NBA All-Star Game Format 2026 Revealed, Breaking Down New USA vs. World Competition

There will officially be a new NBA All-Star Game format this season.

The NBA announced the details for the Feb. 15 event on Tuesday, and the All-Star Game will now feature two teams of players from the United States and one team of international players. Those teams will compete in a round-robin tournament of four 12-minute games.

While this is a significant change to the format, the process of selecting the 24 NBA All-Stars with 12 players from each conference will remain the same.

That means the 10 starters will be chosen by a combination of fans (50 percent of the vote), players (25 percent) and media (25 percent), while the 14 reserves (seven from each conference) will be chosen by the coaches. 

However, since each of the three teams will need to consist of at least eight players, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver will choose any additional All-Stars needed to reach that minimum. Teams can have more than eight players in such a scenario.

What's more, American players with ties to other countries could be on the international team.

Each of the three teams will play each other in the round-robin tournament, and the two with the best records will face each other in the championship game. If all three teams are 1-1, the tiebreaker will be point differential.

A format that would pit players from the United States against players from other countries gained traction well before the official announcement.

Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, who would presumably be one of the top players on the international team, was in favor of it back in May:

A team of Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokić, Luka Dončić, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Victor Wembanyama would be nearly impossible to stop, even for the best players from the United States.

This also comes after the NHL enjoyed plenty of success and headlines during last season's 4 Nations Face-Off, which took the place of its traditional All-Star Game. That was a tournament with four teams of players from the United States, Canada, Sweden and Finland competing in a round-robin format.

Canada defeated the United States in the championship game in an event that was defined by exciting action and impressive atmospheres.

This year's NBA All-Star Game will take place at Intuit Dome, which is the home of the Los Angeles Clippers.