Four teams, three games, one evening. That’s the plan for the 2025 NBA All-Star Game in San Francisco, confirmed after months of discussion about the lack of competitiveness and — well, defense — in the 2024 event.
The NBA has adopted a new one-night tournament with three teams consisting of eight All-Stars, drafted for teams by former NBA players Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Shaquille O’Neal of Inside the NBA.
“I hate it. I absolutely hate it,” Suns forward Kevin Durant said of the new format on Tuesday. “It’s terrible. … We just have to get back to the east-west, just play a game.”
Last year’s All-Star Game was widely ridiculed despite reverting to the traditional East-West matchup of a “captain’s draft,” in which the voting leaders from each conference fielded two teams.
In 2025, the winner of the Rising Stars challenge competition between first- and second-year players will be the fourth team in the All-Star Game tournament.
Tournament matches are decided by the team that reaches 40 points first.
Commissioner Adam Silver reiterated on opening night of the 2024-2025 season the NBA’s commitment to creating a competitive atmosphere for the All-Star Game, following an event-record 397 points at the 2024 event in Indianapolis.
The $1.8 million prize pool will be distributed based on the results of the tournament in 2025. Players of the tournament winner will receive $125,000, while the runners-up will each receive $50,000. The two teams eliminated in their first match with losses will receive $25,000 per player.
The Bucks’ Damian Lillard was named 2024 All-Star Game MVP with 39 points and launched several shots closer to half court than the three-point line.
He said last month that the problem with the All-Star Game is an “effort problem.”
“The NBA has an effort problem with all-star games, so what do they do? They build a format where all stars can’t play against all stars, and shorten the actual game into a tournament where they only need to score 65 points to win,” Lillard said in a message to X on November 21. “These guys are pros. Let’s stop this nonsense.”