The NBA has officially announced the team rosters and competition format for the 2026 NBA All-Star Game, scheduled for Sunday, February 15, at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California.
This year’s All-Star Game will feature a fresh three-team format made up of USA Stars, USA Stripes, and Team World.
The two U.S. teams were split by age, with younger players selected for USA Stars and veteran players forming USA Stripes, while Team World is composed entirely of international stars.
Detroit Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff will coach USA Stars, while Mitch Johnson of the San Antonio Spurs will lead USA Stripes. Darko Rajaković, head coach of the Toronto Raptors, will take charge of Team World.
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As part of the NBA’s 75th All-Star Game celebrations, the event will be played as a round-robin mini-tournament, featuring four 12-minute games. The matchups are scheduled as follows: Game 1: USA Stars vs. Team World, Game 2: USA Stripes vs. the winner of Game 1, Game 3: USA Stripes vs. the loser of Game 1, Game 4: Championship game between the top two teams from round-robin play.
If all three teams finish with identical 1–1 records after the round-robin phase, point differential across each team’s two games will serve as the first tiebreaker.
Meanwhile, Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard has been named an additional member of the U.S. player pool by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, increasing the number of U.S. All-Stars to 16, the minimum required under the new format.
Leonard, a 14-year NBA veteran, earns his seventh All-Star selection. He previously claimed the Kobe Bryant Trophy as All-Star Game MVP in 2020.
With a revamped format, star-studded rosters, and global broadcast reach, the 2026 NBA All-Star Game promises to deliver a fresh and competitive twist to one of basketball’s biggest annual spectacles.
