a memorable comeback victory over Hampton University. Jalyke Gaines-Wyatt was nearly the hero for Hampton when his floater attempt at the buzzer cradled the rim before falling out.

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