“It is what it is at this point.”
That is the now-infamous quote from Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards the day before the 2026 NBA All-Star Game. The 24-year-old superstar gave that response when he was asked if there was going to be more effort with the new All-Star game format. His nonchalant answer probably didn’t cause Adam Silver to be thrilled.
A day later, though, Edwards’ play on the court made that previous comment a false one. Ant clearly cared, so much so, that he was named the 2026 NBA All-Star Game MVP.
Edwards credits Wemby for bringing the effort
The talk surrounding the NBA All-Star Game in recent years has been about the lack of effort given by the participants. If they don’t care, why should the fans? Silver has been trying to find an answer by changing the format of the game pretty much annually.
This year saw USA players take up two teams and the rest of the world make up a third team as the 3 engaged in a round-robin tournament. It was clear from the start that, at least for now, Silver found a format that would bring the competitive juices out of the players.
Ant-Man surely noticed this and saw his Stars team easily dispose of the other USA team, the Stripes, 47-21 in the finals. That was preceded by a two-point overtime win for the Stars over the World and losing to that same Stripes team by two.
After the game, Edwards credited Victor Wembanyama for the increased effort.
"I'm ain't gonna lie, Wemby set the tone. He came out playing hard, and you know we had to follow that, and we had to pick up as a red team, and we did," Edwards said.
Nobody wants to get embarrassed, so if effort is being given and you’re loafing, it will be mocked throughout social media. So if it took one player to up the ante and get others to work hard, then shout out to Wemby.
Now, much of Edwards’ interview with the All-Star Game media on Saturday was fun-natured with Ant-Man giving humorous responses. Did he actually believe that lack of trying "is what it is" at the All-Star Game, or did he already know that he’d be putting in the necessary effort to win?
Edwards put on a show and allowed there to be many happy fans throughout Minnesota. He is now the second Timberwolves player to be named All-Star Game MVP behind Kevin Garnett in 2003. Playing at an MVP level as an All-Star is hopefully a harbinger of things to come for Ant-Man for the rest of the regular season and playoffs.