2026 NBA all-star weekend: What to know about USA vs. World format

It’s no secret that the NBA has recently taken a “throw everything at the wall and see what sticks” approach while trying to revitalize its annual all-star game.

Efforts have included school-yard drafts, target-score endings and now a USA vs. World mini tournament that tips off on Sunday (Sportsnet, Sportsnet+, 5 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. PT) in Los Angeles, all for the pursuit of drawing out the competitive spirit that made the yearly showcase of the league’s premier talent so nostalgic for many.

How successful this iteration will be is going to come down to what level of effort the players are willing to give, but the NBA has set up ideal circumstances to make it more likely.

With the league’s American all-stars split into two teams of mostly ascending up-and-comers (Team USA Stars) and in-their-prime/past-their-prime veterans (Team USA Stripes), while grouping the NBA’s best international players (Team World), each squad enters with something worth proving.

Can the youngsters announce their time is now, or will the old guard remind us of days past? Maybe the foreign contingent can continue its run of success — it’s been seven seasons since an American won MVP — and further the conversation that the rest of the basketball world has indeed caught up to the United States. Fans will get their answers shortly. But Sunday night’s format isn’t the only change worth noting. Saturday’s festivities have also gotten a makeover for the first time in a while.

Here’s what you need to know heading into the 2026 NBA All-Star Weekend.

Saturday (Three-point contest, Shooting Stars and Slam Dunk)

Three-point contest: One of the more under-the-radar, but welcomed, changes for all-star weekend is the order of events on Night 2, which will now begin with the NBA’s sharpshooting showcase that has typically been sandwiched in the middle.

In recent years, the three-point contest has been the best of the three competitions on Saturday night, so starting with a bang appears to be the motive for the switchup. This year’s pool of participants is stacked with plenty of shooting prowess, two former winners and one unexpected returnee.

Of the eight participants, surprisingly, it’s Bobby Portis who leads the way, splashing triples at a 45.1 per cent clip (fourth in the NBA). Not far behind him is rookie Kon Knueppel, already considered a top marksman, shooting 43.1 per cent from beyond the arc, and Kitchener, Ont.’s Jamal Murray, who’s draining threes at a career-best mark of 42.5 per cent.

Also participating is Donovan Mitchell, the NBA’s leader in total three-pointers made this season (185), who is shooting 37.6 per cent from distance and has participated twice before.

Meanwhile, the two least efficient shooters in the competition are the ones coming in with the most experience. Devin Booker is converting a career-low 31.1 per cent of his attempts from three, but won the contest in 2018 — tying the second-highest final-round score of 28 points — and will be taking part for a fifth time. Then there’s two-time winner Damian Lillard (2023, 2024), who hasn’t even played in the regular-season as he recovers from an Achilles injury, but will participate for a sixth time. He’s one of just six players to compete in at least that many three-point contests and would be just the third three-time winner in league history (Larry Bird, Craig Hodges) if he came out victorious.

Shooting Stars: The team-based event makes its return for the first time since 2015, replacing the Skills Competition.

Saturday’s second contest will feature a two-round format with four teams (of three players each) competing in the first round, with the top two advancing to a final.

To score, each team will have 1:10 to make shots (worth varying amounts of points) while rotating through the seven designated locations on the court. Each team will have to shoot from each location in order, starting from No. 1 and ending at No. 7, and all three players must shoot from each spot in a pre-determined order, or their shots won’t count. Simple enough, right?

If you’re confused, re-watch Team Bosh winning the last iteration of the event 10 years ago, claiming victory for the third year in a row.

As for the teams competing in 2026, all four squads will feature two NBA players and one legend, each reflecting a different connection: all-star recognition (Team All-Star), franchise affiliation (Team Knicks), school alumni (Team Cameron) and family ties (Team Harper).

Dunk contest: Wrapping up the festivities on Saturday will be the dunk contest, yet again with — largely far-fetched — hopes of capturing the hearts of fans just as Vince Carter did by stealing the show in 2000 or as Zach LaVine and Aaron Gordon did a decade ago in Toronto.

Those kinds of performances have been few and far between, however, as the annual high-flying showcase has turned into more of an opportunity for up-and-comers to introduce themselves of late. Just ask Mac McClung, who by no means has been an NBA mainstay, but has cemented himself into the league’s lexicon after winning the dunk contest in each of the last three seasons. But now that the springy guard won’t be participating in 2026 and the NBA is set to crown its first non-McClung dunk champ since 2022, will one of this year’s participants rise above the rest, or will fans have to sit through another show that falls flat?

The four players trying to buck that trend on Saturday will be Jaxson Hayes (Los Angeles Lakers), Carter Bryant (San Antonio Spurs), Jase Richardson (Orlando Magic) and Keshad Johnson (Miami Heat). Aside from Hayes, a seventh-year centre, the rest of the group is fairly unheralded. Bryant and Richardson are rookies, while Johnson is a sophomore, and the trio have combined for fewer dunks this season (22) than Hayes alone (80), who’s ranked 16th in the NBA for total slams.

