It’s no secret that the NBA has recently taken a “throw everything at the wall and see what sticks” approach while trying to revitalize its annual All-Star Game.
Efforts have included school-yard drafts, target-score endings and now a USA vs. World mini tournament that tips off on Sunday (Sportsnet, Sportsnet+, 5 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. PT) in Los Angeles, all for the pursuit of drawing out the competitive spirit that made the yearly showcase of the league’s premier talent so nostalgic for many.
How successful this iteration will be is going to come down to what level of effort the players are willing to give, but the NBA has set up ideal circumstances to make it more likely.
With the league’s American all-stars split into two teams of mostly ascending up-and-comers (Team USA Stars) and in-their-prime/past-their-prime veterans (Team USA Stripes), while grouping the NBA’s best international players (Team World), each squad enters with something worth proving.
Can the youngsters announce their time is now, or will the old guard remind us of days past? Maybe the foreign contingent can continue its run of success — it’s been seven seasons since an American won MVP — and further the conversation that the rest of the basketball world has indeed caught up to the United States. Fans will get their answers shortly.
Here’s what you need to know for the 2026 NBA All-Star Game.
Watch the 2026 NBA All-Star Game on Sportsnet
The NBA will introduce its new Team USA vs. World all-star game format on Sunday in Los Angeles, as the league’s top talent matchup for a round-robin mini-tournament. Catch all the action on Sportsnet or Sportsnet+ at 5 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. PT.
The format: This year’s exhibition showcase will feature a three-team round-robin mini tournament consisting of four 12-minute games.
Each team will play the other two teams once, and the top two squads will advance to the final.
Here is the full schedule.
Game 1: USA Stars vs. World
Game 2: USA Stripes vs. winning team of Game 1
Game 3: USA Stripes vs. losing team of Game 1
Game 4: All-Star Championship (top two teams from round-robin play)
*If all teams finish 1-1 after the round-robin games, the first tiebreaker will be total point differential
How the rosters were made: As in years past, 24 NBA all-stars were selected (12 from each conference), with starters voted for by fans/players/media and reserves chosen by head coaches. What was different this season, however, was that players were selected without regard to their position for the first time.
All-stars were then divided into the three rosters based on their affiliations, after which NBA commissioner Adam Silver announced Kawhi Leonard had been named as an addition to ensure both USA teams would meet the minimum eight players required. Team USA Stripes only had seven players before Leonard’s addition, as Team World ended up with nine all-stars in the original split.
Here are the full rosters.
Team USA Stars
Scottie Barnes (Toronto Raptors)
Cade Cunningham (Detroit Pistons)
Anthony Edwards (Minnesota Timberwolves)
Jalen Johnson (Atlanta Hawks)
Devin Booker (Phoenix Suns)
Jalen Duren (Detroit Pistons)
Chet Holmgren (Oklahoma City Thunder)
Tyrese Maxey (Philadelphia 76ers)
Coach: J.B. Bickerstaff (Cleveland Cavaliers)
Team USA Stripes
Jaylen Brown (Boston Celtics)
Kevin Durant (Houston Rockets)
Brandon Ingram (Toronto Raptors)*
Kawhi Leonard (Los Angeles Clippers)
Jalen Brunson (New York Knicks)
De’Aaron Fox (San Antonio Spurs)*
LeBron James (Los Angeles Lakers)
Donovan Mitchell (Cleveland Cavaliers)
*injury replacement
Coach: Mitch Johnson (San Antonio Spurs)
Team World
Jamal Murray (Denver Nuggets)
Luka Doncic (Los Angeles Lakers)
Alperen Sengun (Houston Rockets)*
Nikola Jokic (Denver Nuggets)
Norman Powell (Miami Heat)
Pascal Siakam (Indiana Pacers)
Deni Avdija (Portland Trail Blazers)
Victor Wembanyama (San Antonio Spurs)
Karl-Anthony Towns (New York Knicks)
*injury replacement
Coach: Darko Rajakovic (Toronto Raptors)
Players replaced due to injury: Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks, Team World), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Oklahoma City Thunder, Team World), Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors, Team USA Stripes).
• While individual fouls can be called and recorded during the All-Star Game, there is no maximum limit, and players cannot foul out. Hack away!
• Any games that require overtime will be played to a target score of five points and there will be no game clock. The game will only end once a team reaches or surpasses the target score.
• Sunday’s contest will mark the first time two Raptors have been named all-stars in the same year since 2020 (Kyle Lowry and Siakam). Before that, the franchise had gone five consecutive seasons with two selections. Barnes and Ingram won’t be alone, however, as they’ll be joined by Rajakovic and his coaching staff, along with rookies Collin Murray-Boyles and Alijah Martin, and Brampton, Ont.’s A.J. Lawson in Los Angeles.
• Siakam was named an all-star for the fourth time in his career despite his Pacers (15-40) sitting 14th in the East. It’s the worst team record for an all-star since Kobe Bryant’s selection in his final season (2016), when the Lakers were 9-44.
• The ex-Raptor connections don’t end there as Powell will become the league’s seventh-oldest player ever to make his All-Star Game debut (32 years, 266 days). He’s not far off from Hall of Famer Nat “Sweetwater” Clifton at No. 1, who made his lone all-star appearance at 34 years and three months old.
• Speaking of debuts, Sunday’s game will see six first-time all-stars (Murray, Johnson, Duren, Avdija, Holmgren and Powell) and mark the 15th consecutive season that four or more first-timers have participated.
• On the opposite end of the spectrum will be LeBron James, who’ll be playing in a record 21st All-Star Game. And although the 41-year-old will fall 256 days short of passing Hall of Famer Kareen Abdul-Jabbar for the oldest player to participate, James can take some solace in knowing that — along with All-Star Games played — he leads all-time in field goals made (182) and points (434) for the exhibition contest, while ranking top 10 in rebounds, assists, blocks and steals.