Boy band Cortis on the NBA's halftime performance poster [NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION]
Boy band Cortis will stage a halftime show at the 2026 Ruffles NBA All-Star Celebrity Game, becoming the first K-pop act to headline a signature NBA event.
The performance will take place on Feb. 13 at the Kia Forum in California, according to the NBA and ESPN on Wednesday.
Cortis previously announced it had been chosen as the headliner of the “NBA Crossover” concert series at the Los Angeles Convention Center on Feb. 12. The group is the first Korean act to take the stage for the event.
The gaming industry has also taken notice. “GO!” (2025), a track from the group’s debut album, was selected as an original soundtrack for Season 4 of NBA 2K26, a popular U.S. basketball video game franchise with cumulative sales of 150 million copies.
A dance emote using the song was also released on the global shooter game Fortnite.
Cortis debuted on Aug. 18, 2025, as the latest boy band from BTS's agency BigHit Music. It released its first EP, “Color Outside the Lines,” on Sept. 8 that same year.
BY KIM MIN-YOUNG [kim.minyoung5@joongang.co.kr]