NBA All-Star Game: Four major storylines after busy weekend in L.A. - ESPN

Anthony Edwards beamed a smile as he cradled the NBA All-Star MVP trophy for the first time in his career, just a day after making the claim that Sunday's U.S. vs. World format wouldn't return any competitive fire to the league's midseason showcase.

Either the Minnesota Timberwolves guard was motivated or he played a clever game of bait-and-switch, knowing he would compete and show how much he cares about competition and fan approval. By the time Edwards and the young Team Stars capped off the festivities, routing Team Stripes' veterans in Sunday's championship game, the weekend was already one of the more impactful in recent league history.

Here are four of the biggest storylines that emerged from Los Angeles, including whether the new-look All-Star Game has staying power, why the 3-point contest crown is safe with Damian Lillard and what NBA commissioner Adam Silver's comments over the weekend could mean for the future of the draft.

All you had to see was Victor Wembanyama stomping off the floor following the first game.

After Team Stars' Scottie Barnes was left open for a winning 3-pointer in overtime, the San Antonio Spurs' 7-foot-4 phenom was headed in the opposite direction, talking to himself because someone missed an assignment.

«It was our second time allowing a 3 when we shouldn't have,» Wembanyama said. «I would have expected us to be smarter right here, so that was disappointing.»

Rarely has a player used «disappointing» to describe an All-Star Game defeat, at least in the past few years. Usually, it has been the game itself that hasn't lived up to billing.

Although Wembanyama didn't win the night's Most Valuable Player, he might as well have. Edwards admitted as much in his postgame news conference, stating