It will consist of a three-team round-robin tournament, with the top two teams then advancing to a championship game. The teams, two composed of American players and one of international players, were drafted by the league from a pool of twenty-four selected through a voting process.[3]
Background
The announcement for 2026's All-Star Game was made on January 16, 2024, at a press conference held by the Los Angeles Clippers at the then-under-construction Intuit Dome in Inglewood. In attendance at the announcement were NBA commissionerAdam Silver, Clippers Chairman Steve Ballmer, Clippers President of Business Operations Gillian Zucker, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, and Inglewood Mayor James T. Butts Jr..[4]
During an interview on Fox Sports 1's Breakfast Ball on June 4, 2025, Silver revealed that the game will most likely be played in a format pitting U.S. players against international players. He cited the concurrent 2026 Winter Olympics on NBC and the success of the NHL's 4 Nations Face-Off as influences on the format.[5]
Format change
On November 12, 2025, the NBA announced that the NBA All-Star Game will adopt a new USA vs. the World format. The game will take the form of a round-robin tournament featuring three teams: two composed of American players and one of international players, each consisting of at least eight members. The top two teams based on record will advance to the championship game. In the event of a three-way tie after the third game, point differential will serve as the tiebreaker. All four games will be played with a 12-minute time limit.[6][7]
J. B. Bickerstaff, head coach of Eastern Conference leader Detroit Pistons, earned a coaching spot on January 24.[8] Although the Oklahoma City Thunder have the best record in the Western Conference, their head coach, Mark Daigneault, was ineligible to coach in the All-Star Game because he had coached in the 2025 game and league rules prohibit a coach from coaching in consecutive All-Star Games. Mitch Johnson, head coach of the San Antonio Spurs, earned a coaching spot on February 1.[9] On February 3, 2026, it was announced that Darko Rajaković, head coach of the Toronto Raptors, would coach Team World, having the most wins among non-American head coaches in the regular season.[10]
Rosters
As had been the case in previous years, the rosters for the All-Star Game were selected through a voting process. The fans could vote through the NBA website. The player will be selected, regardless of playing position. The starters will be chosen by the fans, media, and current NBA players. Fans made up 50% of the vote, and NBA players and media each comprised 25% of the vote. The five players who received the highest cumulative vote totals in each conferences were named the All-Star starters.[6] NBA head coaches voted for the reserves for their respective conferences, none of which could be players from their own team. Each coach selected two guards, three frontcourt players and two wild cards, with each selected player ranked in order of preference within each category. If a multi-position player was to be selected, coaches were encouraged to vote for the player at the position that was "most advantageous for the All-Star team", regardless of where the player was listed on the All-Star ballot or the position he was listed in box scores. If the selection process does not yield 16 American players and 8 international players, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver will make the necessary selections to complete the rosters.[3]
^NOTE1 NBA Commissioner Adam Silver added Kawhi Leonard to the USA pool.[13] ^INJ1 Stephen Curry was unable to play due to an injury.[15] ^INJ2 Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was unable to play due to an injury.[16] ^REP1 Brandon Ingram was selected as Stephen Curry's replacement.[17] ^REP2 Alperen Şengün was selected as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's replacement.[18]
Lineups
The team lineups were announced on February 3. The players were assigned to the three teams regardless of their positions.[3]
The 2026 NBA All-Star Celebrity Game will be held on Friday, February 13, 2026, at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, California. It will feature a special halftime performance by CORTIS, marking the first Celebrity Game Halftime performance by a K-pop artist.[19]
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