Over the past few years the NBA has regularly made wild, flailing changes to the format for All-Star weekend events trying to revive interest and enthusiasm. They still haven't found the answer but we'll be treated to a new round of attempts this year — including splitting the Rising Stars Game and the All-Star Game into multi-team, tournament formats.
Here's everything you need to know to catch up on the changes and tune in for all the events.
How to watch NBA All-Star Weekend
With the exception of the first event — the Celebrity Game, which airs on ESPN — all the events from NBA All-Star weekend will be available on NBC or streaming on Peacock. Friday night's events are only available on Peacock but everything else will be available on both.
NBA All-Star Weekend schedule
EVENT | DATE | TIME | CHANNEL |
|---|---|---|---|
Celebrity Game | Feb. 13 | 7:00 p.m. ET | ESPN |
Rising Stars Game 1 | Feb. 13 | 9:00 p.m. ET | Peacock |
Rising Stars Game 2 | Feb. 13 | 9:55 p.m. ET | Peacock |
Rising Stars Championship | Feb. 13 | 10:35 p.m. ET | Peacock |
HBCU Classic | Feb. 13 | 11:00 p.m. ET | Peacock |
3-Point Contest | Feb. 14 | 5:00 p.m. ET | NBC & Peacock |
Shooting Stars | Feb. 14 | After 3PT Contest | NBC & Peacock |
Slam Dunk Contest | Feb. 14 | After Shooting Stars | NBC & Peacock |
G League Next Up Game | Feb. 15 | 2:30 p.m. ET | NBA App |
ASG: World vs. Stars | Feb. 15 | 5:00 p.m. ET | NBC & Peacock |
ASG: G1 Winner vs. Stripes | Feb. 15 | 5:55 p.m. ET | NBC & Peacock |
ASG: G1 Loser vs. Stripes | Feb. 15 | 6:25 p.m. ET | NBC & Peacock |
ASG Championship | Feb. 15 | 7:10 p.m. ET | NBC & Peacock |
Rising Stars
The Rising Stars is running with a new format this year, mirroring the multi-team set-up of the actual All-Star Game. Tracy McGrady, Vince Carter and Carmelo Anthony each drafted seven-man rosters of first- and second-year players. The fourth team will be made up of G League stars and coached by Austin Rivers.
In the opening round, Team Austin will play Team Melo and Team Vince will play Team Tracy, each in full-court games with the first team to 40 winning. The winner of each first round game will play in the championhip, with the first team to 25 winning.
Team Melo
- Cooper Flagg (Mavericks) — Injured
- Reed Sheppard (Rockets)
- Stephon Castle (Spurs)
- Dylan Harper (Spurs)
- Jeremiah Fears (Pelicans)
- Donovan Clingan (Trail Blazers)
- Collin Murray-Boyles (Raptors)
- Ace Bailey (Jazz) — Injury replacement for Flagg
Team Tracy
- Kon Knueppel (Hornets)
- Kel’el Ware (Heat)
- Tre Johnson (Wizards)
- Alex Sarr (Wizards) — Injured
- Ajay Mitchell (Thunder) — Injured
- Jaylon Tyson (Cavaliers)
- Zaccharie Risacher (Hawks) — Injury replacement for Mitchell
- Cam Spencer (Grizzlies)
- Bub Carrington (Wizards) — Injury replacement for Sarr
Team Vince
- VJ Edgecombe (76ers)
- Derik Queen (Pelicans)
- Kyshawn George (Wizards)
- Matas Buzelis (Bulls)
- Egor Dёmin (Nets)
- Cedric Coward (Grizzlies)
- Jaylen Wells (Grizzlies)
Team Austin
- Sean East II (Salt Lake City Stars)
- Ron Harper Jr. (Maine Celtics)
- David Jones Garcia (Austin Spurs) — Injured
- Yanic Konan Niederhäuser (San Diego Clippers)
- Alijah Martin (Raptors 905)
- Tristen Newton (Rio Grande Valley Vipers)
- Yang Hansen (Rip City Remix)
- Mac McClung (Chicago Bulls)
- Jahmir Young^ (Miami Heat) — Injury replacement
3-Point Contest
The 3-Point Contest will be held in the standard format. Each player will have a chance to shoot through five racks of five balls each arrayed on the 3-point arc. Each rack has four balls worth one point, plus a final "moneyball" worth two point. One of the five racks is composed entirely of two-point "moneyballs" and each play can decide which of the five locations will have their moneyball rack.
