For Cleveland Cavaliers' Donovan Mitchell, the importance of the All-Star Game is about the level of play, not the format.
The NBA tried something new for this year’s All-Star Game. Instead of having two teams play four 12-minute quarters, the league held a tournament featuring Team World, Team Stars, and Team Stripes.
The three teams played in a round-robin tournament, with the two teams with the best records facing off in a championship game to earn the title of NBA All-Star Weekend champions.
Cleveland Cavaliers’ Donovan Mitchell competed for Team Striples, who ultimately lost to Team Stars in the championship game.
Mitchell didn’t have any huge takeaways, good or bad, from this format, but he was encouraged by the level of play, something the NBA has been criticized for over the last few years.
“It was intense. I think it was what everybody wanted, everybody expected,” explained Mitchell.
“Honestly, it's not about the format. To me, it's more just about that level. I think that was just the level of play we wanted. I'm not really tripping on any format. Just go out there and hoop amongst the best. I do personally like East and West, but, like, if it's this, it's fine.”
Feb 15, 2026; Inglewood, California, USA; Team USA Stripes guard Donovan Mitchell (45) of the Cleveland Cavaliers shoots in game four against Team Stars during the 75th NBA All Star Game at Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn ImagesTo Mitchell’s point, it did feel like the level and intensity were higher compared to past years, especially in the final game.
As for the games themselves, Mitchell liked what he saw, even though his team didn’t come out on top.
“That was great. The first game set the tone of how it was gonna be played, and we went out there and followed suit. Our age caught up to us in the second game,” said the Cavaliers All-Star.
“At the end of the day, to see young guys hooping a world [team] hopping, Kawhi Leonard doing what he does, Big Bron, KD, like, being around that is always a blessing and an honor, um, to be on this stage in front of the fans.
It’ll be interesting to see where the All-Star Game goes from here. Will the league keep it as a round-robin tournament, or go back to the traditional East vs. West format?
As long as the level of intensity is there, it doesn’t appear that Mitchell has too big a preference for the format of the competition itself.
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