NBA abandons All-Star tourney format

Field Level Media|published: Thu 27th March, 19:02 2025

February 16, 2025; San Francisco, CA, USA; Shaq’s OGs guard Stephen Curry (30) of the Golden State Warriors celebrates with the MVP trophy after defeating Chuck’s Global Stars during the 2025 NBA All Star Game at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

It's unclear what next year's NBA All-Star Game will look like, but commissioner Adam Silver said the league is "a bit back to the drawing board" as it moves away from the three-game mini-tournament that was implemented this season.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday following a board of governors meeting, Silver said the league will look for ways to improve the midseason event, which this year drew 4.7 million viewers across TNT platforms - down 13 percent from last year. The only NBA All-Star Game with fewer viewers came in 2023, with 4.6 million.

"I thought we made almost an immeasurable amount of progress," Silver said. "I thought this was a little better, but it was a miss. We're not there in terms of creating an All-Star experience that we can be proud of, that our players can be proud of."

This season's format featured four teams competing in a three-game mini-tournament, with 24 All-Stars divided among three teams in San Francisco. The fourth team was the Rising Stars event winner, which was held two nights before the All-Star Game. Four-time NBA MVP LeBron James, a late scratch, was not among the participants. Anthony Edwards also scratched.

"We recalibrated around this year's All-Star game in San Francisco, around more of an entertainment product, and I don't think it worked," Silver said. "The breaks were too long. And I get it: It was an opportunity to celebrate TNT, as they were gonna have their last All-Star Game. It was well-intentioned."

Next year's All-Star Game will be broadcast on NBC, which takes over following a 23-year run by TNT, and will occur during NBC's coverage of the Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina.

"(NBC is) very enthusiastic about the All-Star Game as a marquee property," Silver said.

The commissioner added that despite the success of the NHL's Four Nations Face-Off, the NBA doesn't appear to be set on adding a USA vs. World format for next year's All-Star Game in Inglewood, Calif.

"I'm not sure that makes sense, with the level of development, if that's fair to lump all the other countries together these days," Silver said.

-Field Level Media

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