The rosters are finalized, and the uniforms are out for the 2026 NBA All-Star Game, which will feature a new format with three teams in a round-robin tournament: Two teams will consist of players from the United States and a third will be comprised of players from the rest of the world.
The midseason exhibition will be played in Inglewood, California, at the Los Angeles Clippers’ Intuit Dome on Sunday.
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The NBA first moved New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns to Team World last week, opening a 16th and final spot in the Team USA pool for this year’s All-Star Game.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver filled that vacancy with Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard, now a seven-time All-Star who is enjoying one of the best seasons of his career and previously headlined a list of snubs for the event.
Since, Silver has also picked Houston Rockets center Alperen Şengün to replace Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Toronto Raptors forward Brandon Ingram to replace Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry and San Antonio Spurs guard De’Aaron Fox to replace Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo. Gilgeous-Alexander, Curry and Antetokounmpo are all dealing with injuries.
Additionally, after Antetokounmpo was ruled out Thursday, the NBA moved Miami Heat wing Norman Powell — who has ties to Jamaica — to Team World.
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Here’s the roster breakdown:
USA Stars
Head coach: J.B. Bickerstaff (Detroit Pistons)
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Scottie Barnes, Toronto Raptors
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Devin Booker, Phoenix Suns
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Cade Cunningham, Detroit Pistons
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Jalen Duren, Detroit Pistons
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Anthony Edwards, Minnesota Timberwolves
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Chet Holmgren, Oklahoma City Thunder
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Jalen Johnson, Atlanta Hawks
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Tyrese Maxey, Philadelphia 76ers
USA Stripes
Head coach: Mitch Johnson (San Antonio Spurs)
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Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics
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Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks
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Brandon Ingram, Toronto Raptors
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Kevin Durant, Houston Rockets
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LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers
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Kawhi Leonard, Los Angeles Clippers
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Donovan Mitchell, Cleveland Cavaliers
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De’Aaron Fox, San Antonio Spurs
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Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors*
World
Head coach: Darko Rajaković (Toronto Raptors)
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Deni Avdija, Portland Trail Blazers
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Luka Dončić, Los Angeles Lakers
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Nikola Jokić, Denver Nuggets
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Jamal Murray, Denver Nuggets
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Pascal Siakam, Indiana Pacers
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Alperen Şengün, Houston Rockets
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Karl-Anthony Towns, New York Knicks
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Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio Spurs
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Norman Powell, Miami Heat
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Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks*
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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder*
“*” denotes unable to play because of injury
How this year’s All-Stars were selected
Fans were responsible for 50% of the vote that picked each conference’s five starters. NBA players (25%) and a media panel (25%) accounted for the other slices of the vote.
NBA head coaches selected 14 reserves, namely James, who’s on an All-Star team for the 22nd consecutive season.
There were no positional requirements for this year’s All-Star lineups. That’s a first for the exhibition, which will soon be played in its 75th iteration.
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Why are there 9 participating players on Team World?
Towns, who is Dominican through his late mother, was the first player shifted over to Team World. As a result, there were only 15 players in the Team USA pool. A minimum of 16 was required, hence the addition of Leonard.
When the format was rolled out, it was announced that Silver would have the ability to select additional All-Stars so that each group hit its number.
So that’s how Team World ended up with nine players initially, whereas USA Stars and USA Stripes both started with eight players. The additions of Şengün and Powell gave Team World 11 players, but only nine of them will be participating. Likewise, while USA Stripes will technically have nine All-Stars, only eight of them will play, including Ingram and Fox.
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How this year’s All-Star Game will be played
In terms of the game itself, there will still technically be four 12-minute quarters — although each will be its own game. Each of the three teams will play twice during round-robin action. The fourth “quarter” will pit the two teams with the best records to decide a champion.
Point differential will be the post-round-robin tiebreaker if all three teams have 1-1 records.
A look at this year’s All-Star Game uniforms, court
The Clippers are hosting this year’s All-Star Game, so it’s fitting the hardwood honors their colorway, as well as the architectural design of the Intuit Dome, which opened ahead of the 2024-25 season and will be used during the 2028 L.A. Olympics.
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The All-Star Game jerseys sport an L.A.-inspired script, and there are seven stars orbiting the wordmarks, representing the seven previous All-Star games the city has hosted.
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