NBA All-Star Game Reportedly Will Take Pickup Format for 4-Team Tournament (Video)

Changes to the NBA All-Star Game format are reportedly receiving increasing attention.

Following reports that the league is considering a four-team All-Star Game, the tournament will likely be played in a pickup format with the two semifinal games going to 40 points and the championship to 25.

The 2025 NBA All-Star Game is scheduled for Feb. 16 at the Golden State Warriors Chase Center.

As previously announced, the four teams will consist of three All-Star teams of eight players each, with the fourth team being the winner of the Rising Stars Challenge.

The Rising Stars game is also a four-team tournament with freshmen and sophomores on each team. The roster also includes outstanding G League players.

Last year’s Rising Stars players included Victor Wembanyama, Chet Holmgren, Paolo Banchero, Jalen Williams and Derek Lively II. It also featured Matas Bouzelis and Ron Holland, both first-round picks in the 2024 NBA Draft.

The coaching staffs of the top two teams in each conference will lead the All-Star tournament teams, The Athletic reported. If the current standings continue, Kenny Atkinson of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Joe Mazulla of the Boston Celtics will coach the East teams. The Western teams will be coached by Steve Kerr of the Warriors and Mark Deino of the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The NBA and commissioner Adam Silver sought to make changes to the All-Star Game after last year’s bout was not very competitive and ended with a final score of 211-186.

“I think there’s no question that the players were disappointed in last year’s All-Star Game as well,” Silver told reporters before the Heat-Wizards game in Mexico City on Nov. 2. “We all want to do a better job providing competition. and entertainment for our fans.”

NBA All-Star Weekend could also include a variation of last year’s NBA vs. WNBA three-point contest that featured Golden State’s Stephen Curry and the New York Liberty’s Sabrina Ionescu. Players rumored to be included in the expanded competition include Indiana Fever star Kaitlyn Clark and Dallas Mavericks’ Klay Thompson.