It’s just not an NBA season without some fretting over the format of the All-Star Game, and Adam Silver’s office once again came through Friday.
This time, the NBA is floating a shift 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 either wants to adopt the format of the Rising Stars Challenge, 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 its All-Star Game since 2016.
The 2025 NBA All-Star Game is scheduled for Feb. 16 at the Golden State Warriors’ Chase Center.
Caitlin Clark could appear at 2025 NBA All-Star festivities
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 versus WNBA 3-point challenge alongside Sabrina Ionescu.
ESPN reports there would be some variation of that event, which could include other NBA and WNBA players, with Klay Thompson and Caitlin Clark specifically mentioned. You can bet the NBA would be happy to feature the WNBA’s league-altering superstar.
Why this All-Star Game change might work
You don’t need an explanation for why the NBA would do this if you have watched a recent All-Star Game. It should be a marquee event for the star-studded league, but is instead a high-scoring slog in which players openly allow each other to score for the benefit of their highlight reel. Last year’s game 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 might help in that regard for one reason: the Rising Stars team.
Teams featuring LeBron James and Kevin Durant might let each other do what they want, but it might be different if one of those teams is facing 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 actually move them.
Here are all the recent NBA All-Star Game format changes
Until 2018, the NBA All-Star Game featured an East vs. West format in which the players played a typical game of basketball. Here are all the ways the NBA has changed how that works:
2018: The NBA switches from East vs. West to a playground-style team-captain selection process.
2019: The NBA actually starts televising the selection process.
2020: The NBA institutes the Elam ending, in which the fourth quarter is untimed and the teams play first to a certain number of points.
2023: The NBA has its team captains make their picks immediately before the game rather than days in advance.
2024: The NBA goes back to East vs. West and eliminates the Elam ending.
The league has seen its ratings dwindle over that span, though the reason it made the changes is the ratings weren’t good to begin with. The 2018 All-Star game saw 7.7 million viewers, while last year’s event received 5.5 million. That was a bounce back from the all-time low of 4.6 million in 2023.