I was inside Intuit Dome for the 2026 NBA All-Star Rising Stars, where three games, four teams and a building full of the league’s next generation produced a night that ended with VJ Edgecombe taking home the MVP and Team Vince taking the championship.

There is a different kind of electricity inside an arena when the players on the floor are still introducing themselves to the basketball world.

I was inside Intuit Dome for the 2026 Castrol Rising Stars, and from the opening possession, it was clear that this was not going to look like a conventional NBA game. The format itself encouraged urgency: the two semifinal winners had to reach 40 points, while the championship was played to 25.

That meant there was no room to spend four quarters figuring things out.

Every possession mattered.

The field was divided among teams coached by four former NBA players: Carmelo Anthony, Vince Carter, Tracy McGrady and Austin Rivers. Anthony, Carter and McGrady drafted their NBA players, while Rivers coached the G League team. The NBA's young talent included players such as Dylan Harper, Stephon Castle, Donovan Clingan, Reed Sheppard, Kon Knueppel, Tre Johnson, Jaylon Tyson, Matas Buzelis, Kyshawn George and VJ Edgecombe.

And then the games started.

GAME ONE: TEAM MELO 40, TEAM AUSTIN 34

The opening semifinal immediately established the tone.

Team Austin struck first when Yanic Konan Niederhäuser finished an alley-oop from Ron Harper Jr., but Donovan Clingan answered for Team Melo with an alley-oop dunk from Stephon Castle.

Clingan was involved early and often, blocking Niederhäuser at the rim and later swatting away Harper Jr.'s putback attempt before knocking down a three from 25 feet. Reed Sheppard followed with a transition three, and Stephon Castle added a step-back jumper that pushed Team Melo's advantage to eight.

Team Austin did not stay there.

Niederhäuser answered with a three, Tristen Newton scored on a tip-in, Yang Hansen knocked down a three and Jahmir Young connected from deep as Austin repeatedly cut into the lead.

The game went back and forth enough to produce five lead changes and five ties, with Team Austin eventually taking a four-point lead.

Then Team Melo started closing the door.

Hansen's driving basket gave Austin a 32-28 advantage, but Sheppard answered with consecutive threes. The second one put Team Melo ahead 34-32, and the momentum inside the arena shifted immediately.

Castle then made both free throws after Ron Harper Jr. was called for a shooting foul, extending the lead to four.

Niederhäuser answered with a two-point hook, but Jeremiah Fears scored for Team Melo and Dylan Harper finished the semifinal.

The final possession carried a little extra weight because Dylan Harper was matched against his older brother, Ron Harper Jr. Harper isolated and knocked down a step-back jumper from inside the right elbow to reach 40 and end the game.

Team Melo won 40-34.

Clingan and Sheppard each finished with nine points, while Castle contributed six points and five assists. Team Austin was led by Niederhäuser with 11 points and Hansen with 10.

The game also gave the night its first reminder that Rising Stars is not simply about putting young players in the same building.

There were already stories happening inside the game.

Brothers were guarding brothers. Former lottery picks were sharing the floor with G League players. Players were trying to make an impression before the night even reached the championship.

And Team Vince was waiting.

GAME TWO: TEAM VINCE 41, TEAM T-MAC 36

The second semifinal started with Egor Dëmin attacking the basket for a reverse dunk, but Team T-Mac quickly established control.

Cam Spencer hit a three.

Kel'el Ware followed with a three of his own.

Tre Johnson pushed the lead to five with a transition layup, and another Johnson three eventually gave Team T-Mac an eight-point advantage.

Then VJ Edgecombe started working.

He scored on a pull-up jumper, later knocked down a three and helped Team Vince begin cutting into what had been an eight-point deficit.

Carter Bryant added a three from 28 feet, followed by a running dunk. Matas Buzelis also got into the action with an alley-oop dunk from Jaylen Wells.

Team T-Mac kept answering.

Jaylon Tyson connected from deep, scored eight points in the early stretch and eventually reached double figures. Tre Johnson added eight points, while Ware finished with seven.

But Team Vince kept getting closer.

Kyshawn George's putback gave Vince a 31-29 lead, and Edgecombe then took over the closing stretch.

