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The NBA had to try something.
It’s already tried a lot of things — having captains draft their team like a playground pickup game, going back to traditional East vs. West — but nothing has gotten the players to care enough about the All-Star Game to play any defense or put out much effort at all. For years, the result has been an all-offense, zero-defense NBA All-Star Game with no stakes — it’s been unwatchable.
The NBA is trying to shake that up now with a four-team mini-tournament format, which it hopes will be fast-paced and exciting. Here’s how everything will work.
What is the new NBA All-Star Game format?
The format, which was previously leaked, will involve the 24 NBA All-Stars — the same number as previous years (more on how the players and teams will be selected below) — divided into three teams of eight.
Those three teams, plus the winning team from Friday night’s Rising Stars game (a team of rookies and sophomores), will be entered into a four-team knockout tournament bracket. The teams will play games to 40, which the NBA hopes will be fast-paced, up-and-down games that get the players competing. The winners of the first two games will meet in a championship game.
This does not impact the Saturday night events such as the Dunk Contest and 3-Point Shootout.
How will Players for the All-Star Teams be chosen?
This part does not change.
The All-Star Game starters—five from each conference—will be selected by a vote of fans, NBA players, and select media. The fan vote will count for 50% of the total (and be the tiebreaker), while current NBA players’ votes will be 25%, and a media panel will have a 25% say.
The seven reserve players from each conference will be selected by NBA head coaches. Then all those players — starters and reserves — go into a pool to be drawn onto the three All-Star teams of eight.
Who are the GMs who will choose NBA All-Star Teams?
TNT’s Inside the NBA trio of former players — Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith — will serve as the honorary team general managers and draft the 24 All-Stars onto their respective teams. That promises to be entertaining.
The draft will be conducted Feb. 6, before the network’s doubleheader that night.
When is NBA All-Star Weekend 2025?
The 2025 NBA All-Star Game comes to the San Francisco Bay Area and will be hosted by the Golden State Warriors. The entire weekend runs Feb. 14-16, with the reimagined NBA All-Star Game tournament taking place on Sunday, Feb. 16, at Chase Center (8 p.m. ET start time that Sunday).
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