Kawhi Leonard stuns fans as he delivers ‘one of the greatest performances ever’ in NBA All-Star Game… but doesn’t win MVP
Kawhi Leonard stunned basketball fans as he delivered the standout performance of the NBA All-Star weekend.
The NBA held its 75th annual All-Star Game on Sunday, with three teams facing off in three 12-minute round-robin-style mini-games with the two top teams meeting in the final.
The 24 All-Stars were split into two American teams – the older ‘Stripes’ and the younger ‘Stars’ – and Team World, featuring the international players.
Leonard thrilled his home crowd in the Los Angeles Clippers’ Intuit Dome with a spectacular effort in the third short game of the mini tournament comprising the latest iteration of the main event of All-Star weekend.
The 34-year-old particularly impressed fans in the final mini-game with a 31-point barrage for the ‘Stripes.’
And social media was in raptures over the Los Angeles Clippers star’s performance, with some even going as far as to brand it one of the best they had ever seen.
Kawhi Leonard wowed as he delivered the standout performance of the NBA All-Star Game
The 34-year-old particularly impressed fans in the final mini-game with a 31-point barrage
‘Kawhi Leonard carrying the all star game,’ one social media user posted.
‘Kawhi hooped like it was an elimination game for his career,’ another fan claimed.
A gushing third wrote: ‘Kawhi gave us a SHOW this All Star!’
‘I can’t do what Kawhi did in a video game,’ insisted one fan. ‘I can’t believe I just saw that. Up there with [Steph] Curry in the Olympics or Tyrese [Haliburton] in every other playoff game in 2025.’
‘Best most electrifying performance of the night hands down was Kawhi,’ added another. ‘Reminded a few ‘hey this is who I am, am a fun guy.”
‘Really glad Kawhi had that moment. He’s legitimately been a top tier superstar this season and he has absolutely no shot to win the title. But 31 out of 48 will go down as one of the great All Star moments ever,’ one fan claimed.
‘Kawhi Leonard just had the most unbelievable performance I’ve ever seen in an all star game where they are actually trying,’ gushed another. ‘What a wasted career of sitting out combined with injuries he could have been the goat maybe.’
Even ESPN star Stephen A. Smith caught a stray dig as one user posted: ‘Kawhi is giving the best performance possibly ever at an all star game… didn’t @stephenasmith call for him to retire like 3 years ago?’
Join the debate
Should Kawhi Leonard have taken home MVP after his jaw-dropping All-Star Game performance?
The veteran was unable to replicate his haul in the title game, finishing with just one point
Anthony Edwards won the Most Valuable Player award while leading his ‘Stars’ team to victory
However, Leonard was unable to replicate his 31-point haul in the championship game, scoring just one point as the Stripes fell to the younger Stars.
Anthony Edwards won the Most Valuable Player award while leading his ‘Stars’ team to a 47-21 win over the ‘Stripes’ in the final.
The Minnesota Timberwolves star claimed his first All-Star MVP award with a tying 3-pointer in the first round-robin game followed by eight points in the final.
And, despite failing to ultimately claim glory in the final game, many furious fans claimed that Leonard had been ‘robbed.’
They insisted that the veteran should have been awarded MVP, with one even writing: ‘Kawhi got robbed, has the best performance in any of the games and still doesn’t get the [All-Star Game] MVP.’
The slightly older Stripes had beaten the slightly younger Stars on De’Aaron Fox’s 3-pointer at the buzzer in the second 12-minute, round-robin game. But Edwards led the Stars to victory in the rematch with the Stripes, who appeared to run out of gas while playing in their third straight mini-game.
The Intuit Dome crowd included former President Barack Obama, who received a standing ovation pregame, and Meghan Markle and Prince Harry.
