D'Angelo Smith named MVP as LSB All-Star Weekend lights up Hatillo with ex-NBA legends and halftime spectacle

The Liga Superior de Baloncesto hosted its biggest-ever All-Star Weekend on May 2 at the Ciudad Deportiva de Hatillo in San Jose, with D'Angelo Smith (190-SG, college: Eastfield) earning the game's Most Valuable Player award in an event that blended high-level basketball with a concert-style entertainment spectacle unprecedented in Central American hoops.
The event, billed as the largest basketball celebration in the region's history, featured a Celebrity Game headlined by three former NBA players Cedric Ceballos (201-F-1969, college: CS Fullerton) (1995 NBA All-Star and Slam Dunk Contest champion), Craig Smith (201-F-1983, college: Boston Coll.) (Minnesota Timberwolves, Portland Trail Blazers, LA Clippers) and Keith Closs (224-C-1976, college: CCSU) (LA Clippers, Harlem Globetrotters). The ex-NBA trio also led youth basketball clinics and community reading activities in Hatillo during the morning before the evening showcase.
Puerto Rican reggaeton star De La Ghetto the LSB's official Host for the 2026 season and the first international artist to associate his brand with an entire professional league performed an exclusive halftime show designed specifically for the Costa Rican audience.
The All-Star Weekend kicked off on Friday, May 1 with a Celebrity Kick-off Party for invited guests and sponsors before Saturday's main event at the Ciudad Deportiva.
The LSB is currently in the thick of a compelling 2025-26 season. Escazu recently captured the championship after rallying from behind to edge Abogados Seminario 71-70 in a dramatic Game 5 of the finals, while the league's profile continues to grow under ambitious organizational leadership that views basketball as Costa Rica's second-biggest sport.
"Our goal is clear: to position national basketball with a world-class event," the LSB organizing committee said in the lead-up. "With this level of production, hospitality, and talent, we are demonstrating that Costa Rica is ready for major sporting events with social impact."