The NBA’s 75th All-Star Weekend will take place from February 13-15, 2026. It will be held at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California, the new home of the Los Angeles Clippers.

As the league takes its last big breath before playoff pressure tightens the screws, you’ll see many of the usual blockbuster showdowns along with a reimagined main event. Here’s what to expect from this NBA All-Star Weekend.

How Will the New All-Star Game Work and Who Will Play?

The most interesting revelation about this year’s All-Star break is the new format of the All-Star Game. The old East vs. West structure has been retired. In its place, you’ll see a mini round-robin tournament that organizers hope will make gameplay more competitive and watchable.

In a round-robin tournament, each competing team plays every other team. The winning teams advance. In this case, there will be three teams: two featuring U.S. players and one with international players.

If the records are tied at the end of the first round, the two teams with the highest point differential will play in the All-Star Championship Game. Each game in this tournament will be 12 minutes long.

Here’s a closer look at the three All-Star teams to help you pick your favorite:
• Team USA Stars features the youngest all-American NBA stars. These include Anthony Edwards, Tyrese Maxey, and Cade Cunningham.
• Tame USA Stripes shows off the NBA’s veteran stars, including Steph Curry, LeBron James, and Kevin Durant.
• Team World holds all the league’s stars from the rest of the world. You’ll see household names like Luka Dončić, Nikola Jokić, and Victor Wembanyama.

Friday Night Opening Events

The All-Star Weekend begins on Friday night. The event will kick off with the All-Star Celebrity Game, starting at 7 p.m. ET.

You’ll see actors, musicians, and comedians with wide-ranging basketball chops compete alongside celebrity athletes from outside the NBA. This year, these include comedian Keegan-Michael Key, professional NBA gossiper Shams Charania, Linsanity’s Jeremy Lin, and a host of influencers, rappers, and even NFL stars.

Following the celebrity opener, the Rising Stars Challenge will start at 9 p.m. ET. Like this year’s All-Star format, the Rising Stars event will be a pocket-sized tournament. The first round will include three teams made of the NBA’s best new players and one team with the top G League stars. These four teams will compete in a single-elimination bracket. The winners will play each other immediately after in the Rising Stars Championship Game.

Instead of a time-based competition, this tournament will feature a points threshold. The two first teams to reach 40 points will win the games in the first round. The first to 25 will win the championship game. Some of the most interesting new stars to watch here include Cooper Flagg, Kon Knueppel, VJ Edgecombe, and three-time Slam Dunk champion Mac McClung.

Finally, Friday night will end with the HBCU game, using All-Star Weekend visibility to boost the NBA’s diversity commitments.

Saturday Afternoon Skills Fest

The NBA All-Star Weekend’s Saturday afternoon events will start at 5 p.m. ET with the 3-Point Contest (note to editor: AP style uses a numeral in the official name). The Shooting Stars event, a timed shooting competition, will follow at around 6 p.m. ET. The afternoon will close with the Slam Dunk Contest, starting at around 7 p.m. ET.

You won’t see any major changes to this year’s 3-Point Contest, besides its move to the first spot in Saturday’s lineup. It will follow the traditional setup with two timed rounds of five ball racks each. You’ll see all the usual rack locations, money balls, and long balls. Participants include All-Star Tyrese Maxey, rookie Kon Knueppel, and surprise appearances by Bobby Portis and Damian Lillard. Lillard returns to once again try for his third 3-Point Contest title only nine months after an Achilles tear sidelined him from last year’s playoff run with the Bucks.

This year, the Shooting Stars event replaces the Skills Challenge. Instead of showcasing passing and dribbling skills, the contest will feature seven designated shooting spots from varying distances and a 70-second time limit. Four teams will compete, each with two current players and one NBA veteran. You’ll see big names like Jalen Brunson, Chet Holmgren, Kon Knueppel, and the Harper brothers alongside their father.

Finally, All-Star Saturday will close with the annual search for a pulse in the Slam Dunk Contest. As usual, this will feature two rounds of two dunks each from the participants. The celebrity judges will score subjectively, and the highest combined final score will win. After three consecutive wins in previous years, current champion Mac McClung will sit this one out. You’ll see four brand new Slam Dunk competitors, including the Lakers’ Jaxson Hayes and the Spurs’ Carter Bryant.

Sunday’s 75th NBA All-Star Schedule

Sunday’s showcase will begin with the G League’s Next Up events at 2:30 p.m. ET. These will start with G League 3-Point and Slam Dunk Contests followed by a G League All-Star tournament. Similar to the Rising Stars tournament, this will be a single-elimination bracket featuring four teams and two rounds.

Finally, the first game in the NBA All-Star tournament will start at 5 p.m. ET. The All-Star Championship Game will start at around 7 p.m. ET.

The Evolving NBA All-Star Weekend

The NBA’s All-Star Weekend evolves a bit every year. The 2026 main event will feature a competitive two-round tournament instead of the usual exhibition game devoid of defense until the final two minutes. An interesting team-based shooting contest will replace the far-too-hackable Skills Challenge. Remaining irreplaceable are the traditional newbie showcases, Celebrity Game madness, and distance-shooting and dunk spectacles.