NBA All-Star TV Start Time
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The NBA All-Star Game is full of changes including the schedule, start time, TV channel and rules.
There are plenty of ways for fans to get confused by the 2026 NBA All-Star Game, beginning with a new start time. If you tune into the NBA All-Star Game at its traditional 8 p.m. Eastern window, you will be too late.
NBC moved up the start times for both NBA All-Star Saturday Night and the All-Star game itself to accommodate the network’s Winter Olympics schedule. The NBA All-Star Game starts at 5 p.m. Eastern on Sunday, February 15, with the event expected to end by 8 p.m., just in time for NBC’s primetime broadcast of the Olympics.
This is actually complicated as NBC’s “Primetime From Milan” that airs nightly from 8 p.m. Eastern is simply a re-airing of the top events. Given the time difference between the United States and Italy, Olympic games are being played in the middle of the night, mornings and afternoons in Milan. Yet, this did not stop the NBA All-Star schedule from being adjusted as fans still tune into the Olympics during primetime.
So, for fans keeping track at home, NBA All-Star Weekend features a new TV channel, start times and, of course, rule changes. Gone are the days of the Eastern and Western Conference teams squaring off on TNT (or even ESPN).
Likewise, there are not two star captains conducting a draft for the teams. Instead, three teams will square off in a more complicated All-Star game format detailed below.
Here’s what you need to know about the NBA All-Star Game schedule, start time, new rules and TV channel.
NBA All-Star Game Schedule: New Start Time & TV Channel Complicates Things for Fans
Here’s a look at the NBA All-Star Game schedule. All of the NBA All-Star action will be broadcast on traditional TV on NBC and streaming on Peacock for subscribers. The times listed below are listed in Eastern.
DATE EVENT TIME (ET) TV CHANNEL
Sunday, Feb. 15 World vs. Stars 5 p.m. NBC/Peacock
Sunday, Feb. 15 Game 1 Winner vs. Stripes 5:55 p.m. NBC/Peacock
Sunday, Feb. 15 Game 1 Loser vs. Stripes 6:25 p.m. NBC/Peacock
Sunday, Feb. 15 NBA All-Star Championship: Top two teams 7:10 p.m. NBC/Peacock
NBA All-Star Game Rule Changes: What You Need to Know About the New Format
To summarize the new rules for the NBA All-Star Game, there are three teams, two with the top American players (called Stars and Stripes) as well as one international squad (World) with the top global stars. These three teams are competing in a tournament with the top two squads squaring off in the championship game.
This answers some of the format questions but what about the rule changes for the NBA All-Star Game? The games is being described as a “round-robin tournament.
Here’s what this means: there will be four games played with one 12-minute quarter. The top two teams by record will advance to the championship game.
If all three teams are tied with a 1-1 record, the tiebreaker would be each team’s point differential for the games played.
NBA All-Star Game Overtime Rules: Teams Play to a Target Score of 5
Yes, there is overtime, if needed, for the new NBA All-Star Game format. If the score is tied after 12 minutes, the two teams play to a target score of five points.
There is no clock for the overtime period. The first team to surpass five points in overtime wins the game. Count Kevin Durant among those skeptical that the new format will increase TV viewership or prompt players to play harder during the NBA All-Star Game.
“I just feel like fans and media need something to complain about, and the All-Star Game don’t make them feel like it made them feel back when they were kids, so they need something to complain about,” Durant noted, per The Athletic.
“I don’t think it’s that big of a deal, to be honest. The All-Star Game, the All-Star Weekend, it’s here to celebrate the game of basketball.”