The NBA has been grasping for new ideas to incite more excitement and viewership surrounding their All-Star Game for years now, and the league is trying out something different for this season's festivities in Inglewood, CA.
The NBA announced that there will be a new U.S. vs. World format for the competition. The NHL experimented with the "4 Nations Face-Off" in which players from the major four countries that make up the majority of NHL players competed against other, representing their home country. It experienced great success, and the NBA wants to do their best to replicate it.
"Two teams of U.S. players and one team of international (World) players will compete in a round-robin tournament featuring four 12-minute games," the NBA wrote in their announcement. "The three teams will each have a minimum of eight players."
There will still be 24 All-Stars (12 from each conference), voted on by fans (50% of the vote), current players (25%), and a media panel (25%). The players will be selected regardless of position this year.
With a boatload of talent in the league, it should be no problem for the NBA to consistently have eight "World" players and 16 "U.S." players, but in a case that it doesn't happen, commissioner Adam Silver will select additional All-Stars to round out the team(s).
The three teams will all compete against each other, then the top two teams will advance to face each other in the championship game. If all teams are 1-1-1, the tiebreaker would be the point differential in each team's two round-robin games.
At its peak in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the NBA would draw in an average of 10-15 million viewers for their All-Star game. That viewership dipped all the way to just 4.59 million in 2023, 5.4 million in 2024, and 4.72 million in 2025.
Time will tell if the new format will increase competitiveness - one major lacking aspect that has turned fans away from tuning their TV to the NBA All-Star Game.
USA candidates
Here's a look at 16 potential U.S. All-Star candidates that have been playing well this year:
Donovan Mitchell
Tyrese Maxey
Devin Booker
Cade Cunningham
Austin Reaves
Anthony Edwards
James Harden
Kevin Durant
Jaylen Brown
Jalen Brunson
Julius Randle
Norman Powell
Stephen Curry
Jalen Duren
Keyonte George
Paolo Banchero
World candidates
These World candidates are unbelievable:
Giannis Antetokounmpo
Luka Doncic
Nikola Jokic
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Victor Wembanyama
Lauri Markkanen
Deni Avdija
Jamal Murray
Josh Giddey
Franz Wagner
The All-Star game will take place at 5:00 PM ET on Feb. 15.
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