After reinventing the NBA All-Star Game in 2025, Commissioner Adam Silver said the tournament was a “miss” for the league.
All-Star Game Mini-Tournament Format
Adam Silver says the changes for the All-Star game "was a miss"
(h/t @ohnohedidnt24 )
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) March 27, 2025
To revitalize the All-Star Weekend, the NBA implemented a four-team mini-tournament for the 2025 NBA All-Star Game.
24 NBA players were still selected as all-stars. However, the all-stars were divided into three 8-man teams.
The winner of the Rising Stars competition became the fourth team in the tournament.
On paper, the mini-tournament should have facilitated a competitive environment.
Unfortunately, the tournament backfired for the league. More time was spent watching commercials and conducting introductions than playing basketball.
Per Sportscasting, this was a breakdown of the 2025 All-Star Game broadcast:
- Total broadcast time: 180 minutes
- Basketball in play (excluding stoppages): 33 minutes
- Total game time (including stoppages like free throws and fouls): 42 minutes
- Total ad time: 80 minutes
- Other segments (intros, challenges, music, analysis): 67 minutes
All-Star Game Mini-Tournament Will Not Return In 2026
Adam Silver on the All-Star Game (part 2):
"The breaks were too long and I get it. It was opportunity to celebrate TNT. The long stoppage in play in that final game didn't work for anyone. So we're a bit back to the drawing board" pic.twitter.com/cM7MzGAIxL
— Oh No He Didn't (@ohnohedidnt24) March 27, 2025
With a month to reflect on the All-Star game, Silver decided that the mini-tournament would not return in 2026.
“I thought we made almost an immeasurable amount of progress,” Silver told reporters on Thursday via @Ohnohedidnt24. “I thought this was a little better, but it was a miss. We’re not there in of creating an All-Star experience that we can be proud of, that our players can be proud of.”
What went wrong? Silver itted that the event focused more on entertainment than basketball, a mistake in hindsight.
“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.”
The NBA has tried multiple ways to increase All-Star Game ratings and put a better product on the court. The league has tried the ELAM ending, a draft, and East vs. West.
One format Silver likely won’t try is USA vs. World, saying it doesn’t make sense to “lump all the countries together.”
The 2026 NBA All-Star Game will be played in Los Angeles. More importantly, the game moves from TNT to NBC as part of the new media rights deal.
