All-Star Game 2023: Jayson Tatum wins MVP, Team Giannis

SALT LAKE CITY — Team Giannis won the 72nd NBA All-Star Game over Team LeBron, 185-174, on Sunday. Here’s what you need to know:

  • Jayson Tatum, the game’s MVP, set an All-Star single-game scoring record with 55 points, breaking Anthony Davis’ old mark of 52 points set in 2017.
  • Team Giannis’ charity of choice, Raise the Future, won $550,000.
  • LeBron James, who lost for the first time in six tries as an All-Star captain, set NBA records for All-Star appearances (19) and consecutive selections (19).
  • For the first time in All-Star history, the two teams were selected by team captains moments before tip, as though it were a schoolyard game.

The Stars

Tatum, a noted Kobe Bryant fan who won the All-Star award named after his hero, scored 27 in the third quarter en route to his first All-Star MVP. He connected on 10 3s and added 10 rebounds in 35 minutes.

The 2023 NBA All-Star game is set to tip-off on Sunday, Feb. 19 from Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City for the first time in 30 years. Coverage of the event begins at 7:30 p.m. ET as team captains LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo will draft their teams from the list of participants, followed by the game at 8:30 p.m. ET.

With a star-studded list of players taking the court again this year, let’s take a look back at where each player went to school and the programs with the most players selected to participate this year.

*Captains LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo as well as Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic are absent from this list after James was drafted out of high school and the remaining three were drafted from teams overseas.