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Sports Illustrated

Sport

Blake Silverman

Top Five Moments From 2026 NBA All-Star Celebrity Game

NBA Shams Charania ESPN Nic Vansteenberghe Rome Flynn Tacko Fall Antetokounmpo Adam Silver Anthony Anderson Kevin Durant

The NBA All-Star celebrity game is organized chaos.

It’s a performative exhibition where some former NBAers can show that they still got it against the staunch competition of a wide array of celebrities. The Antetokounmpo brothers coached against Anthony Anderson this year with a wild mix of a player pool that included actor and comedian Keegan-Michael Key, rapper GloRilla, The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star Taylor Frankie Paul, Chargers receiver Keenan Allen and former NBA stars Jason Williams and Jeremy Lin to name a few.

Ahead of the premier events of All-Star Saturday and Sunday, the celebrity game provides some lighthearted fun that’s always good for the wackiest moments on a basketball floor. Wait, what do you mean the Hornets mascot put on a full-court press?

Here’s a list of the best and funniest moments from Friday’s All-Star celebrity game in Los Angeles:

5. Nic Vansteenberghe nearly takes a tumble during intros

Nic tripped over the carpet during his intro 😅

Watch the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game at 7 ET on ESPN and the ESPN App 🎥 🍿 pic.twitter.com/MchrjKLzom
— ESPN (@espn) February 14, 2026

Any Love Island fans out there?

Nic Vansteenberghe, of “Nicolandria” fame from the most recent season of Love Island, was on the floor for Team Anthony. Olandria showed up to support Nic for the contest—hopefully she didn’t see him trip over the red carpet while he was introduced. Although the joke is unbelievably over, it was a nice touch by Nic to go with jersey No. 67.

4. Rome Flynn wins second straight All-Star celebrity game MVP

RUN IT BACK, ROME 😤

For a second-straight year, Rome Flynn is your NBA All-Star Celebrity Game MVP 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/2uKtZZCcma
— ESPN (@espn) February 14, 2026

Do we have an All-Star celebrity game juggernaut on our hands?

Flynn, the Daytime Emmy Award–winning actor, received MVP honors for the second straight year after dropping 17 points in the win for Team Giannis. It was a bit of a surprise that Tacko Fall didn’t win MVP this time around with his dominance, but Flynn walks away with the award with a chance to go for the three-peat next year.

3. Tacko Fall dominates, because why not?

VIDEO GAME NUMBERS IN THE CELEBRITY GAME 🎮🔥

Tacko Fall was HOOPIN’ and took home the W at the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game 😤 pic.twitter.com/e6wTXCTbwj
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) February 14, 2026

Fall hasn’t played in the NBA since 2021, but he was obviously a good bet to dominate during the celebrity game. He’s played in the Chinese Basketball Association and Australian National Basketball League as recently as last year. He had a whopping 20 points, 21 rebounds and five blocks on Saturday, including a flashy dunk off an assist from Lions receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown.

SHOWTIME TACKO FALL 🤯

Tap to watch on ESPN: https://t.co/KpC9nJ3Qp3 pic.twitter.com/quWI8T7tVo
— #NBAAllStar (@NBAAllStar) February 14, 2026

2. Suns owner Mat Ishbia hits a jumper over Tacko Fall

MAT ISHBIA WITH THE PULL UP BUCKET 🤯🤯 pic.twitter.com/98Jee83Uoq
— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) February 14, 2026

The Suns owner competed in the exhibition, but don’t get it twisted—Ishbia is no slouch. He was a walk-on guard for Tom Izzo’s Michigan State national championship squad in 2000. He’s a forward-facing owner who can still hoop a bit, sinking a high-floating jumper over the 7' 6" Fall.

1. Shams Charania still refuses to put his phone down

@ShamsCharania on his phone in the middle of the All-Star Celebrity Game 😅 pic.twitter.com/FVGZy94Y00
— ESPN (@espn) February 14, 2026

ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania was part of the winning Team Giannis. That didn’t stop his coach from getting a friendly jab in as Antetokounmpo hilariously said that Charania “can’t hoop” pregame. Why not poke a little fun after Antetokounmpo was at the center of NBA trade rumors until the Bucks decided to keep him past the deadline?

Even better were the shots of Charania still on his phone during the game. NBA fans wanted to see Charania lace up, but the bigger question was how he would survive without his phone during the game.

Well, he didn’t. The NBA never sleeps and Charania might have had to check on Zach LaVine’s season-ending injury which surfaced during the action. Even Kevin Durant couldn’t believe it.