NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, posted 03/27/25 video screenshot | Video posted by Evan Sidery @esidery/X
The NBA is reportedly moving away from the All-Star game format, which involved four teams competing in a miniature tournament.
The most recent NBA All-Star Game featured three teams of eight All-Stars and one team of Rising Stars competing in a miniature tournament, with the winners receiving $500,000 each and the losers receiving a prize of $200,000 each.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver spoke about the format on Thursday and said the new format “was a miss,”pointing to the consistent stoppage of gameplay and fans’ lack of support.
“We’re not there in terms of creating an All-Star experience we can be proud of and our players can be proud of,” he explained, per CBS Sports.
Although manysupported the change when it was first announced, the gameplay was stopped multiple times in celebration of TNT, which hosted its final All-Star weekend before the event moves to NBC next season.
“It was well-intentioned,” said the commissioner, per ESPN.
“But I think the long stoppage in play in that final game didn’t work for anyone.”
Silver mentioned that the league will look into the potential for an America vs. The World format in the coming seasons, but added that the logistics of this setup could be difficult.
It is unlikely that the number of NBA All-Stars will bealigned directly down the middle to support this format, as both teams would need an even amount of players for this idea to be utilized in the future, per CBS.
Additionally, Silver said it could be unfair to include multiple countries in one team while only allowing players from the U.S. to compete with each other.
“I’m not sure that makes sense with the level of development, if that’s fair to lump all the other countries together these days. Maybe that we can single out, there are some different national teams that can compete,” he explained, as reported by The Athletic.
Regardless, Silver said the league will consider various options to help make the game more enjoyable for both fans and players.