NBA announces new All-Star Game format featuring USA, World teams

The NBA has announced a revamped format for its upcoming All-Star Game, geared toward showcasing the league’s global talent and appealing to fans around the world. 

The event, set to take place in Inglewood, California on February 15, will feature three team, comprised of international players (World Team) and two made up of U.S.-based players competing in a round-robin series. 

Each contest will last 12 minutes, with the two top-performing teams advancing to a final championship game.

Starting lineup selections will be determined via a hybrid voting system: 50% from fans, 25% from players, and 25% from media, while coaches will choose seven reserves per conference. 

If there aren’t at least eight international players or 16 U.S. players among the 24 selected, the League, led by Commissioner Adam Silver, will step in to fill the roster to meet those thresholds.

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The 2026 NBA All-Star Game will debut a new U.S. vs. World format, airing Sunday, Feb. 15 at 5 p.m. ET on NBC/Peacock.

Two U.S. teams and one international team will compete in a round-robin tournament with four 12-minute games.

📰 Full release: https://t.co/ULQZEn5N78 pic.twitter.com/fWlozXSrwf

— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) November 12, 2025

This overhaul comes in response to criticism of previous All-Star formats, especially the three-team model used in 2024, and concerns that the showcase lacked defensive intensity and meaningful competition. 

The change also reflects the NBA’s acknowledgment of its increasingly international character: the last seven regular-season MVPs after all hailed from outside the U.S., including Giannis Antetokounmpo (Greece), Nikola Jokic (Serbia), Joel Embiid (Cameroon-born), and Shai Gilgeous‑Alexander (Canada).

In 2024, the NBA experimented with a three-team format, which failed to gain traction among fans. 

The year before, in 2023, Team Giannis defeated Team LeBron in a one-sided 184–175 contest that further highlighted the event’s declining intensity on both ends of the floor.

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