Minnesota Timberwolves shooting guard Anthony Edwards was named the MVP of the 2026 All-Star Game on Sunday, claiming the award for the first time in his career.
The 24-year-old scored eight points with four rebounds and two assists in the championship game, helping lift his USA Stars teammates over their fellow Americans on the Stripes team by a score of 47-21.
ANT: 2026 @Kia ALL-STAR MVP!
â NBA (@NBA) February 16, 2026
He receives the Kobe Bryant Trophy đ pic.twitter.com/eHypNna1DN
Edwards scored a combined 32 points throughout the USA Stars' three contests, including a team-high 13 in their first game - a 37-35 overtime victory over the World squad.
The four-time All-Star received 10 of 14 possible votes for the honor. Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard, playing for the Stripes team in his own arena at the Intuit Dome, was the only other player named on ballots.
The Timberwolves highflier joins Kevin Garnett (2003) as the only players in team history to win the All-Star Game MVP award.
"It's a step in the right direction," Edwards said when asked by NBC's Zora Stephenson about winning the All-Star Game MVP trophy. "That's all that is.
"We chose to compete today, and we came out on top."
With competitiveness at the All-Star Game a hot topic amid several format changes in recent years, Edwards credited the effort shown by San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama on the World team for setting the tone at the event.
The T-Wolves star said he had no reservations about going toe-to-toe against multi-time All-Stars like LeBron James and Kevin Durant in Sunday's showdown.
"I wanna cook them every time. You know that," Edwards said.
The two-time All-NBAer is putting up career bests in scoring (29.3 points) and efficiency (49.3% from the field, 40.2% from distance) through 46 regular-season games this year. He's also contributing 5.2 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 1.3 steals per game for Minnesota, which entered the All-Star break in sixth place in the Western Conference.
