Four teams, three games, one night. That’s the plan for the 2025 NBA All-Star Game in San Francisco, confirmed after months of discussion around the lack of competitiveness and — well, defense — in the 2024 event.
The NBA adopted a new one-night tournament with three teams comprised of eight All-Stars drafted to teams by former NBA players Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Shaquille O’Neal of “Inside the NBA.”
“I hate it. Absolutely hate it,” Suns forward Kevin Durant said Tuesday of the new format. “It’s terrible. … We should just go back to the East-West, just play a game.”
Last year’s All-Star Game was widely ridiculed despite reverting back to the traditional East-West matchup from a “captain’s draft,” with the fan-vote leaders from each conference drafting 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 games will be decided by the first team to reach 40 points.
Commissioner Adam Silver reiterated on opening night of the 2024-25 season the NBA was committed to creating a competitive atmosphere for the All-Star Game on the heels of an event record 397 points in the 2024 event in Indianapolis.
The prize pool of $1.8 million is split based on results of the tournament in 2025. Players on the tournament winner receive $125,000 with runners-up to receive $50,000 apiece. The two teams eliminated with losses in their first game will be paid $25,000 per player.
Damian Lillard of the Bucks was voted All-Star Game MVP with 39 points in 2024 and launched multiple shots closer to halfcourt than the 3-point line.
He said last month the issue 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 non-all stars get to play against all stars, and shortens the actual game into a tournament where they only have to score 65 points to win,” Lillard said in a post to X on Nov. 21. “These guys are pros. Let’s stop this BS.”
