Everyone seems tired of the NBA All-Star game no matter what format the league tries, but that hasn’t stopped commissioner Adam Silver and Co. from changing the event repeatedly in recent seasons.
The 2025 contest, the last one broadcast on TNT, marked a low point. All-Star rosters were broken into smaller groups that played each other in an expedited tournament that included a Rising Stars squad. Fans could hardly even focus on the games, however, because of a prolonged goodbye ceremony for the Inside the NBA crew and a surprise shooting contest hosted by YouTuber MrBeast.
In an effort to get the players on-board and increase fan excitement as the All-Star game moves to NBC next February, Silver, the commissioner, all summer teased a long-anticipated move to a USA vs. World format. Citing the success of the NHL’s 4 Nations Face-Off international competition and the men’s basketball tournament at the Paris Olympics in 2024, Silver expressed optimism that the NBA could leverage that national pride in its midseason festivities.
Now, ESPN’s Shams Charania is confirming the USA vs. World structure, with some new details.
The 24 NBA All-Stars will be split into three eight-player rosters, with one World team and two American teams. And it appears the games will go back to full-length for the 2026 contest.
The 2026 NBA All-Star Game format is likely to feature a round-robin tournament consisting three eight-player squads of two USA teams and one World team, sources tell ESPN. NBA and players union presented format to the Competition Committee on Wednesday and response was positive. pic.twitter.com/xuR46pVYyu
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) September 3, 2025
On one hand, this gives NBC a product that fans have wanted for years. With multiple games, the full broadcast could also be longer. Those are two pluses for the new broadcast partner, and ideally fans as a result.
However, it is easy to foresee hitches here. What happens if eight international players do not make the rosters? The TNT hosts tried to shoehorn a version of USA vs. World into their “draft” this past February, but Charles Barkley had to stretch his “Global Stars” parameters to form a full team. In addition to foreign-born superstars like Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo, Barkley selected Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell, who was born in New York but whose mother is Panamanian. When Antetokounmpo was forced out due to injury, he was replaced by American Trae Young.
The league has far too many boxes to check here. Players want an easy physical workload, fans want competition, and the network wants positive publicity and an entertaining product.
For 2026 at least, the league feels it has an answer that could please everyone with the USA vs. World format.