The NBA’s new-look All-Star Game has arrived. The NBA is using a mini-tournament format in 2025 at the Warriors’ Chase Center, featuring four teams: three teams of NBA All-Stars plus the winners of Friday’s Rising Stars Challenge. Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith of TNT’s “Inside the NBA” are the “honorary general managers” of the three teams and picked their rosters earlier this month.
All-Star staples like LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and Nikola Jokic will be on the floor Sunday night, as will first-timers like Victor Wembanyama, Cade Cunningham and Tyler Herro.
Here are more details of the All-Star Game changes.
NBA All-Star Game format, explained
- The NBA is switching to a mini-tournament featuring four teams: three teams of NBA All-Stars and the winner of the Rising Stars challenge. The Rising Stars challenge — itself a four-team tournament — was held Friday night and featured the league’s best first- and second-year players plus a handful of G League players. Chris Mullin’s “Team C” won the Rising Stars event, led by Spurs rookie Stephon Castle, who took home MVP honors.
- Each team of NBA All-Stars has eight players. There are a total of 26 NBA All-Stars (including two injury replacements). Originally there were 24 players selected, the same number as previous seasons.
- The tournament format is simple. Chuck’s Global Stars will face Kenny’s Young Stars in the first game. Shaq’s OGs will face Rising Stars (coached by Candace Parker) in the second semifinal. The winners will meet in the championship game. The first team to 40 points is the winner in each game.
- There is a prize pool of $1.8 million. Each player on the championship-winning team gets $125,000. Players on the second-place team get $50,000. Players on the teams that lose in the semifinals get $25,000.
- The voting process remained the same, so 10 players were picked as “starters” and there were 12 players initially picked per conference.
Previously the league held one 48-minute All-Star Game, traditionally between the Eastern Conference and Western Conference. Teams were picked by leading vote-getters between 2018-2023, but the league returned to East vs. West last season in Indianapolis. The result was a 397-point affair that led to plenty of criticism.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver has repeatedly lamented the quality of play in recent All-Star Games and stated that the league is open to tweaking the format. During his media availability in Mexico last November, Silver hinted at something like this by saying the league was looking at not having a “traditional game format” this year.
Silver added: “I think everyone was disappointed in what they saw last year. It wasn’t just the league, it was the players, as well, the players association. I think we all did what we thought we could, thinking we would — particularly in Indiana, sort of the heartland of basketball — somehow we would give it the college try, and we’d see a more competitive game.”
Where to watch 2025 NBA All-Star Game
- Time: 8 p.m. ET | Date: Sunday, Feb. 16
- Location: Chase Center — San Francisco
- TV channel: TNT | Live stream: Max
Silver said that the league had confirmed a committee to talk about the issue with the NBPA and team representatives about trying “something new” in order to “excite the fans and also excite the players, so it’s something they’re enthusiastic about participating in.”
2025 NBA All-Star Game rosters, teams: Full list of players with four squads competing in new-look format
Sam Quinn
The All-Star Game is the final event of the weekend in San Francisco. Mac McClung won his third consecutive Dunk Contest on Saturday night, and Castle was named the Rising Stars MVP on Friday.
