NBA All-Star Game finally had juice, and MVP Anthony Edwards credits Victor Wembanyama

The NBA finally got what it’s been chasing for years at All-Star Weekend: Real juice.

And MVP Anthony Edwards says it started with one guy refusing to treat it like a vacation run.

“Wemby set the tone,” Edwards said, via ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “It was competitive with all three teams. He woke me up, for sure.”

The league ditched the old East vs. West setup in favor of a three-team, round-robin format — Team Stars, Team Stripes and Team World — with 12-minute games and no time to coast.

That alone helped. But Edwards made it clear the real shift came when Victor Wembanyama played the opener like it actually mattered.

Wembanyama finished the first game with 14 points, six rebounds and three blocks, and nearly dragged Team World to a win before Scottie Barnes buried a walk-off three in overtime. The miss sent Wembanyama storming to the bench, visibly annoyed. That’s not exactly standard All-Star behavior.

“That’s a game I cherish,” Wembanyama said. “Being competitive is the least I can do.”

Edwards followed suit.

He went on to take home MVP honors after a 32-point performance, edging Kawhi Leonard, who had his own moment in front of the home crowd at Intuit Dome. Leonard torched Team World for 31 points in 12 minutes, prompting Barnes to laugh afterward.

“We were just like, ‘Damn, this guy is killing,’” Barnes said. “That’s what the people want to see.”

Even Kevin Durant signed off on the shift.

“It was definitely a step up in competitiveness,” Durant said. “That’s what we’re supposed to do for the fans.”

Edwards is all in on bringing the format back next year.

Short games. Different teams. No time to sleepwalk. And if Wembanyama treats it like May instead of February?

Turns out, everyone else might too.