The National Basketball Association (NBA) and the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) today announced a new U.S. vs. World format for the 2026 NBA All-Star Game. NBC/Peacock will present the league’s annual midseason showcase on Sunday, Feb. 15 at 5 p.m. ET (2 p.m. PT) at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif., home of the LA Clippers.

In the 2026 NBA All-Star Game, two teams of U.S. players and one team of international players (known as the World Team) will compete in a round-robin tournament featuring four 12-minute games. Each of the three teams will consist of a minimum of eight players.

As in the past, 24 NBA All-Stars (12 from each conference) will be selected as follows:

• Starters: The five starters from each conference will be chosen by fans (50% of the vote), current NBA players (25%), and a media panel (25%).
• Reserves: The seven reserves from each conference will be selected by NBA head coaches.
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This year, the All-Stars will be selected without regard to position. The process for assigning players to the two U.S. teams will be determined at a later date.

If NBA All-Star voting does not result in the selection of 16 U.S. players and eight international players (which can include American players with ties to other countries if necessary), then NBA Commissioner Adam Silver will select additional All-Stars to join either group to reach that minimum. In that case, at least one team would have more than eight players.

Tournament Format In the round-robin tournament:

• Team A will play Team B in Game 1.
• The winner of Game 1 will take on Team C in Game 2.
• The loser of Game 1 will face Team C in Game 3.

After Game 3, the top two teams by record will advance to face each other in the championship game (Game 4). If all three teams have a 1-1 record after Game 3, the tiebreaker would be point differential in each team’s two round-robin games.

Key Highlights of the New Format:

• Farewell to the traditional East vs. West: International rivalry takes center stage.
• Mini-tournament: Four 12-minute periods function as independent games.
• Roster flexibility: Adam Silver can intervene to ensure the 'World' team has enough elite players.

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