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All-Star Games in sports are supposed to pit the best players of the league against each other to see who can come out on top.
Since the All-Star games don’t count for anything, record-wise or stats-wise, some sports are having a tough time honing in on the right format to entertain fans.
The NBA’s All-Star Game got to the point where it was ridiculous. Players weren’t attempting to play defense, and the game would end with teams seeing who could get close to 200 points. While it yielded a few nice clips, the entertainment value was low.
After the success of the NHL’s Four Nations Tournament, the NBA has adopted a round-robin tournament of its own. There will be two teams made up of players from the United States and one team made up of international players, and they will duke it out over three games, with the top two teams meeting in the championship game.
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Game 1: USA Stars vs. World
TeamTotal (OT)USA Stars37World35
Game 2: USA Stripes vs. Game 1 winner
TeamTotalUSA Stripes42USA Stars40
Game 3: USA Stripes vs. Game 1 loser
TeamTotalUSA Stripes48World45
Game 4 All-Star Championship: TBD vs. TBD
TeamTotalUSA Stripes21USA Stars47
SN’s NBA HQ: Schedule | Standings | Scores | News
NBA All-Star Game 2026 updates, highlights from head-to-head tournament games
All times ET.
8:02 p.m. — The KIA All-Star Game MVP is Anthony Edwards.
Game 4
7:59 p.m. — Standout performers from the final game include Tyrese Maxey (9 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assists), Anthony Edwards (8 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists), LeBron James (5 points, 4 rebounds) and Donovan Mitchell (6 points, 1 rebound).
7:57 p.m. — The Stars dominance held throughout the game and they won 47-21 in impressive, and easy, fashion.
7:50 p.m. — The Stars continue putting it on and had a 15-0 run in the game. It ended when the Stripes scored and made it 33-11 with about four minutes left.
7:44 p.m. — With 6:02 left in the game, Team Stars is up 26-9.
7:41 p.m. — After Team Stripes went on a crazy scoring spree in Game 3, they started Game 4 0-10 from the field.
7:35 p.m. — The final game has been all Team Stars. At a timeout with 9:24 left in the game, the Stars are up 12-1.
7:31 p.m. — Team Stripes won the tip, but can’t capitalize on their opening possession. The first minute nearly goes scoreless until Devin Booker hits a three-pointer to start the scoring.
7:22 p.m. — Point differential no longer matters. Even though Team Stars and Team Stripes played in Game 2 and Team Stripes won by two, everything comes down to this final Game 4 and it is winner-take-all regardless of the score.
Game 3
7:16 p.m. — The highlighted players of Game 3 include Wembanyama (19 points, 2 rebounds), Jamal Murray (8 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists), Kevin Durant (7 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist) and Leonard (31 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals).
If Leonard had been able to sustain his performance in Game 3 over the course of an NBA game, he would have finished with 124 points, to try and put in perspective how unreal his performance was in front of his home crowd.
7:13 p.m. — Wembanyama had a look for a three to tie, but he missed it. Team Stripes moves on to the final game against Team Stars.
Victor Wembanyama kaçırdı, Team Stripes 48-45’lik zaferle adını finale yazdırdı!
2026 #NBAAllStar‘da finalin adı: Team Stars-Team Stripes 👀pic.twitter.com/P4Uz3YlSTF
— RiseSpor (@SporRise) February 16, 2026
7:12 p.m. — With 3.5 seconds left, Leonard hit a three. He has scored 31 of Team Stripes’ 48 points.
WHO ELSE TO PUT THE GAME ON ICE!! #NBAAllStarGames
Kawhi Leonard!! in his own stadium. #ClipperNation
31 PTS 🧊 11/13FG 6/7 3FG pic.twitter.com/SQAqzSIo66
— FirstDownMedia (@FirstDownMediaa) February 16, 2026
7:11 p.m. — Wembanyama hit two free throws to tie the game at 45.
7:09 p.m. — With 52.5 seconds left in the game, Leonard hit a free throw to tie the game at 43 points.
6:56 p.m. — Team Stripes is on a 9-2 run to start the game as Kawhi Leonard can’t be stopped. He hit another shot, this time for two and has scored 11 points in a row to push Team Stripes up to a 31-29 lead with 4:51 left in the game.
KAWHI LEONARD IS ON A HEATER RIGHT NOW 🥵
19 POINTS
11 STRAIGHTpic.twitter.com/SDVfDSEy03
— Def Pen Hoops (@DefPenHoops) February 16, 2026
6:50 p.m. — With 6:45 left in the third game, the World is up 27-20. They need a win to have a chance at the final game.
6:43 p.m. — The broadcast clarifies that the tiebreaker after point differential is total points in order to make the title game.
Game 2
6:37 p.m. — The notable players from Game 2 included Cade Cunningham (11 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists), Anthony Edwards (11 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist), Jaylen Brown (11 points, 3 rebounds), LeBron James (8 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist) and Kawhi Leonard (5 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists)
6:33 p.m. — Currently, the point differential is tied at two points for both USA Stars and USA Stripes. Things could get a little chaotic if Team World beats Team Stripes by two in Game 3.
