Steph Curry can’t save All-Star Game, but he can win it

SAN FRANCISCO — In an All-Star championship game already out of hand, Steph Curry decided to put a jolt into a dead Chase Center crowd.

Ever the showman, Curry pulled up from halfcourt and drained it. Finally, the crowd that sat through brutal stoppages and nonsensical basketball, had something to get out of their seats for.

Curry stamped a blowout victory with a trademark lookaway 3-pointer and by hoisting the Kobe Bryant All-Star Game MVP trophy.

For 16 years, Curry has sensed the moment and delivered, inspiring crowds and expanding the basketball imagination.

In Sunday night’s All-Star Game at Chase Center, there wasn’t a moment for him to rise to. He did so anyway.

Lifeless for almost the entire night, sitting through a commercialized production of performance smorgasbord, mostly uninspired basketball, long stoppages and gimmicks, the Chase Center crowd at least headed for the exits with a memory of their franchise player in mind.

“I think it was a good step in the right direction to reinvigorate the game in some way, and then you tinker with it again next year and see what changes you can make,” Curry said diplomatically. “I had fun. Our team had fun.”

Shaq’s OGs’ Stephen Curry (30) scores a basket against Chuck’s Global Stars’ Pascal Siakam(43) in championship game of the NBA basketball All-Star Game at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)

Curry scored 12 points in the championship, helping his Shaq’s OGs team to a 41-25 victory in the championship to win the first tournament-style All-Star Game by reaching the target score. He’s now the fourth player in league history with at least two league MVPs, two All-Star MVPs, and a Finals MVP, joining LeBron James, Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson.

Before Curry’s closing flurry, the most exciting action of the night was when a fan won $100,000 from Youtube star MrBeast for beating Damian Lillard in a 3-point shooting contest.

For Curry’s franchise-record 11th All-Star Game, he had a hand in tweaking the format. The league divided the selected All-Stars into three teams, with the Rising Stars champion joining them for a miniature tournament with games to 40 points. The changes were designed to revive an All-Star Game that had devolved because players stopped trying.

It was Curry’s weekend, and he ended it with a win. This was the Bay Area’s event for the first time in 25 years, and he’s its greatest son.

Shaq’s OGs including Shaq’s OGs’ Stephen Curry (30) and Shaq’s OGs’ Kevin Durant (35) check out the trophy next to Kevin Hart after beating Chuck’s Global Stars 41-25 in the championship game of the NBA basketball All-Star Game at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)

Curry strolled down memory lane at old Oracle Arena for Saturday morning practice, visions of gold and blue confetti falling for championships flooding back. There, he drilled a backwards halfcourt shot, igniting what had become one of the iconic NBA crowds of the century.

“(I) got real emotional yesterday going back,” Curry said. “I’ve been back a couple times before but not with a crowd and not with a basketball floor on the ground and being able to reminisce. It was very special for sure. I know there’s a lot of talk like, we should play a game there. I like that idea. Oracle holds a special place in my heart.”

Related ArticlesGolden State Warriors | Oakland native Damian Lillard wants NBA All-Star Game to return to its roots Golden State Warriors | Golden State Warriors | Kevin Durant teams up with Steph, feels Bay Area love in NBA All-Star Game Golden State Warriors | NBA All-Star Game: Roll call of celebrities who flocked to Chase Center Golden State Warriors | Draymond Green makes bold prediction about Warriors’ season

He hosted a party at the new Splash bar at Thrive City, dropped new Bay Area-themed sneakers and visited some of the playgrounds his Eat.Learn.Play. foundation has refurbished in Oakland.

An hour before tipoff of the miniature tournament, Curry warmed up with Kevin Durant and Lillard. Without a real game to play, he didn’t need to go through his typical routine. Nothing was typical around him — the upcoming target-score game against the Rising Stars champs, the swaths of fans overflowing onto the court, his Shaq’s OGs teammates.

On a roster full of future Hall of Famers, including LeBron James — who sat out — Curry got announced last. This was his party, and everyone knew it.

Shaq’s OGs’ Stephen Curry (30) shoots a 3-point basket while playing the Candace’s Rising Stars during Game 2 of the NBA All-Star Game at Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)

For much of the first game, a 41-32 Global Stars victory over the Young Guns, you could hear a pin drop in Chase Center. A subdued silence was only interrupted by Kevin Hart on the loudspeaker complaining about the game and a pickup-style emcee.

That certainly didn’t hype up the crowd. Could Curry?

The two-time MVP was immediately aggressive, sinking an effortless floater from the elbow on the first possession and then flipping in a 30-footer. Even still, there was nary a reaction from the crowd. Stoppages for various in-game entertainment activations interrupted whatever flow could’ve developed from a game that waxed and waned in intensity.

Curry scored eight points and Oakland native Lillard sank the game-winning 3 to lift Team OG to the finals, avoiding humiliation at the hands of the Rising Stars. Lillard later suggested returning the All-Star format to East vs. West and said he’d be open to putting home court advantage in the NBA Finals on the line, like MLB used to.

Shaq’s OGs’ Stephen Curry (30) poses with the MVP trophy after winning the championship game against Chuck’s Global Stars 41-25 for the NBA basketball All-Star Game at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)

The All-Star championship tipped off after what seemed like endless commercial breaks and miscellaneous on-court performances. When play finally resumed, Curry opened the championship game with a one-handed 3-pointer, igniting an 11-0 Team OG run.

TNT staged a 20-minute, farewell tour-style presentation for the Inside The NBA Crew, abruptly halting the championship. Much of the lowest moments of the event had nothing to do with the new format, but rather the interminable commercialization of the game.

“That was definitely not ideal,” Jaylen Brown said of the stoppage.

Jayson Tatum, trying slightly harder than almost everyone else on the court, drilled three 3-pointers and ended the game with a dunk.

On a low-energy night, Curry had the most aura. He’s still a box-office draw, even if the movie bombs.

“Everything kind of went exactly as it should,” Curry said of his weekend. “It was a 10 out of 10 experience for sure hosting the game here.”

Shaq’s OGs’ Stephen Curry (30) is introduced before the start of the NBA All-Star Game at Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)