Still, if you want to be glass-half-full, there’ll be plenty of athleticism and jumping ability on the court when action gets underway, and how little is known about the dunkers could lend to some surprises. At the very least, Jase will probably enter the contest with some pointers from his dad Jason Richardson, a thunderous dunker in the NBA for 13 seasons and a two-time dunk champ (2002, 2003).

The format: This year’s exhibition showcase will feature a three-team round-robin mini tournament consisting of four 12-minute games.

Each team will play the other two teams once, and the top two squads will advance to the final.

Here is the full schedule.

Game 1: USA Stars vs. WorldGame 2: USA Stripes vs. winning team of Game 1Game 3: USA Stripes vs. losing team of Game 1Game 4: All-Star Championship (top two teams from round-robin play)*If all teams finish 1-1 after the round-robin games, the first tiebreaker will be total point differential

How the rosters were made: As in years past, 24 NBA all-stars were selected (12 from each conference), with starters voted for by fans/players/media and reserves chosen by head coaches. What was different this season, however, was that players were selected without regard to their position for the first time.

All-stars were then divided into the three rosters based on their affiliations, after which NBA commissioner Adam Silver announced Kawhi Leonard had been named as an addition to ensure both USA teams would meet the minimum eight players required. Team USA Stripes only had seven players before Leonard’s addition, as Team World ended up with nine all-stars in the original split.

Here are the full rosters.

Team USA StarsScottie Barnes (Toronto Raptors)Cade Cunningham (Detroit Pistons)Anthony Edwards (Minnesota Timberwolves)Jalen Johnson (Atlanta Hawks)Devin Booker (Phoenix Suns)Jalen Duren (Detroit Pistons)Chet Holmgren (Oklahoma City Thunder)Tyrese Maxey (Philadelphia 76ers)

Coach: J.B. Bickerstaff (Cleveland Cavaliers)

Team USA StripesJaylen Brown (Boston Celtics)Kevin Durant (Houston Rockets)Brandon Ingram (Toronto Raptors)*Kawhi Leonard (Los Angeles Clippers)Jalen Brunson (New York Knicks)De’Aaron Fox (San Antonio Spurs)*LeBron James (Los Angeles Lakers)Donovan Mitchell (Cleveland Cavaliers)*injury replacement

Coach: Mitch Johnson (San Antonio Spurs)

Team WorldJamal Murray (Denver Nuggets)Luka Doncic (Los Angeles Lakers)Alperen Sengun (Houston Rockets)*Nikola Jokic (Denver Nuggets)Norman Powell (Miami Heat)Pascal Siakam (Indiana Pacers)Deni Avdija (Portland Trail Blazers)Victor Wembanyama (San Antonio Spurs)Karl-Anthony Towns (New York Knicks)*injury replacement

Coach: Darko Rajakovic (Toronto Raptors)

Players replaced due to injury: Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks, Team World), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Oklahoma City Thunder, Team World), Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors, Team USA Stripes).

• While individual fouls can be called and recorded during the all-star game, there is no maximum limit and players cannot foul out. Hack away!

• Any games that require overtime will be played to a target score of five points and there will be no game clock. The game will only end once a team reaches or surpasses the target score.

• Sunday’s contest will mark the first time two Raptors have been named all-stars in the same year since 2020 (Kyle Lowry and Siakam). Before that, the franchise had gone five consecutive seasons with two selections. Barnes and Ingram won’t be alone, however, as they’ll be joined by Rajakovic and his coaching staff, along with rookies Collin Murray-Boyles and Alijah Martin, and Brampton, Ont.’s A.J. Lawson in Los Angeles.

• Siakam was named an all-star for the fourth time in his career despite his Pacers (15-40) sitting 14th in the East. It’s the worst team record for an all-star since Kobe Bryant’s selection in his final season (2016), when the Lakers were 9-44.

• The ex-Raptor connections don’t end there as Powell will become the league’s seventh-oldest player ever to make his all-star game debut (32 years, 266 days). He’s not far off from Hall of Famer Nat “Sweetwater” Clifton at No. 1, who made his lone all-star appearance at 34 years and three months old.

• Speaking of debuts, Sunday’s game will see six first-time all-stars (Murray, Johnson, Duren, Avdija, Holmgren and Powell) and mark the 15th consecutive season that four or more first-timers have participated.

• On the opposite end of the spectrum will be LeBron James, who’ll be playing in a record 21st all-star game. And although the 41-year-old will fall 256 days short of passing Hall of Famer Kareen Abdul-Jabbar for the oldest player to participate, James can take some solace in knowing that — along with all-star games played — he leads all-time in field goals made (182) and points (434) for the exhibition contest, while ranking top 10 in rebounds, assists, blocks and steals.