The 2026 NBA All-Star Game is anticipated to feature a round-robin style tournament with three eight-player teams: two from the USA and one representing the World, as reported by sources to ESPN on Wednesday.
The league, along with the players’ union, revealed this format to the competition committee on Wednesday, sources indicated. Team governors, executives, and players reviewed the setup during the committee meeting, and feedback was favorable, sources confirmed.
The two USA teams and the World team are expected to compete against each other in games divided into 12-minute quarters, sources noted.
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The 2026 All-Star Game will occur in Los Angeles at the Intuit Dome, the new venue for the LA Clippers, on February 15. The event will be broadcasted on NBC and will transition from a Sunday evening to a Sunday afternoon kickoff.
The previous year’s All-Star Game format, which was a four-team, single-elimination tournament with each round targeting a score of 40 points, garnered mixed reactions, with numerous players expressing concerns about intermissions during and between matches.
Earlier this year, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver remarked that «it’s not lost on us» that the 2026 All-Star Game coincides with the Winter Olympics and will be hosted in the same location as the 2028 Summer Games, showing openness to integrating an international element into the event.
The NBA states that approximately 70% of its players are American, suggesting it may be easier for international players to secure a spot on an All-Star roster in a U.S. versus World competition format.
«This presents a significant opportunity for us to explore an international competition instead of sticking to the standard All-Star formats we’ve traditionally employed,» Silver expressed in April.
Contributions to this report were made by ESPN’s Michael C. Wright and The Associated Press.
