NBA All-Star Celebrity Game: Rome Flynn Named MVP As Team Giannis Wins

Let’s talk about Rome Flynn for a second. In a game that often devolves into sloppy turnovers and airballs, Flynn looks like he actually belongs on the hardwood. The Emmy-winning actor didn’t just show up to wave at the cameras; he came to work.

Flynn dropped 17 points on 50% shooting, looking smooth from the floor and surprisingly dangerous from deep, knocking down three of his seven attempts from beyond the arc. It wasn’t just empty stats, either. When Team Giannis needed a bucket to spark their Celebrity Game comeback, Flynn was the guy with the ball in his hands.

Securing back-to-back Celebrity Game MVP honors puts Flynn in rare air. Usually, celebs come in, have one good game, and retire on top. Flynn is building a resume. If he keeps this up, we might have to start having serious conversations about his jersey hanging in the rafters of the Celebrity Hall of Fame—right next to Kevin Hart’s sneakers.

Linsanity Returns With An 8-Point Haymaker

If Flynn was the steady hand in the Celebrity All-Star Game, Jeremy Lin was the fireworks show. For a brief moment in the fourth quarter, it felt like 2012 at Madison Square Garden all over again.

Here is where things got weird, in the best way possible. The NBA, in its infinite wisdom to make the game “fun,” introduced a “Double Time” button. The concept is simple: coaches press a button, and for a short window, every basket counts for double points. Add in the Ruffles 4-point line—a squiggly mark several feet behind the NBA three-point line—, and you have a recipe for chaos.

Giannis Antetokounmpo, coaching against Anthony Edwards, saw his moment. He hit the button. Flynn hit a free throw, but on the next possession, Lin decided to break the scoreboard.

Lin pulled up from the Ruffles line. He drained it. Do the math: 4 points for the shot, multiplied by 2 for the “Double Time” bonus. That’s an 8-point bucket. One shot. Eight points. It’s the kind of math that makes basketball purists scream, and everyone else lose their minds. That single shot turned a tight two-point lead into a commanding 10-point cushion, effectively icing the game. It was a moment of pure, unadulterated “Linsanity,” proving that the old magic is still there.

Mascots, Multipliers, and Mayhem

The NBA Celebrity Game is never just about basketball; it’s about the gimmicks. This year, the league leaned hard into the carnival atmosphere.

The first quarter saw fan-favorites earning bonuses, with Team Anderson’s Mustard and Team Giannis’ Keegan-Michael Key padding the stats. But the real comedy came in the third quarter with the “Deal of Defense.” The rule penalized the leading team (Team Anthony) by forcing them to play against a mascot double-team.

Watching Hugo of the Charlotte Hornets and Grizz of the Memphis Grizzlies apply full-court pressure on celebrities is objectively funny. Despite having two giant fur-suits swiping at the ball, Team Anthony actually managed to hold onto a 42-41 lead heading into the fourth. Keenan Allen, the Chargers wide receiver, looked like the best athlete on the floor for long stretches, pacing Team Anthony with 14 points. Tacko Fall matched him with 14 for Team Giannis, proving that being 7’6″ is still an unteachable skill.

The Final Verdict

In the end, it was the strategic use of the “Double Time” button that doomed Team Anthony. Edwards pressed his button first, but his squad couldn’t capitalize. Giannis waited, trusted his guys, and got the 8-point bomb from Lin to seal the deal. It was messy, it was loud, and the scoring system required a calculator. But for a Friday night exhibition? It was exactly what the fans wanted.