The NBA and Players Association announced a dramatic change for the 2025 All-Star Game, turning the marquee event into a four-team mini-tournament. This overhaul aims to respond to criticism of the lack of intensity of matches in recent years. The tournament will be held on February 16, 2025 at the Chase Center in San Francisco, with two semi-finals and a final, with each match ending when a team reaches 40 points.
Among the 24 players selected for the All-Star Game, analysts from the American channel TNT and former NBA stars, Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith, will organize a draft on February 6 to form three teams. The fourth team, named Team Candace in homage to WNBA legend Candace Parker, will be made up of the winning players of the Rising Stars Challenge. The latter is another mini-tournament featuring young talents from the NBA and the G-League, the development league.
An unchanged selection system
The All-Star player selection process remains unchanged. The fan vote, which begins on December 21 and ends on January 20, will count for 50% of the results, while current players and media will each carry 25% weight. These votes will designate ten starters, while the fourteen substitutes will be chosen by the team coaches. The coaches of the All-Star teams will come from the franchises with the best records in the Eastern and Western conferences as of February 2.
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The NBA also announced a prize pool of $1.8 million, intended to motivate players and make matches more competitive. Each player on the victorious team will receive $125,000, compared to $50,000 for those on the finalist team and $25,000 for the semi-final losers.
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