It may have been NBA All-Star Weekend, but the Bay Area still took center stage. The Warriors' Steph Curry won MVP and led Shaq's OGs to the win.

Life-long San Franciscan Mia Gaehwiler was grateful to witness it with her family.

"It's the best, so much fun," Gaehwiler said.

She's been a Warriors fan for decades and has a special place in her heart for Curry.

"My daughter has been a Curry fan since she was this big at Curry Camp," said Gaewiler, gesturing to the height of a small child. "He was the one who delivered pizza in Hawaii and she fainted. It's like a once-in-a-lifetime thing."

Alijah McHenry didn't want to miss out on this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. So even though he didn't have tickets, he traveled from Vallejo to hang out in Thrive City.

"I can just go down the street and pay for Bart and just go straight here and chill out and watch the game," McHenry said.

Kofi Amoo traveled farther, all the way from New Jersey but he says it's worth it.

"It's wonderful, to get the best players in the world against each other with lots of stuff going on," Amoo said.

Amoo was especially excited about experiencing the new All-Star format in person.

"I think the ball game has suffered from a lack of competition so it's amazing that they're changing things up and we'll see how it goes," Amoo said.

Instead of one game, there were three.

Four teams competed and the winning teams from the first two games advanced to the final where a champion was crowned.

But not everyone preferred it.

"Actually I like the west with the east," said Derek Shen from San Mateo. "I like that more."

But Gaehwiler believes it made the game better.

"Most competitive I've seen," said Gaehwiler about the new format. "I love it. I love the three games, young people against the guys with bad knees and bad backs."

The 2026 All-Star Game will be in Los Angeles.