The NBA All-Star Game has drawn ample criticism in recent years. But this season it’ll be impossible to complain about the same old format.
The NBA is introducing an entirely new one: U.S. vs. The World.
Two teams of U.S. players and a team of international players will compete in a round-robin tournament in four 12-minute games, all to be held on the final day of All-Star Weekend — Sunday, Feb. 15 — the NBA announced Tuesday, Nov. 11.
Whether the format will solve the listless play and almost non-existent defense that has come to define the NBA All-Star Game that will be played this season for the 75th time remains to be seen. But the league will unveil something entirely different when the 2026 All-Star Game is held at the Intuit Dome, the home arena of the Los Angeles Clippers in Inglewood, California.
This won’t be as straightforward as the old days.
