Ever-evolving in format and style, but undeniable in talent and shine. The NBA’s All-Star Weekend decamps in the Los Angeles metro for a seventh run, the most frequented location in league history. It returns to Inglewood specifically for the first time since 1983, back when the “Showtime” Lakers ruled the Great Western Forum.
The Intuit Dome, home of the LA Clippers, hosts the All-Star Saturday festivities and Sunday’s All-Star Game. The Forum stays in rotation to support event overflow. This weekend lifts young ascendants like Victor Wembanyama and Kon Knueppel, alongside the timeless forces of LeBron James and Kevin Durant. Here’s how to follow it all.
All times listed are Eastern.
NBA All-Star Weekend TV schedule
Watching in person? Get tickets on StubHub.
Venues: Intuit Dome and Kia Forum — Inglewood, Calif.
Dates: Feb. 13-15
| Game | Time (ET) | TV | Stream |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Celebrity Game |
7 p.m., Fri. |
ESPN |
|
|
Rising Stars |
9 p.m., Fri. |
NBCSN |
Peacock |
|
HBCU Classic |
11 p.m., Fri. |
ESPN2 |
|
|
Media Day |
1:30 p.m., Sat. |
NBA TV |
|
|
All-Star Saturday |
5 p.m., Sat. |
NBC |
Peacock |
|
G League Next Up |
2:30 p.m., Sun. |
NBA Channel |
|
|
All-Star Game |
5 p.m., Sun. |
NBC |
Peacock |
NBC is free over the air. ESPN is also available on ESPN Unlimited.
Friday
NBA All-Star Celebrity Game
Who’s the better hooping receiver, Keenan Allen or Amon-Ra St. Brown? Can GloRilla and Mustard run high pick-and-roll? Answers await us in Friday’s opener at the Forum. The full celebrity pool is deep, ranging from former pros (Jeremy Lin, Jason “White Chocolate” Williams) to big-screen actors (Simu Liu has a dribble bag).
One team is coached by the Brothers Antetokounmpo (Giannis, Thanasis, Alex) and temporary fourth brother Mookie Betts. The other side matches with Anthony Anderson, plus basketball trainers Lethal Shooter and Chris Brickley. Shams Charania is on Giannis’ team. Of note: Charania reported out Antetokounmpo trade rumors in recent weeks; the Milwaukee Bucks then trolled ESPN’s insider after the trade deadline.
Rising Stars
This showcase used to be a rookies versus sophomores scrimmage, but it’s now a scramble tournament of first- and second-year talents, plus a G League squad. Three teams have been drafted by Carmelo Anthony, Tracy McGrady and Vince Carter — all are Hall of Fame members and current NBC studio analysts. Two of them are cousins. One of them coined “glazed donut face” as a debilitating insult.
Cooper Flagg was the No. 1 pick from the pool, but he’s on ice after suffering a left midfoot sprain. Fear not, for Team Melo has Ace Bailey as his replacement and also boasts real-life San Antonio Spurs teammates Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper.
Team T-Mac is built around Knueppel at No. 2, and has Bub Carrington as an injury replacement for fellow Washington Wizards teammate Alex Sarr. Team Vince took VJ Edgecombe and Derik Queen as back-to-back snake draft selections.
Austin Rivers is the coach for the G League group to round out the tourney.
- Game 1: Team Melo vs. Team Austin, 9 p.m.
- Game 2: Team Vince vs. Team T-Mac, 9:55 p.m.
- Championship Game: Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner, 10:35 p.m.
The two semifinal games are races to 40 points. The winners then face off in a first-to-25 final.
The full rosters can be found here.
HBCU Classic
The NBA’s burgeoning HBCU promotion makes a Friday night stage for conference rivals. Coastal Athletic Association members Hampton and North Carolina A&T square off atop the Forum floor. Both universities receive a $100,000 joint donation from the league and its AT&T title sponsor. Tuskegee beat Morehouse in last year’s HBCU Classic.
Saturday
All-Star Media Day
Nothing says “Happy Valentine’s Day” like an Adam Silver press conference. The NBA commissioner is set for 4 p.m. remarks, with player pressers and Q&A sessions beforehand. The live stream starts at 1:30 p.m. Silver will probably address the new All-Star Game format, after admitting that the 2025 rework was an air ball. There could be some questions about draft tanking and league expansion.