6:30 p.m. — De’Aaron Fox hit a buzzer-beater game-winner to give Team Stripes the 42-40 win.
WILD ENDING OF USA STARS/STRIPES!
ANT LAY TO MAKE IT A 2-POINT GAME.
ANT STEAL.
ANT 3 FOR THE LEAD.
FOX GAME-WINNER.
USA STRIPES SECURES THE WIN 😱 pic.twitter.com/EjQ74Twq9p
— NBA (@NBA) February 15, 2026
6:13 p.m. — With 7:08 left in the game, Team Stripes is up by four points. Kevin Durant leads the team with five points, while Cade Cunningham has four points for Team Stars.
Game 1
6:04 p.m. — Standout performers from the first game include Victor Wembanyama (14 points, 6 rebounds), Karl-Anthony Towns (10 points, 1 rebound), Scottie Barnes (3 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists) and Anthony Edwards (13 points, 2 rebounds).
5:54 p.m. — Scottie Barnes hit a contested win to seal the win for Team Stars. They won 37-35 and will remain on the court to take on Team Stripes in Game 2.
SCOTTIE BARNES WINS IT FOR USA STARS.
USA STARS VS. USA STRIPES COMING UP NEXT ON NBC & PEACOCK 🍿
Tap to watch: https://t.co/UOPqgMKbFu pic.twitter.com/IokO8Nhvg0
— NBA (@NBA) February 15, 2026
5:51 p.m. — Regulation of the first game ends in a tie, so it will go to overtime. The overtime format will not be like the regular season. Instead, it is the first to five points.
5:29 p.m. — The ball went off the court in the first game and was caught by President Barack Obama who is sitting courtside with his wife Michelle.
Devin Booker and Barack Obama 😂♥️ pic.twitter.com/IefKCMFm2K
— CantGuardBook (@CGBBURNER) February 15, 2026
5:22 p.m. — To possibly show the tone of the All-Star game, Anthony Edwards took the tip-off against Victor Wembanyama.
“I’m 6 feet… he 8 feet!” 😂
No matter the situation, Antman wants the ball in his hands! pic.twitter.com/3bYowY6HFN
— NBA (@NBA) February 15, 2026
5:02 p.m. — With the NBA back on NBC, the broadcast has used John Tesh’s iconic “Roundball Rock.” He played his song live and then played during the team’s intros.
ROUNDBALL ROCK PERFORMED LIVE BY JOHN TESH!
📺 NBC and Peacock pic.twitter.com/pD0g8Yzwxe
— NBA on NBC and Peacock (@NBAonNBC) February 15, 2026
4:55 p.m. — There are about five minutes until tip-off. The USA Stars team is scheduled to take on Team World in the first game.
2026 NBA All-Star rosters: USA Stars, USA Stripes, The World
USA Stars
PlayerTeamScottie BarnesRaptorsDevin BookerSunsCade CunninghamPistonsJalen DurenPistonsAnthony EdwardsTimberwolvesChet HolmgrenThunderJalen JohnsonHawksTyrese Maxey76ers
USA Stripes
PlayerTeamJaylen BrownCelticsJalen BrunsonKnicksSteph Curry*WarriorsKevin DurantRocketsBrandon IngramRaptorsLeBron JamesLakersKawhi LeonardClippersDonovan MitchellCavaliersDe’Aaron FoxSpurs
*will not play due to injury
The World
PlayerTeamNorman PowellHeatGiannis Antetokounmpo*BucksDeni AvdijaTrail BlazersLuka DoncicLakersShai Gilgeous-Alexander*ThunderNikola JokicNuggetsJamal MurrayNuggetsAlperen SengunRocketsPascal SiakamPacersKarl-Anthony TownsKnicksVictor WembanyamaSpurs
*will not play due to injury
NBA All-Star Game format, explained
The NBA is still trying to find the right format for its All-Star Game. This year, they are tweaking their round-robin format. There are two U.S. teams and one international team, which will take turns playing each other.
Each matchup will be one 12-minute game. Essentially, with four in total, it would represent a full basketball game, but each “quarter” will be broken up into its own round-robin matchup.
The USA Stars team will take on the World in the first matchup. The winner then plays USA Stripes and then gets a break. The loser of Game 1 gets an instant break and then will play the USA Stripes in Game 3.
The records of the three teams will be compared, and the two best teams will meet in the final game. If all three teams are tied at 1-1, the first tiebreaker will be point differential.
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Where to watch NB All-Star GameWhat channel is the NBA All-Star Game on today?TV Channel: NBCLive stream: Peacock
The NBA All-Star Game will air on NBC. Cord-cutters will be able to stream the event on Peacock.
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What time does the NBA All-Star Game start?Date: Sunday, February 15Time: 5 p.m. ET
The NBA All-Star event will start at 5 p.m. ET on Sunday, February 15. This is an earlier start time than fans may be used to, but the speculation is that since NBC is the primary broadcast partner for the Olympics, the network decided to move the All-Star Game up in the day to have the Olympics remain in prime time.