The NBA All-Star Game is changing again.
Commissioner Adam Silver said Wednesday on FS1’s “Breakfast Ball” that the 2026 All-Star Game at Intuit Dome in Los Angeles will feature a new format with USA vs. the World.
Full details on how things will shake out, though, are to be determined.
This change comes after the NHL introduced the Four Nations Face-Off in lieu of a traditional All-Star Game this year.
The first meeting between the United States and Canada drew over 10 million viewers while the finale drew an astonishing 9.3 million on ESPN alone — a hockey record for the network.
Silver admitted in March that the NBA’s revamped 2025 format, which was a tournament, was “a miss.”
He also took note of the success of the Four Nations and used it as inspiration for reshaping the NBA’s All-Star Game.
“What better time to feature some form of USA against the World? I’m not exactly sure what the format will be yet,” Silver said. “I paid a lot of attention to what the NHL did, which was a huge success.”
Another interesting part of the new All-Star Game — taking place on Feb. 16, 2026 — is that it will take occur in the middle of the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics in Italy, which are running from Feb. 6-Feb. 22.
NBC, which is getting the NBA TV rights back this coming season, will air both the All-Star Game and the Olympics.
“The very day we’re on, the lead-in will be Winter Olympic events.” Silver said. “And then, coming out of the All-Star Game, which will now be in the afternoon instead of the evening, there will be more Olympic events.”
With the new format emerging, it will provide fans with a matchup between the USA’s best players against the top ballers from across the globe.
Players like Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Anthony Edwards and Jayson Tatum could, in theory, match up against the likes of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokić, Luka Dončić and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.