On Sunday, the NBA will debut a USA vs World format for the upcoming All-Star Game. The new format will feature a round-robin tournament between Team USA Stars, Team USA Stripes, and Team World.
Traditionally, the All-Star Game has been a match between the 12 best players from the Eastern Conference and the 12 best players from the Western Conference. Last year, the league tried a single-elimination tournament between teams drafted by Shaquille O’Neal, Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley, and Candice Parker.
Approximately 4.7 million viewers tuned in for the 2025 NBA All-Star Game. It was a 13 percent decrease from the 2024 edition of the annual event.
On a recent episode of his podcast, Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green expressed disinterest in the new USA vs World format.
“Best in the East, Best in the West, it works when the game is good. When we are doing all these different gimmicks, it makes it more of a joke… it may work for a year, but then you are like ‘I don’t want to see that again’ because it wasn’t a real game. It wasn’t the game that I grew up watching.”
What to Expect
Team USA Stars is made up of Cade Cunningham, Tyrese Maxey, Scottie Barnes, Devin Booker, Jalen Duren, Anthony Edwards, Chet Holmgren, and Jalen Johnson. It is the younger of the two United States-based teams.
Team USA Stripes features Jaylen Brown, Jalen Brunson, Kevin Durant, Brandon Ingram, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Donovan Mitchell, and De’Aaron Fox. Stephen Curry will not be competing due to injury.
Team World rosters Luka Doncic, Nikola Jokic, Victor Wembanyama, Deni Avdija, Jamal Murray, Alperen Sengun, Pascal Siakam, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Norman Powell. Giannis Antetokounmpo and Shai-Gilgeous Alexander are ruled out with injuries.
The top two teams will face each other in the championship round, with point differential serving as a tiebreaker. Each game will be played with a 12-minute time limit.
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