Honestly, if you look at the history of all star game winners, you start to realize it's less about the final score and more about who survived the format changes. We treat these games like they're etched in stone. They aren't. In fact, the way we track "winners" in 2026 is almost unrecognizable compared to the old-school East vs. West days.
Take the NBA. For decades, it was simple. You had the East, you had the West, and someone went home with a trophy. But then things got weird. We had the Elam Ending. We had captains like LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo drafting teams like they were on a playground. And now, in 2026, we're looking at a round-robin tournament style that basically turned the whole concept of a "winner" on its head.
Last year, in 2025, the NBA really leaned into the chaos. Steph Curry basically owned the Chase Center in San Francisco. He led "Team Shaq" to a win over "Team Chuck" in a tournament-style final, 41-25. It wasn't just a game; it was a mini-bracket. If you’re trying to keep a running tally of all star game winners, do you count each mini-game? Or just the final? Most fans just remember Steph holding the MVP trophy, and honestly, that’s usually how these things go.
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The Power Shift in Baseball and Hockey
Baseball is probably the most "stable" of the bunch, but even the MLB has its quirks. For a long time, the American League just couldn't lose. Between 1997 and 2009, the National League was basically just showing up to get beat. They went 13 games without a win.
But history is long. The NL had their own golden era from 1963 to 1982, winning 19 out of 20 games. It's like a pendulum. Recently, the AL has held the edge, leading the all-time series 48–45–2 as we headed into the 2025 midsummer classic. When the NL won at Truist Park in July 2025, it felt like the momentum might finally be shifting back, but the AL still holds that razor-thin lead in the history books.
Recent MLB All Star Game Winners
- 2025: National League (at Truist Park)
- 2024: American League
- 2023: National League (The streak breaker)
- 2022: American League
Hockey is even more disjointed. You can’t even track "East vs. West" anymore because the NHL changes its mind every few years. They’ve done North America vs. The World. They’ve done the fantasy draft. Currently, they love the 3-on-3 tournament format.
In the 2024 All-Star festivities, Team Matthews took the crown. It makes sense—Auston Matthews was playing in Toronto, and the home-ice advantage in these exhibition games is a real thing. People forget that the "winner" in the NHL now is actually a squad of 11 players who split a million-dollar prize. It's a business trip with better jerseys.
Why the NFL Pro Bowl Winners Don't Exist Anymore
If you’re looking for a score from the 2025 Pro Bowl, you're going to be disappointed. Or confused. The NFL officially killed the "game" part of the All-Star Game. It’s the "Pro Bowl Games" now.
Basically, the NFC "won" the 2025 event, but they did it through a mix of flag football and skills competitions like "Precision Passing." The final tally was 76-63 for the NFC. It’s a weird way to determine all star game winners when half the points come from Jared Goff hitting a target with a football while Eli Manning yells at him.
But hey, the players aren't complaining. Nobody is getting their ACL shredded in a meaningless tackle in February. The NFC has actually been on a bit of a tear lately, winning the 2023, 2024, and 2025 iterations of this new format.
The All-Time Legends of Winning
If you want to talk about individual all star game winners, you have to talk about LeBron James. The man is a statistical anomaly. He has 21 All-Star selections. That’s more than two decades of being one of the best 24 humans at basketball.
But winning the game is different. In the NBA, the winningest "captain" was LeBron for a long time—he went 5-0 under the captain-draft format before finally losing to Team Giannis in 2023.
In baseball, the "winners" are the pitchers who somehow don't get rocked. Lefty Gomez still holds the record with 3 individual wins as a pitcher. In an era where guys throw one inning and leave, that record might actually be unbreakable.
Most Career All-Star Appearances (Active & Recent)
- LeBron James (NBA): 21
- Hank Aaron (MLB): 25 (The all-time king)
- Gordie Howe (NHL): 23
- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (NBA): 19
It’s easy to get lost in the numbers. You’ve got Willie Mays with 23 hits in All-Star history. You’ve got Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux tied with 13 goals each in their All-Star careers. These guys weren't just participating; they were trying to win even when the game didn't matter.
What Most People Get Wrong
The biggest misconception about all star game winners is that the "best" team wins. They don't. The team that cares the least usually loses.
In the 2024 NBA All-Star Game, the East scored 211 points. 211! It was a layup line. There was no defense. The "winner" was simply the team that decided to shoot more 40-footers. That's why the league moved to the 2025 and 2026 tournament formats—to force players to actually care about the outcome.
Nuance matters here. A win in 1975 meant something different than a win in 2025. Back then, players actually disliked the guys in the other league. Now, they're all business partners and off-season workout buddies. The "win" is often more about the brand than the scoreboard.
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Practical Takeaways for Fans
If you're betting on or tracking these games, look at the host city.
- NBA: Steph Curry won MVP in San Francisco (2025).
- NHL: Team Matthews won in Toronto (2024).
- MLB: The home team’s league often gets a boost from the crowd energy.
Also, keep an eye on the "Contract Winners." Often, the real all star game winners are the young players like Victor Wembanyama or Cristiano Oliveira in MLS. For them, being on that stage is a resume builder that triggers contract incentives.
The format for the 2026 NBA All-Star Game in Los Angeles at the Intuit Dome is expected to keep the tournament style. This means the days of a single "winning team" are probably gone for good. We’re in the era of brackets, points for skills, and entertainment-first results.
To stay ahead of the curve, stop looking for a historical "standings" list. Start looking at which players are incentivized to show out. That’s where the real winners are found.
Check the official league archives for the most granular play-by-play data, as many "wins" are now split across various mini-games and skills challenges rather than a single 60-minute clock.