LeBron James, Steph Curry, Anthony Edwards, Tyrese Haliburton and Anthony Davis versus Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nikola Jokić, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Luka Dončić and Victor Wembanyama?
Those could be the potential starting lineups for the 2026 NBA All-Star Game with the league once again set to tweak the format of the mid-season exhibition.
Commissioner Adam Silver said Wednesday that next season’s game will feature a new format in which the top players from the United States play against the league’s All-Stars from around the world.
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SIGN UP HERE The announcement comes after the latest iteration of the NBA’s star-studded game, which included a four-team tournament, was poorly received. It also follows the NHL’s wildly successful decision to temporarily replace its All-Star Game with the 4 Nations Face-Off -- which featured a four-team, round-robin tournament between the U.S., Canada, Finland and Sweden.
With the 2026 All-Star Game returning to NBC as part of the first season of the league’s new media rights deal, it will coincide with the network’s February coverage of the Winter Olympics in Italy that runs from Feb 6. to Feb 22.
"So what better time to feature some form of USA against the World?" Silver said on FS1’s “Breakfast Ball.” “I'm not exactly sure what the format will be yet. Obviously I paid a lot of attention to what the NHL did, which was a huge success."
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver confirms there will be USA vs. the World in the 2026 All-Star Game 👀
— Breakfast Ball (@BrkfstBallOnFS1) June 4, 2025
"I'm not exactly sure what the format will be yet. I paid a lot of attention to what the NHL did, which was a huge success."@craigcartonlive | @DannyParkins | @markschlereth pic.twitter.com/WsEzhe4Jkk
The All-Star Game, which typically starts in the evening, will have an afternoon tip-off next season.
"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.”
The NBA has struggled to find an effective All-Star format while trying to navigate the exhibition’s lack of defense and competitive nature.
The NBA tweaked the All-Star Game format after the 2024 game set a combined scoring record of 397 points with a 211-186 final.
The 2025 All-Star Game format was a four-team, three-game, one-night tournament with games to 40 points. It featured three teams of eight All-Stars apiece, with the fourth team being the winner of the Rising Stars challenge for first- and second-year players.
The NBA announced in March it would not be keeping the All-Star Game mini-tournament it implemented in 2025, with Silver saying at the time, “We’re back to the drawing board.”
There had been prior format shakeups, as well, with the league ditching the traditional Eastern Conference vs. Western Conference format in favor of having top vote-getters from each conference serve as captains who got to draft their teams. The league also implemented a target score at the end of games with an untimed fourth quarter.
Competing for country pride could become the latest attempt to incentivize the game for players.
In a game potentially pitting the USA’s best against international players, the world team would likely be headlined by stars like league MVP Gilgeous-Alexander (Canada), Jokić (Serbia), Antetokounmpo (Greece), Dončić (Slovenia) and Wembanyama (France).
Speculation of a possible USA vs. World format began in February, although questions about roster balance and the voting process remain with the league saying 70% of its players are American.
Still, some players support the idea.
“I would love to. My opinion is that it’s more purposeful,” Wembanyama said in February. “There’s more pride in it. More stakes.”
Added Antetokounmpo: “I would love that. Oh, I would love that. I think that would be the most interesting and most exciting format. I would love that. For sure, I’d take pride in that. I always compete, but I think that will give me a little bit more extra juice to compete.”