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Did NBA Stars Like the New All-Star Game Format as Much as Fans?

A few of the stars that played in this year’s NBA All-Star Game gave their review of the new format during their postgame press conferences.
Liam McKeone|
The 2026 NBA All-Star Game was a big hit with fans, and the players gave their reviews after the game.
The 2026 NBA All-Star Game was a big hit with fans, and the players gave their reviews after the game. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

This year’s NBA All-Star Game introduced a new USA vs. World format that wound up a huge hit with the fans. It wasn’t really about the Olympic-inspired concept so much as the fact that it inspired the stars on the court to give a better effort than we’ve seen in many years. As a result the NBA and the All-Stars were collectively lauded for the quality of Sunday’s exhibition. Even more, it left fans hoping a new standard had been set for All-Star competitiveness. 

The league will undoubtedly do whatever it can to maintain that new standard. This is by far the best PR the NBA has gotten around All-Star Weekend in recent memory. One of the top items on the league’s to-do list starting right now is figuring out how to replicate this year’s formula for the games to come. That discussion starts with the format and whether it should be brought back next year even though the Olympics won’t be present as a clear through line. 

It was obviously a huge hit with the viewing population. But what about the players?

The league is not going to make decisions based solely on the opinions of its superstars but their perspective matters nonetheless. There was something about this year that inspired them to play harder, and it wasn’t just for love of country—there were a pair of games between the two Team USA rosters that showed off the same level of effort as the USA vs. World contests. 

So what did the stars on the court think? Many of them offered their review of the new format during their postgame press conferences. Their opinions varied but were generally positive, although calls for the return of East vs. West were present as well. 

NBA stars review new All-Star format

To the surprise of nobody who watched the game, Anthony Edwards and Victor Wembanyama were both fans of the USA vs. World format. But Wemby would be open to a return to the old ways, while Edwards raised an interesting point as to why the competitive juices flowed stronger this year. 

“I think they ain't really going to take in what I'm saying, but I like this format,” Edwards said after winning All-Star MVP. “I think it makes us compete because it's only 12 minutes, and the three different teams separate the guys. I think it was really good.” 

“It was a pretty good display of basketball,” Wembanyama said. “Better than last year, in my opinion. It was fun… And the format, yeah, I liked it. I liked it. I wouldn't be against this format in the future, and I wouldn't be against the regular East versus West either.”

Edwards’s quote will be the biggest proponent for the league to keep a similar design even if the USA vs. World concept doesn’t return immediately. Separating four “quarters” into four 12-minute “games” with the stars split into multiple teams introduces a sense of urgency that has long been absent in the ASG. Even if the players don’t care all that much about putting on a good show or representing their country on this stage, the idea of losing multiple games or being eliminated from championship game contention clearly inspired the competitive instincts within the All-Stars. 

Wembanyama helped. He was not afraid to give a full-hearted effort from the opening whistle and was credited multiple times by Edwards for setting a competitive tone that everyone else followed. 

In addition to those points Devin Booker praised the league for a behind-the-scenes change that helped the players get into the right mindset for Sunday’s clash. 

“NBA did a good job of us doing all our media and pictures yesterday,” the Suns star said. “So today we could just come in and properly get our bodies activated. I think that was a big part of it. I think every team honestly wanted to win… I know the World guys wanted to win. I know Victor [Wembanyama] wanted to win bad. You could see it. And I know our team did.”

It’s one of those little things fans couldn’t even begin to imagine would affect a star’s performance. But it makes sense through the lens Booker offers. The NBA cleared the plate so they only had to focus on performing for the game itself. 

On the World side, Karl-Anthony Towns was thrilled to represent the Dominican Republic at the ASG, and Deni Avdija thought the international component added extra juice for the American side. 

“It was awesome. That's what this is about,” the Knicks’ star center said “That’s what this is about, man, being able to represent my mother's country, our country, it's a big honor. It's probably one of my favorite All-Star games I've been a part of, to be able to have that flag on my jersey.” 

“I think it brought more [competitiveness] from the Stripes actually,” Avdija laughed after appearing in his first All-Star game for the Trail Blazers. “They were going at it. I think it brought some competitiveness with it, and it’s a fun format. It shows how the game went global, which is amazing to see. I hope it's even going to expand, and people are about to understand that it's fun watching the All-Star Game. It's going to be a little more competitive, try to bring it back.” 

Clippers star Kawhi Leonard was one of the players who believed the product fans saw on Sunday didn’t have to be limited to a USA vs. World format.

“I think it was good,” Leonard said. “Didn’t really figure it out until we got here. Even as the game’s going on, trying to figure out the records for being 2–1 and how you play that out as well... But I still think going back to East-West will be great. I think guys will compete, still.”

Spurs point guard De’Aaron Fox offered a similar sentiment; he hit the only game-winner of this year’s ASG, a buzzer-beating three to win Game 2 for Team Stars. 

“I don't know what can honestly change it because there's always been a cash prize and things of that nature, but guys were in agreement, at least in our locker room, that guys want to compete,” Fox said. 

Overall it seems the All-Stars generally liked the new format. The chance for Team World to rep their home countries appeared particularly meaningful to some. But they also believe they could put forth a similarly high-quality game in the standard East vs. West format, too. 

Next year’s game is slated to take place at the home of the Suns in Phoenix. How the NBA approaches it in light of this year’s raging success, as well as the above thoughts from the various stars that will make up the All-Star Game, will be a matter of much interest for basketball fans everywhere. 

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Liam McKeone
LIAM MCKEONE

Liam McKeone is a senior writer for the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has been in the industry as a content creator since 2017, and prior to joining SI in May 2024, McKeone worked for NBC Sports Boston and The Big Lead. In addition to his work as a writer, he has hosted the Press Pass Podcast covering sports media and The Big Stream covering pop culture. A graduate of Fordham University, he is always up for a good debate and enjoys loudly arguing about sports, rap music, books and video games. McKeone has been a member of the National Sports Media Association since 2020.

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