The format for the 2026 NBA All-Star Game is likely to be a round-robin tournament consisting of three eight-player teams — two USA teams and one World team — sources told ESPN on Wednesday.
The NBA and the players’ union presented the format to the league’s competition committee on Wednesday, sources said. Governors, team executives and players discussed the format within the competition committee meeting, and the response was positive, sources said.
The two USA teams and one World squad would play each other in 12-minute quarter games, sources said.
The 2026 All-Star Game will be played in Los Angeles at the Intuit Dome, the new home of the LA Clippers, on Feb. 15. The game, which will be aired on NBC, will shift from a Sunday evening to a Sunday afternoon start time.
Last year’s format for the NBA All-Star Game — a four-team, single-elimination tournament, with a target score of 40 points for each round — drew mixed reviews, with several players taking issue with the breaks during and between games.
Earlier this year, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said “it’s not lost on us” that the 2026 All-Star Game will be played amid the Winter Olympics — as well as at the location for the 2028 Summer Games — and was receptive to the idea of the game having an international twist.
The NBA says about 70% of players in the league are American, meaning it therefore will be easier for international players to make an All-Star roster in a U.S. vs. the world-style competition.
“It presents an enormous opportunity for us to do something with an international competition instead of the traditional All-Star formats that we’ve used,” Silver said in April.
ESPN’s Michael C. Wright and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
