LeBron James came into the All-Star Game with one goal in mind: Lead his team to a victory in the new All-Star Game format. It was Team LeBron vs. Team Stephen Curry. The new format put more than just a victory at stake for James. His reputation was at stake. After all, he handpicked the team himself. 

James made sure he got the win. Despite being down most of the game, Team LeBron came back late in the fourth and pushed out a victory, 148-145 (box score). James was a huge factor for the entire contest and finished with 29 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists. He also came up with the game-winning stop against Curry. That was enough to win MVP.

While Team LeBron vs. Team Steph was a cool idea, it would have fallen flat on its face had the players not given the effort needed to make it interesting. This one was different. Everybody, for the most part, played defense and you could see how much everybody wanted to win. James helped set that tone from the start. 

It will be interesting to see if future captains also win the MVP award. They have the most to prove in these games, since their name is on the title card. That had to have played a role in James' performance. Hopefully that kind of energy will continue in future games.