Inspired by events from the NBA, the North American basketball league, the NBB (Novo Basquete Brasil) held the NBB Caixa 2026 Star Game this Saturday night (28), at the Ibirapuera Gymnasium, in São Paulo.
In addition to the All-Star Game, the event featured dunk, three-point and skills competitions.
Four teams participated in the small tournament, which had two semifinals and the final match. The Felício team and the Alexey team were formed by Brazilian players aged 24 and over. The Wini Silva (Young) team had Brazilian talents with a maximum of 23 years old. The Shamell (World) team was made up of foreign athletes.
The matches were played in two halves of 6 minutes each.
Dontrell Brite, Bauru Basket point guard and MVP of the current NBB season, was the highlight of the final. Playing for the Mundo team, he was named the game’s MVP.
The Mundo team, led by North American veteran Shamell Stallworth, a Caxias player, beat the Jovens team 42-31, led by Wini Silva, from Minas.
In the technical challenges, Von Haydin, from Brasília, won the three-point dispute; Caioka, from Rio Claro, won the dunk competition.
This year’s edition was held on a court with 480 square meters of LED flooring, which gave a new visual dynamic to the show and reinforced the entertainment nature of the league.
In the skills tournament, the title went to Tico Faria, from Corinthians. The tests maintained the traditional format, but were interspersed with the games.
Hortência Marcari, Paula Gonçalves and Janeth Arcain, who were part of the Brazilian team that won the silver medal at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta (USA), were honored on this 30th anniversary of that achievement.
A historic moment was Shamell’s farewell. Biggest basket in the history of the NBB, the athlete ended his career in the event with a title
The superintendent of the National Basketball League (LNB), Sérgio Barbosa Domenici, said that the All-Star Game plays a strategic role in connecting high-performance sport with the grassroots and social projects. “We are here to celebrate a great celebration of Brazilian basketball. A party like this motivates people to be together. An event like this brings basketball to the community, brings social projects inside and makes people motivated.”
With 28 wins in 34 games, Pinheiros is leading the NBB 2026. Behind them are Franca, with 26 wins in 32 games, and Flabasquete, with 25 wins in 32 games.
The 20 teams in the championship play 38 matches each in the first phase of the tournament. The 16 best go to the round of 16. The round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals are always played in three matches.
