During February’s NBA All-Star weekend, much of the chatter in league circles centered on how to improve the product. Or, to put it more bluntly, how to get the players to care about the All-Star Game itself again. All this talk was going on while a large number of viewers at home were drawn to the NHL’s 4 Nations Face-off, which had star players going all out on the ice — even dropping the gloves at points — to represent their nation.
Add in the fact that NBC will broadcast next year’s All-Star Game and it falls right in the middle of the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, and well, we can all see where this is headed. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver confirmed that an international format — USA vs. the World (Ryder Cup style) — is being discussed. Here is what Silver told Joe Varden of The Athletic.
“Given the strong interest we’ve seen in international basketball competitions, most recently in last summer’s Olympics in Paris, we’re discussing concepts with the players’ association that focus on NBA players representing their countries or regions instead of the more traditional formats that we’ve used in the past.”
Speaking earlier in the day to the Associated Press sports editors, Silver said:
“It’s not lost on us … we’ll be in L.A., the home of the ’28 Summer Olympics, and we’ll be competing in the arena at Intuit, where the basketball competition will take place in the 2028 Olympics. So I think all of those factors, when they come together, it presents an enormous opportunity for us to do something with an international competition instead of the traditional All-Star formats that we’ve used.”
When asked about this format possibility during this year’s NBA All-Star weekend, international players generally seemed more enthusiastic about the idea than their American counterparts.
“I would love that. Oh, I would love that,” Giannis Antetokounmpo said. “I think that would be the most interesting and most exciting format. I would love that. For sure, I’d take pride in that. I always compete, but I think that will give me a little bit more extra juice to compete, like having Shai, Jokic, Luka, Wemby, Towns, Sengun. I know those players — obviously I’m missing some guys that I cannot think from the top of my head, going against the best U.S. players. I think it would be fun. I think that would be the best format.”
“I would love to. My opinion is that it’s more purposeful,” Victor Wembanyama said. “There’s more pride in it. More stakes.”
At the top end, a World team would have as much or more talent than a USA squad — the last six MVPs have been international players, and that will become seven this season, whether Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Canada) or Nikola Jokic (Serbia) wins it. About a quarter of NBA players are international, and there is concern that at the bottom end of the World roster (spots 10-12) international players could be selected as All-Stars over more deserving American-born players.
While the NBA league office will listen to those concerns, we can all see which way the wind is blowing.
One interesting note, it is possible the 2026 NBA All-Star Game could be an afternoon affair West Coast time, starting earlier than is traditional and becoming part of a massive day of international sports, with the Winter Olympics on the air that evening, something reported by Marc Stein.
