NBA commissioner Adam Silver confirms that the 2026 All-Star Game will feature a ‘USA vs. World’ format

National Basketball Association (NBA) commissioner Adam Silver confirmed on Wednesday, June 4 (Philippine Standard Time), that next year’s All-Star format will feature a USA vs. the World format.

The decision by the NBA comes after last February’s revamped All-Star format came in for criticism and drew poor ratings across the country. Silver along with Byron Spruell, the NBA’s President of League Operations had confirmed in April that the league were in discussions with the NBA Players Association and broadcast partner NBC about replacing the current format with an international competition starting in 2026.

In an appearance on Breakfast Ball on FS1, Silver admitted that the 2026 NBA All-Star Game would feature a USA vs. World format.

Adam Silver says next year’s All-Star Game will feature Team USA vs. Team World

( @BrkfstBallOnFS1 )

pic.twitter.com/dZyXZHPKhZ

— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) June 4, 2025

“Yes. So next year as part of our new media deal, the All-Star Game returns to NBC where it was when we were younger. And it so happens that next season will be smack in the middle of the Winter Olympics. So the game will be on NBC and the very day we’re on, the lead-in will be Winter Olympic events and then coming out of the All-Star Game, which is now gonna be in the afternoon instead of the evening, there’ll be more Olympic events so what better time to feature some form of USA against the World,” Silver stated.

“I’m not exactly sure what the format will be yet, I mean, I obviously paid a lot of attention to what the NHL did which was a huge success. But also, going back last summer our Olympic competition was a huge success. Those games USA-Serbia, USA-France and by the way, to your point about the European style, a more physical style of basketball, a 40-minute game which we won’t reference again, I just said it happened to be a 40-minute game in the Olympics we’re not changing it, but I think that’s another example,” he added.

The 2026 All-Star Game will be held at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, the new home of the LA Clippers, on February 15. The game will take place on Sunday afternoon rather than in the evening due to the Winter Olympics. Notably, the Intuit Dome is also the scheduled venue for the basketball competition in the 2028 Olympic Games.

Several NBA players—including Victor Wembanyama, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Draymond Green—have voiced their support for the league to hold an international competition, as discussed during last year’s All-Star Weekend. With players like Antetokounmpo, Wembanyama, Nikola Jokic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Pascal Siakam, Alperen Sengun, Luka Doncic, and Karl-Anthony Towns, the league has at least eight international stars regularly selected for the All-Star team.

According to the NBA, 70 percent of the league’s players are American, which could make it easier to assemble a competitive international All-Star roster to face off against a U.S. team.

OKBET is Asia’s most trusted and popular online sports gaming platform. Visit us on OKBET to stay up to date with all sports news from around the world.