It has been speculated, discussed, and written about for a long time… and today, we received official confirmation directly from NBA Commissioner Adam Silver – the All-Star game from next season will be played between American basketball players and the rest of the world!
The next All-Star event will take place in Inglewood, California, in the packed arena of the Los Angeles Clippers, and basketball fans will finally see what they have been waiting for for years – a clash between NBA stars from America and the best basketball players from all over the world, writes Arena Sport.
Given that the event itself has suffered numerous criticisms in recent years, and that the NBA league, despite all innovations, has not managed to increase All-Star viewership, the head of the competition decided to further change the tournament format.
As Adam Silver announced on the show “Breakfast Ball,” there will be certain changes to the “all-star” weekend, and besides the announced novelties, it is not known in what exact format the All-Star game would be played. To 24 points, as was the case this year, or if the game would be played for 48 minutes, or perhaps less…
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
“Soon, as part of our new television contracts, the All-Star game returns to NBC… And coincidentally, next season will coincide with the Winter Olympics. So, the game will be on NBC, and on the same day when we are live, the Winter Olympics will also take place. And after the All-Star game, which will now be in the afternoon instead of the evening, there will be more Olympic events. Is there a better timing for a USA vs. Rest of the World match?”
As Arena Sport reminds, the traditional East vs. West game was played from 1951, until the format was changed in 2018 when team captains picked teammates.
Given that this idea did not catch on among fans, the format was changed again in 2024. Later, we saw some kind of experiment with a Final Four involving four teams, but that also did not go well with the public, so this, it seems, is a new plan in which the NBA league and Adam Silver place great hopes.
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Source: Newsmax Balkans, Photo: AP