Maybe Antetokounmpo will speak on his Milwaukee future. Maybe Kawhi Leonard will laugh again. Fans can also watch the live feed on the NBA’s YouTube account.
3-Point Contest
The earliest of three Saturday programs starts at 5 p.m. Our surprise headliner here is Damian Lillard, who won this competition in 2023 and 2024. Lillard is out for the season as he recovers from a torn Achilles. He’s at least cleared to pop treys in rapid succession, so adjust watches to Dame Time for the night.
Devin Booker is the other participant with a prior win. He survived the final with Klay Thompson and Tobias Harris for his first-place finish in 2018.
The rules are mostly the same as in years past. Players still choose where to spot the special money ball rack, and there are two even more special money balls placed six feet behind the 3-point line.
The full list of participants can be found here.
Shooting Stars
There’s no set start time for the Shooting Stars event. It’s part of the “All-Star Saturday” broadcast window, and it commences once the 3-point contest wraps up. Here, trios are formed with two current players and a retired one. Team Cameron reps the Duke Blue Devils. Team Knicks sources its power from midtown Manhattan. Team Harper is a father-son affair. And Team All-Star is … well, they’re All-Stars, isn’t that enough?
It’s been 11 years since the last Shooting Stars exhibition. The three-man squads shoot jumpers around the floor for 70 seconds, and the top two finishers face off in a final round.
The full list of participants can be found here.
Slam Dunk Contest
Following the Shooting Stars Challenge, we turn to the dunk contest — perhaps as enduring and memorable as the All-Star Game itself. This is where hoopers clear cars in a single bound and make birthday wishes off of backboards.
None of this year’s dunkers play major NBA minutes. Jaxson Hayes is in the news right now because he shoved G-Wiz, Washington’s blue fuzzball mascot. Rookie Jase Richardson, son of two-time NBA Slam Dunk champ Jason, seemed stunned by his inclusion. Keshad Johnson was just recalled from the G League on Wednesday.
And Carter Bryant, the 14th pick in the 2025 draft, does most of his dunking in pregame warmups:
All four players get two dunks in the first round, and the two high scorers do an additional two dunks for the final round. The 2026 judges table includes four former champions: Dominique Wilkins, Brent Barry, Dwight Howard and Nate Robinson.
A fifth celebrity judge will be voted on by fans. That delegate will be Lethal Shooter, Druski or Tyler Toney from Dude Perfect. So, yeah … probably Druski. We can only hope that the ubiquitous internet jester takes this more seriously than the NFL Honors.
The full list of participants can be found here.
Sunday
The 75th NBA All-Star Game
There’s the G League “Next Up” game that leads into Sunday’s main event, but it’s at a separate site (Los Angeles Convention Center) and is limited to the league app or the NBA Channel (a tertiary network separate from NBA TV). The weekend centerpiece tips off at 5 p.m., earlier than usual due to the Winter Olympics.
This year’s remixed offering gives us two American-born All-Star teams and an international “World” one. The round-robin tourney ensures that everyone plays twice, and the best two then earn a decisive finale at 7:10 p.m.
- All-Star Game 1: Stars vs. World, 5 p.m.
- All-Star Game 2: Stripes vs. Game 1 winner, 5:55 p.m.
- All-Star Game 3: Stripes vs. Game 1 loser, 6:25 p.m.
- All-Star Game 4: Championship, 7:10 p.m.
That’s four 12-minute mini-games in total. If all three sides are 1-1, the tiebreaker will be point differential.
Detroit Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff and Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson languidly pace the U.S. sidelines. The Toronto Raptors’ Darko Rajaković, a native of Serbia, coaches the international team. Among those making their All-Star debuts are Jalen Duren, of the East-leading Pistons, and 11-year pro Norman Powell, who played at the Intuit Dome last year as a member of the Clippers and is now with the Miami Heat.
In a last-minute switch, Powell will be playing for Team World. He’ll join the likes of Nikola Jokić and Luka Dončić, who assume their usual spotlights.
Full All-Star Game lineups are listed here.
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