Hour 1: Did the NBA Fix the All-Star Game?

First Take

ESPN Radio

Sports

4.0 • 5.7K Ratings

🗓️ 16 February 2026

⏱️ 47 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

First Take is live with a new and improved All-Star game!! The US vs. World format proved successful as players tried, LeBron skied, and Kawhi turned the tide! Wemby and Ant led the way, and may have started a "face of the league" off. Is this All-Star game rendition here to stay? (0:00) Then, LeBron seems ready for life without the NBA, but is the NBA ready for life without LeBron? Who can we look at as the league's torch carrier after King James calls it quits? (34:30) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is your latest idea.
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0:30.3	The 75th NBA All-Star game.
0:33.1	This year features a new format.
0:34.7	The USA versus the world.
0:36.7	This is the main event. For the win,
0:39.3	he's got it. LeBron, Logo Braun. Fox for the win!
0:44.8	The winner!
0:47.3	Games one and two have delivered. Straight cash for Kauai. Team World is eliminated.
0:56.0	A dominant effort from the USA Stars team.
1:00.0	They will win the 75th NBA All-Star game.
1:07.8	Oh, welcome in the first take on a Monday morning. Kendrick Perkins, Brian Windhorst. Stephen A. Smith, Amina Smith, here with you. And, guys, look, I was looking forward to being with everybody. Stephen A, you let me hear all by myself in New York. At least Perkin, Winnie. They got an excuse. I'm just here by myself, man. What's going on? Well, well, well, well, well, first of all, to my brothers, it's good to see y'all, Wendy and Big Perk, to you and me that you know how special you are to me. Had I known ahead of time that you were going to be there. I mean, I would like to say I would have made concessions, but, but, but you see the background.
2:03.8	You see where I'm at, right? You know what? You know what? So, so, so, so I would just say I heard it's still a little bit cold up there, but I will be there the rest of the week. I will be in the city, in the city. I'll be back. Look, we can't get you away from Miami if we tried, Stephen A. And look, I don't blame because the weather down there is absolutely beautiful.
2:02.0	All right, Lila, let's jump right into it. If you weren't
2:07.0	interested in the NBA All-Star game before, last night might have made you a believer. The NBA
2:11.9	debut, their all-new All-Star game format Sunday night. The effort was seen all throughout the tournament.
	...

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