Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: the NBA is changing the format for the All-Star Game this season.
The NBA All-Star Game has waned in popularity over the past several seasons, with last season’s iteration performing particularly poorly among viewers. The All-Star Game’s decline led the NBA to consider adopting something similar to the NHL’s 4 Nations Face-Off. Such a format stokes national pride by pitting American-born players against those from other countries.
On Tuesday, ESPN’s Tim Bontemps reported on the planned changes to the 2026 NBA All-Star Game.
Per the report, the 24 selected All-Stars will be split into three teams of eight players each. Two teams will be comprised of American players, while a third will have only international players.
The selection format remains mostly unchanged. Five starters from each conference will be selected via a combination of fan, media, and player voting, while coaches will still choose the 14 reserves. One major difference is that players will no longer be grouped into positions, with the five highest vote-getters being selected as starters regardless of positional overlaps.
The big question regarding the nationality-based teams was the possibility of there being too many or too few international players for the eight slots. Instead of putting a quota in place, the NBA will reportedly add more All-Stars to fill in any gaps.
For example, if only six international players are selected among the 24 All-Stars, the NBA would add two more foreign-born players as All-Stars to represent Team World without reducing the number for the Americans. If only 13 Americans are chosen to be All-Stars, then the NBA would add three more Americans to ensure both sides reach the 16-8 minimum.
The All-Star Game will still feature four 12-minute quarters. But the three teams will alternate playing each other in a round robin format over the game’s first three quarters. The two teams that emerge with the most wins or best point differential advance to play each other in the final period.
It’s quite a radical change to the NBA All-Star Game, and it remains to be seen how both players and fans respond. But it sure beats Kevin Durant’s suggestion of cancelling the event altogether.
