2025 NBA All-Star Game New Format Explained

Ahh, the NBA All-Star Game. What happened to it?! It’s a question the league is still trying to figure out, and they’ve tried again in 2025 with a new format that puts four eight-player teams head-to-head in a three-game mini-tournament.

The new format aims to fix the impossible issue of encouraging the highest-paid athletes in U.S. pro sports to play hard and risk injury against each other in a meaningless game. We’ve written an entire article on the death of the NBA All-Star Game but I’ll explain the issue again quickly for argument’s sake. If a player is injured in the ASG there’s a good chance that their team will miss out on a deep NBA Playoff run. While some have a legacy element at play, most players don’t want to miss out on the sizeable bonus they receive from going deep into the postseason.

Last year, every player on the NBA Championship-winning Celtics received a $804,000 bonus for winning the NBA Title. However, even the player’s sub-par team that made it to the first round earned $453,000. It’s a problem with no easy answer, but at least the NBA is trying and the 2025 All-Star Game format does start to make a little more sense once you understand it. Without further ado, here’s exactly how the 2025 NBA All-Star Game new format works.

2025 NBA All-Star Game Teams

There are four teams of eight players competing in the 2025 NBA All-Star Game. Three of the teams will be filled with NBA All-Stars of varying ages and nationalities while the fourth team is the Castrol Rising Stars champion known as Candace’s Rising Stars for team general manager Candace Parker. Here’s who’s playing for each team:

Shaq’s OGs is a team made up of older NBA superstars, including:

• LeBron James (Lakers)
• Stephen Curry (Warriors)
• Jayson Tatum (Celtics)
• Kevin Durant (Suns)
• Damian Lillard, Bucks
• James Harden, Clippers
• Jaylen Brown, Celtics
• Kyrie Irving, Mavericks
  • Anthony Davis, Mavericks (injured, will not play)

Kenny’s Young Stars is a team full of young upcoming NBA stars, including:

• Anthony Edwards (Timberwolves)
• Jalen Brunson (Knicks)
• Jaren Jackson Jr. (Grizzlies)
• Jalen Williams (Thunder)
• Darius Garland, Cavaliers
• Evan Mobley, Cavaliers
• Cade Cunningham, Pistons
• Tyler Herro, Heat

Chuck’s Worldwide Stars is a team of international NBA stars, including:

• Nikola Jokic (Nuggets)
• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Thunder)
• Victor Wembanyama (Spurs)
• Pascal Siakam (Pacers)
• Alperen Sengun (Rockets)
• Karl-Anthony Towns (Knicks)
• Donovan Mitchell, Cavaliers
• Trae Young, Hawks (injury replacement)
  • Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bucks (injured, will not play)

Candace’s Rising Stars is a team of rookies and sophomores, including:

• TBC

How the NBA 2025 NBA All-Star Game Works

Each of these teams will face each other in a three-game mini-tournament where the first team to score 40 points in a game wins. The winning team is the team that wins the semi-final and final.

Here’s a schedule of games:

• Game 1: Chuck’s Worldwide Stars vs. Kenny’s Young Stars at 8:20 pm ET
• Game 2: Shaq’s OGs vs. Candace’s Rising Stars at 9:10 pm ET
• Game 3: Winners vs. in All-Star Championship at 10:00 pm ET

With a target score of just 40 points, each game is expected to only last 50 minutes.

Most importantly, this means that no records are likely to be broken. Steph Curry’s 16 3s and Jason Tatum’s 55-point game are safe for now. However, we could see Rick Barry’s 8 steals, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s 6 blocks, and Wilt Chamberlain’s 16 free throw records broken if teams actually want to play defense for the first time in an All-Star Game since Hakeem Olajuwon fouled out in 1986.

Brief History of NBA All-Star Game Formats

This isn’t the first time that the NBA has played around with All-Star Game formats. No, in fact the league has tried three alternative ASG formats in the past and each has been heralded to a varying degree of success.

Here’s a quick look at the four NBA All-Star Game formats:

• Team Captains Draft Format (2018–2023): The first time the NBA tried to change the format of the ASG was in 2018 and it worked the first year before players got bored of the new format and Jason Tatum broke the single-game scoring record with 55 points. The top vote-getters from each conference were named team captains and they drafted players from a pool of starters and reserves, regardless of conference. It was televised on TNT in 2020 which added a layer of hilarity for everyone except Ruby Gobert (who was often picked last) and James Harden.
• Elam Ending (2020–2023): This format was similar to 2018-2019 but features an Elam Ending where the first team to reach the target score in the fourth quarter would win. The target score was based on the leading team’s score + 24 points (in honour of Kobe Bryant). It created very tight games with defense in the final minute (emphasis on “final minute”).
• Mid-Game Player Draft (2023): The league added another wrinkle into the fold in 2023 where players were drafted right before tip-off instead of days before. Captains of each team picked reserves first, then starters. It hoped to create last-minute excitement, and actually get people to watch the game, but it was changed back to the traditional format a year later because players were bored as much as fans.
• Traditional East vs. West (1951–2017, 2024): This format puts the best of the Eastern Conference against the Western Conference. Teams are selected by fans, coaches, and media, and the winning team gets bragging rights and sometimes financial bonuses. The return to traditional East vs. West in 2024 prompted the need for a new format for 2025 as the final score was an utterly embarrassing 214 – 186 with the East taking home what’s left of the bragging rights.

Will the New All-Star Game Format Work?

Only the fans and players can be the judge of whether or not the new NBA ASG format works, but the players are already having their say. Phoenix Suns All-Star Kevin Durant is not a big fan: “I absolutely hate it. Terrible. All-Star Game formats changing — all the formats — terrible, in my opinion. We should just go back to East-West and just play the game,” he said.

LeBron James wasn’t the biggest fan either, but he thinks things have to change. “Something had to change. Everyone has their own opinion,” he said when asked about Durant’s assessment.

While confusing at first, the 2025 All-Star Game format is a necessary step to attempt to bring back defense to the game. While it’s going to disrupt the history books and confuse fans at first, it aims to create competition by putting teams of young first and second-year players against established older players and budding young stars against international talents. We look forward to seeing how well it works!

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