NBA Announces Major Changes to All-Star Event, Four-Team Tournament Will Replace Traditional Centerpiece

A new NBA All-Star format will make its debut in February, with a four-team, three-game tournament replacing the traditional standalone game.

How Does the New NBA All-Star Format Work?

The NBA All-Star game as we know it will be no longer from February, with the league finalizing plans this week to introduce a new All-Star tournament.

Instead of a standalone centerpiece game, a collection of the league’s preeminent players will be split into four teams.

Although it will still take place across a single night, the four eight-man teams will feature in three games. Three of the teams will be made up of the traditional 24 All-Star selections, while the fourth team will be the winner of the Rising Stars challenge for first- and second-year players.

Former NBA legends Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Shaquille O’Neal will draft the 24 players who comprise the three teams.

Whichever team in each game reaches 40 points first will be granted the win.

When is the NBA All-Star Tournament?

The All-Star weekend is slated for February 16th 2025, and gets underway with the Rising Stars event on Friday 14th.

San Francisco’s Chase Center will play host to the weekend’s events.

What Do People Think of the New NBA All-Star Format?

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has been eager for a shake up to the All-Star event, with the contest becoming more of a Harlem Globetrotters-esque circus act than a competitive game.

There were a combined 397 points in last year’s record-breaking All-Star game, with the final score finishing 211-186.

With defense almost non-existent, the All-Stars threw an eyebrow-raising 289 shot attempts in 2023.

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who is a dead-cert for a third selection and a strong favorite for MVP according to NBA sportsbooks, gave his opinion on the format.

“Obviously, with the elephant in the room being us competing, them trying to shake things up is expected and makes sense,” he said.

“At the end of the day, it’s going to come down to whether the players want to go at it, and I would love to see that. Love to be a part of that for sure, and hopefully it happens.”

However, Suns veteran Kevin Durant took a rather dim view of the changes, saying: “I hate it. Absolutely hate it.

“It’s terrible. … We should just go back to the East-West, just play a game.“

2023’s All-Star MVP Damian Lillard also took to X (formerly Twitter) to express his opinion on the state of the game.

“The NBA has an effort problem with all-star games, so what do they do? They build a format where non-all stars get to play against all stars, and shortens the actual game into a tournament where they only have to score 65 points to win.

“These guys are pros. Let’s stop this BS.“