He hit a three from 25 feet.

Then another from 27 feet.

Then a driving layup.

Team T-Mac tried to respond, with Tyson scoring on a fadeaway and Cam Spencer knocking down a jumper to bring the deficit to three.

It was not enough.

With Team Vince sitting on 39 points, Edgecombe took the ball and created space for a pull-up jumper from 20 feet.

Bucket.

41-36.

Game over.

Edgecombe finished with 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting, including three three-pointers, and scored the final 10 points for Team Vince. Tyson led Team T-Mac with 10 points and five rebounds.

That sent Team Vince into the championship against Team Melo.

And Edgecombe had already made it clear that he was not interested in simply participating.

THE CHAMPIONSHIP: TEAM VINCE 25, TEAM MELO 24

The championship game had an entirely different feel because the target dropped from 40 to 25.

There was no room for a slow start.

Donovan Clingan opened the scoring for Team Melo with a three from 27 feet.

Matas Buzelis answered with a driving dunk.

Edgecombe then finished a running dunk, while Clingan hit another three and Dylan Harper connected from deep to put Team Melo up 9-4.

Team Vince responded.

Kyshawn George scored on a putback, Buzelis finished at the rim and Egor Dëmin converted in transition to move Vince ahead 10-9.

From there, the game became a possession-by-possession exchange.

Dylan Harper tied the game at 10 with two free throws after a shooting foul on Dëmin. Carter Bryant then hit a three, Jeremiah Fears answered with one of his own, and the lead kept changing hands.

Team Melo took a 24-23 lead when Stephon Castle tipped in a missed shot by Fears.

That left Team Vince one possession away from losing.

Instead, the deciding sequence belonged to Edgecombe.

Clingan was called for a shooting foul, sending Edgecombe to the line with Team Melo ahead 24-23.

Edgecombe made the first free throw.

24-24.

Then he made the second.

25-24.

Game.

Team Vince had won the Rising Stars championship.

Edgecombe finished the championship with six points, and his combined performance across the semifinal and final earned him Rising Stars MVP honors.

THE OFFICIATING

The three officials assigned to the Rising Stars tournament were Nate Green, Phenizee Ransom and Matt Myers. Their crew worked all three games at Intuit Dome, with the official gamebooks documenting fouls, defensive-goaltending calls, turnovers, shooting fouls and the late foul that sent Edgecombe to the line for the championship-winning free throws.

One early example came in the second semifinal when Green called Kel'el Ware for defensive goaltending. Later in that game, Ransom called a shooting foul on Bub Carrington that sent Edgecombe to the free-throw line, while Myers called a shooting foul on Zaccharie Risacher that put Matas Buzelis at the stripe.

In the championship, Green was again involved in a pivotal call when Donovan Clingan was assessed a shooting foul with Team Melo leading 24-23.

Two free throws later, the game was over.

WHAT I SAW FROM INSIDE INTUIT DOME

The official numbers tell one story.

The atmosphere tells another.

From my position inside Intuit Dome, the most interesting part of Rising Stars was watching how quickly these players responded to pressure when the format gave them almost no room to hide.

There were no long stretches to settle into a rhythm. A player could miss two shots and immediately find himself responsible for another possession. A turnover could become a dunk on the other end. A three could completely change the game because the target was so close.

That made the decision-making especially noticeable.

Clingan established himself early in Game One. Sheppard changed the direction of the opening semifinal with two consecutive threes. Dylan Harper finished it against his own brother. Edgecombe then took over the second semifinal and carried that momentum into the championship.

By the time the final free throw dropped through the net, Edgecombe had gone from one of the young players in the building to the player leaving with the Rising Stars MVP trophy.

That is the strange beauty of this event.

You are watching players before their reputations have completely settled.

Some will become perennial All-Stars. Some will become stars in their own right. Some will take longer to find their place.

But inside Intuit Dome, on this particular Friday night, they were all still in the same place: trying to prove that they belonged.

And I was there to document that part.

Not after the fact.

Not from a box score.

From inside the building, while it was happening.

The culture moves quick, but my ink is quicker.

Pynnderella, The Fairytale Connoisseur