Since Adam Silver took over as the NBA commissioner in 2014, he hasn’t been afraid to try new ideas or break tradition to improve the NBA product, and the 2026 All-Star Game is just another example of that.
Going into the game on Feb. 15, there was no expectation. But for those who decided to watch for the love of the game, they struck gold in what was the best All-Star Sunday since 2020, when everyone played heavy-hearted due to the passing of the legendary Kobe Bryant.
Silver introduced a new format in which three teams played each other once and the top two teams with the best record and point differential played in a final championship game. Two of the teams were made up of solely Americans (USA Stars and USA Stripes), and the third team was made up of players representing countries outside the U.S. (Team World). I think what separated this All-Star Game from others was the sense of pride. Not only were they playing for themselves and their families, but they were also playing for their country’s flags on the back of their jerseys. It also was coincidentally going on during the Winter Olympics, so it was the perfect time to add it.
While fans knew about the format, they still questioned if the players would actually try, but after a couple minutes it became evident that the vibes were different. Three of the four games were high-intensity, down-to-the-wire matchups. Defense was played, players were frustrated after a loss, fouls were called, free throws were taken, players complained to the referees and we even got some overtime basketball.
Along with representing your country, I think what made the event great was the change to make each game only one 12-minute quarter instead of a full game. While this may sound wacky, it actually ended up being a great idea. Instead of the game dragging for the first three quarters, every game was essentially a fourth quarter, so the players had to play with intensity from the jump.
While every player deserves credit for finally giving the fans what they have been asking for, the majority of it has to go to Victor Wembanyama. After their epic overtime battle in the first game, Anthony Edwards shouted him out for bringing the competitive spirit early.
“Wemby [Victor Wembanyama] set the tone,” he said. “He came out playing hard, so it’s hard not to match that.”
Competing in the All-Star Game isn’t anything new for Wembanyama. He has expressed many times that he will give it his all in every one he plays in. Just last year in the 2025 All-Star Game, he looked like one of the few players going 100% the entire time. What made it even crazier was that he was diagnosed with blood clots shortly after and did not play for the rest of the season.
The next two games were just as entertaining as, if not more entertaining than, the first one. The second game was highlighted by De’Aaron Fox’s game-winning buzzer-beater for the USA Stripes, and in the third game Kawhi Leonard went full robot mode, dropping 31 points against Team World to send the USA Stripes to the championship game. The only negative was that the championship was a snoozefest. Team Stars got their revenge against Team Stripes in a 47-21 beatdown. Team Stripes had to play three games in a row, and it didn’t help that it was by far the oldest team of the three, with players like LeBron James (41), Kevin Durant (37) and Leonard (34).
Just like any idea, it did receive some criticism, even from some of the players. Many of them expressed how they wanted the East vs. West format to return but after Sunday, I expect to see the same rules in 2027.
Silver did not find success immediately when he first moved away from the East vs. West format. Since his time as commissioner, there have been three different formats of the All-Star Game (he also brought back East vs. West in 2024), with a lot of trial and error, and it looks like 2026 was the big win the NBA was looking for at a time when it seemed like people cared less and less about All-Star Weekend as the years went by.
NBC announced on Feb. 16 that it was the largest audience for an all-star game since 2011. They averaged 8.8 million viewers between NBC, Peacock and Telemundo (all part of NBCUniversal), and they peaked at nearly 10 million viewers. It was the first time the game was broadcast on NBC since 2002.
