It’s just not an NBA season without some concerns about the format of the All-Star game, and Adam Silver’s office stopped by again on Friday.
This time, the NBA will move to a four-team tournament for the 2025 All-Star Game, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. Three of those teams would reportedly consist of eight All-Stars each, while the remaining team would be the winner of the Rising Stars game.
Essentially, it sounds like the league wants to adopt the Rising Stars Challenge format, which is currently a four-team tournament, or flip the formats with the All-Star Game. The NHL has also used this four-team tournament for the All-Star Game since 2016.
The 2025 NBA All-Star Game is scheduled for February 16 at the Golden State Warriors’ Chase Center.
Caitlin Clark could appear at the NBA All-Star festivities in 2025
Warriors star Stephen Curry is reportedly one of the All-Stars providing input on how to change the All-Star Game, and is also in talks to bring back his NBA vs. WNBA 3-point challenge with Sabrina Ionescu.
ESPN reports that there would be a variation on that event that could also involve other NBA and WNBA players, with Klay Thompson and Caitlin Clark specifically mentioned. You can bet the NBA would love to spotlight the WNBA’s league-changing superstar.
Why this All-Star Game change could work
You don’t need an explanation for why the NBA would do this if you watched a recent All-Star Game. It should be a big event for the star-studded league, but instead it’s a high-scoring slog in which players openly let each other score for the benefit of their highlight reel. Last year’s match had a final score of 211-186.
There have been calls to make the games more competitive (read: have the players actually play defense) and this format could help in that regard for one reason: the Rising Stars team.
Teams with LeBron James and Kevin Durant might let each other do whatever they want, but things might be different when one of those teams faces a team of rookies and sophomores. It comes down to pride for these guys, and the idea of losing to a 20-year-old might just move them.
Here are all the recent changes to the NBA All-Star Game format
Until 2018, the NBA All-Star Game had an East-West format in which the players played a typical basketball game. Here are all the ways the NBA has changed the way that works:
2018: The NBA is switching from East versus West to a playground-style team captain selection process.
2019: The NBA actually begins televising the selection process.
2020: The NBA institutes the Elam End, in which the fourth quarter has no time and the teams play first to a certain number of points.
2023: The NBA has its team captains make their picks right before the game instead of days in advance.
2024: The NBA goes back to East versus West and eliminates the Elam ending.
The league has seen its ratings decline over that period, but the reason the changes were made is because the ratings weren’t good to begin with. The 2018 All-Star game drew 7.7 million viewers, while last year’s event drew 5.5 million viewers. That was a recovery from an all-time low of 4.6 million in 2023.