Anthony Edwards walked off the floor in Minneapolis with the All-Star Game MVP trophy, a bandage of green-and-blue confetti still on his shoulders, and a story he had clearly been waiting to tell. The stuff Edwards talked about in his postgame press conference was less about scoring and more about the people he says have rewired how he prepares — Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, LeBron James, and one specific spectator he could not stop smiling about.
It started with the USA Basketball summer experience. Asked what carried over from his Olympic-cycle work with the senior national team, Edwards did not point to a system or a play call. He pointed to a calendar.
"Playing with the USA team taught me about having a routine — especially when it comes to being on the court — because, like, watching Steph, KD and Bron every day do the same routine," Edwards said. "It's normal for a person to get bored with the same thing, waking up doing this every single day. But I feel like that's what made them great, and that's what they taught me for sure."
The All-Star MVP itself came with an explanation that fit the Edwards-versus-format storyline. The 2026 game ran a three-team, 12-minutes-per-game format that asked players to compete in shorter bursts, and Edwards was an unapologetic fan.
"I think this format makes us compete, because it's only 12 minutes and the three different teams — you separate the guys — and I think it was really good," Edwards said. "I know they ain't going to really like take in what I'm saying, but I like it."
He gave a typically Edwards explanation of how he flipped his energy from the previous day, where his team had lost in confusing circumstances.
"They beat us the first game, and we thought we had won the game. Like, we didn't know that you played a whole 12 minutes out. We thought it was a first-to-40," Edwards said. "I had hit a three to get to 40 and we thought the game was over. And then Fox came back and hit a three, and they won."
The trigger to "wake up", he said, was Victor Wembanyama's tone-setting energy. The eventual MVP also dropped a not-so-subtle hint about who he was really playing for.
"Yeah, [Wembanyama] set the tone, and it was definitely competitive with all three teams. The Olds played hard, too. They were playing real good defense," Edwards said. "But yeah, he set the tone, and it woke me up for sure."
Then came the punchline. Edwards mentioned, almost in passing, that former United States President Barack Obama had been in the building. Obama is a long-time NBA fixture — but the ease in Edwards' voice made it clear the visit was personal rather than ceremonial.
"You always got to put on the show for him," Edwards said of Obama. "He's my favourite person in the world. We were kicking it yesterday — me and him — and I had a great time yesterday. So I told him I was going to put on the show for him."
Edwards praised Kawhi Leonard's 30-point quarter, joked that he had told Kawhi to "chill out", and admitted his goal for the moment was to bring the trophy back to Minnesota — where, in the same week, Wolves teammate Naz Reid was named Sixth Man finalist.
"I love Minnesota and I know Minnesota loves me. I said I wasn't going to put on the show for them, but I gave them a show," Edwards said.
A bigger moment was buried in the routine answer about routines. The veterans Edwards named — Curry, Durant, James — are the three players he is most often compared to as the next face of the league. His admission that he treats their boring daily habits as the actual lesson is the strongest hint he has given that the All-Star MVP is not the ceiling. It is the receipt.
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*Originally published on [NBA News Global](https://nbanews.global/article/anthony-edwards-usa-curry-durant-lebron-routine-obama-all-star-mvp-2026). Visit for full coverage.*