Ever since the 2025 NBA All-Star Game, the association has gone back to adding new formats to the event. Back in 2024, the NBA went back to its roots and held a traditional All-Star game, featuring a full four-quarter game.
However, given that NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and the rest of the association opted to go back to experimental features, we’re expecting the same thing to happen this time around. With that said, here’s everything you need to know regarding the 2026 NBA All-Star Game’s format.
Looking at the 2026 NBA All-Star Game Format
This year’s upcoming All-Star weekend will be held at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California. It appears the NBA has decided on a new format for this season: USA vs. World.
The 2026 NBA All-Star Game will work similarly to how the league ran the event last year. However, instead of having four teams being represented by basketball legends, there’ll be three teams representing their countries.
The upcoming event will feature a new U.S. vs. World round-robin tournament format. Each team will be playing in a series of 12-minute games. It’s worth noting that, with only three teams this year, there will be four games.
The three teams are as follows:
- USA Stars
- USA Stripes
- Team World
Some of you might be wondering what the difference is between the USA Stars and the USA Stripes.
The USA Stars are composed of younger NBA stars like Anthony Edwards, Tyrese Maxey, and Chet Holmgren. Meanwhile, the USA Stripes is represented by veteran stars like LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, and Kawhi Leonard.
The next question is, how will the series of games play out? Here’s a full breakdown:
- Game 1 –Â USA Stars vs. Team World
- Game 2 –Â USA Stripes vs. the winner of Game 1
- Game 3 –Â USA Stripes vs. the loser of Game 1
- Game 4 (Championship) –Â Teams with the best record from the first three games will face off.
- Tiebreaker –Â If all teams end up with a 1-1 record, placement will be determined by point differential. The top two teams will automatically advance to the championship game.
That’s everything you need to know about the upcoming 2026 NBA All-Star Game. The event is set to take place on Feb. 15. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:00 PM ET / 2:00 PM PT. For those interested in watching the game, it will be broadcast nationally on NBC and also available to stream on Peacock.