Each player has a maximum of 70 seconds to shoot through their racks. The three highest scores from the first round advance to the Championship Round. The one big wrinkle here is the inclusion of Damian Lillard, who is sitting out the season recovering from an Achilles' injury but has opted to participate anyway. Lillard is already a two-time winner, taking the title in 2023 and 2024. The only other previous winner in the field is Devin Booker, who won in 2018.
- Devin Booker (Suns)
- Kon Knueppel (Hornets)
- Damian Lillard (Trail Blazers)
- Tyrese Maxey (76ers)
- Donovan Mitchell (Cavaliers)
- Jamal Murray (Nuggets)
- Bobby Portis Jr. (Bucks)
- Norman Powell ( Heat)
Shooting Stars
The Shooting Stars competition is a convoluted shooting competion with teams of players attempting shots from seven different locations. They move in order from Location 1 to Location 7 and each player must attempt a shot at each location before they collectively move on to the next one. Each team has 70 seconds to move through all seven locations, scoring as many points as possible. The top two teams from the first round will move on to the Championship round.
Shooting Stars locations
- Location 1 — Right Lane Layup/Dunk — 2 points
- Location 2 —18’ Right Baseline — 2 points
- Location 3 — Right Elbow — 2 points
- Location 4 — Right Wing 3-pointer — 3 points
- Location 5 — Top of the Key — 2 points
- Location 6 — Left Corner 3-pointer — 3 points
- Location 7 — Long Range 3-pointer — 4 points
Team All-Star:
- Scottie Barnes (Raptors),
- Chet Holmgren (Thunder)
- Richard Hamilton (NBA Legend)
Team Cameron:
- Jalen Johnson (Hawks)
- Kon Knueppel (Hornets)
- Corey Maggette (NBA Legend)
Team Harper:
- Dylan Harper (Spurs)
- Ron Harper Jr. (Celtics)
- Ron Harper (NBA Legend)
Team Knicks:
- Jalen Brunson (Knicks)
- Karl-Anthony Towns (Knicks)
- Allan Houston (NBA Legend)
Slam Dunk Contest
The Slam Dunk Contest has dwindled in signficance over the past few years and we may have hit the nadir, with perhaps the least interesting field of all time. We have two rookies who are barely playing for their teams, a journeyman center and a second-year wing who has played roughly three times as many minutes in the G League as he has in the NBA. I'll leave you to guess who is who.
- Carter Bryant (Spurs)
- Jaxson Hayes (Lakers)
- Keshad Johnson (Heat)
- Jase Richardson (Magic)
The format is standard — four players in two rounds, 90 seconds or three attempts to complete a dunk. Two highest scorers from the first round advance to the final round.
NBA All-Star Game format
The NBA is trying yet another new wrinkle to revive interest in the All-Star Game, a fairly dramatic one. Instead of two, 12-man rosters of All-Stars, the pool was divided into three teams of eight, two representing the USA and one representing the World. Those three teams will compete in a round-robin, each playing each other once in a full-court, 12-minute game. The top two teams from that first round (identified by record and then point differential) will player for the Championship.
Team USA Stars
- Scottie Barnes
- Devin Booker
- Cade Cunningham
- Jalen Duren
- Anthony Edwards
- Chet Holmgren
- Jalen Johnson
- Tyrese Maxey
Team USA Stripes
- Jaylen Brown
- Jalen Brunson
- Kevin Durant
- De’Aaron Fox — Injury replacement
- Brandon Ingram
- LeBron James
- Kawhi Leonard
- Donovan Mitchell
- Norman Powell
- Stephen Curry — Injured
Team World
- Deni Avdija
- Luka Dončić
- Nikola Jokić
- Jamal Murray
- Norman Powell
- Alperen Şengün — Injury replacement
- Pascal Siakam
- Karl-Anthony Towns
- Victor Wembanyama
- Giannis Antetokounmpo — Injured
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander — Injured