Having the U.S. versus the world is getting closer to an NBA All-Star reality.
The NBA is closing in on finalizing another new format for this season’s All-Star Game, one in which three eight-man teams — two from the U.S. and one composed of international players — would square off in a round-robin tournament, a person with knowledge of the plan said Wednesday.
The league’s competition committee has reviewed details of the plan and reacted positively to the concept, said the person, who spoke with The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the format has not been finalized by the league.
Having 16 All-Stars from the U.S. and eight from other countries would be in line with the current breakdown of NBA players.
An idea of having a simple U.S. vs. World game has also been talked about, but Commissioner Adam Silver said that would be difficult simply because the league has more American players than it has international players. The league is about 70% American, 30% international, and that would roughly be the same breakdown of All-Stars this coming season under the proposed plan.
The league has been heading in this direction for several months, especially after last season’s All-Star mini-tournament — untimed games to 40 points, with four teams of eight players each — was a flop.
Silver has wanted a more competitive All-Star format for years. Nobody has been willing to play much in the way of defense at the game in recent seasons — a 211-186 game in 2024 was the last straw there — so the league tried the tournament plan this past season.
But after seeing how hockey’s 4 Nations Face-Off — a tournament that was capped by a U.S. vs. Canada final and essentially took the place of the NHL All-Star Game earlier this year — was a huge hit, NBA executives and players alike wondered aloud if it was time for their midseason showcase game to adopt the U.S. vs. the World plan.
And All-Star weekend this season just happens to fall at a time when cheering for one’s home country will be going on all over the world.
The 2026 All-Star Game — to be played Feb. 15 at the LA Clippers’ Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif. — is happening just past the midpoint of the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics.
It will be moved from its traditional prime time Sunday night slot to one that starts Sunday afternoon. That’s happening because the game will be aired on NBC under the terms of the new 11-year media rights deals that kick in this season. NBC is also the Olympic broadcaster in the U.S.
NBC’s plan is to show Olympic events in the morning and early afternoon, then the All-Star Game, then have prime-time Olympic programming.
Top international players such as the San Antonio Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama (France) and Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo (Greece) have said multiple times that they would welcome a U.S.-vs.-world matchup. U.S. Olympic gold medalist Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors also said last season that, based on how 4 Nations went, he thought such an idea would work for the NBA.