The NBA All-Star Game will likely feature a new format in 2026, with a round-robin tournament consisting of two teams of U.S. players and one of international players, according to multiple reports.
Each team would have eight players, per the reports. The squads would play each other in 12-minute quarter games, according to ESPN.
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The NBA’s competition committee reviewed the proposed format and had a positive reaction to it, per reports. The league has not finalized the format.
In April, NBA commissioner Adam Silver and president of league operations Byron Spruell said the league and NBC, its new broadcast partner, were discussing an “international competition” for the next All-Star Game, which is set for Feb. 15 at the LA Clippers’ Intuit Dome. The 2026 All-Star Game would fall in the middle of NBC’s coverage of the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics.
NBC would move the All-Star Game from its traditional prime-time Sunday night slot to a Sunday afternoon tip-off, and air Olympic coverage before and after the game, according to the Associated Press.
In April, Silver acknowledged the 2026 All-Star Game will be played at Intuit two years before Los Angeles hosts the 2028 Summer Olympics. The Olympic basketball games will also be played at the Intuit Dome.
“I think all of those factors, when they come together, 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 at the time.
The NBA’s consideration of an international All-Star format follows the NHL’s 4 Nations Face-Off in February. The NHL held an international mini-tournament instead of its annual All-Star Game, and the championship game between the U.S. and Canada became the most-watched non-Olympic hockey game ever.
Roughly 25 percent of current NBA players were born outside of the U.S. For eight consecutive seasons, the NBA MVP has been awarded to a player born outside the U.S., and at least 10 international players have been selected in every draft since 2010.
The NBA has not been afraid to tinker with its All-Star Game format. Last season, the league switched from a traditional East versus West game to a four-team tournament with three squads of All-Stars and a fourth of “rising stars,” or first- and second-year players.
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That tournament was criticized for in-game gimmicks and extended stoppages, and it drew poor ratings, leading Silver to call it a “miss.” It was the second-lowest-rated NBA All-Star Game, and viewership was down 13 percent from the 2024 game.
(Photo of Kyrie Irving and Victor Wembanyama in the 2025 All-Star Game: Kyle Terada / Imagn Images)
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Jenna West is a senior editor on The Athletic’s news team. Before joining The Athletic, she served as a writer and producer for Sports Illustrated’s national news desk. Jenna is a graduate of Northwestern University.
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