OT: 2026 NBA All-Star Game to be USA vs World

[Raps in 4]

PG: Luka/Murray/Giddey
SG: SGA/OG
SF: Wemby/Franz/Lauri
PF: Giannis/Siakam/Sengun
C: Jokic/Sabonis/Gobert

vs.

PG: Hali/Brunson/Steph/Trae/Kyrie
SG: Ant/Mitchell/Brown/JDub/Harden
SF: Tatum/Kawhi
PF: AD/LeBron/Chet
C: Embiid/Mobley/KAT

[ATLTimekeeper]

They’re just grasping at straws. This isn’t a sustainable model unless you can always ensure you have a good roster of international all stars and that they aren’t injured.

Does it have to be sustainable? I think a better approach might be to come up with a new idea every year. I know that's basically what they've been doing, but I don't think there's any reason to assume USA vs World is going to be a regular thing.

Absolutely ditching the all star game, and instead doing a "4 Nations" type thing would be the absolute best case scenario for the NBA.

You already do pre-season games with Euroleague teams and Aussies - I wonder if you could convince them to all hold breaks at the same time and have like countries participate in a quick international tournament (every 2 years or something) in America with NBA Rules and what not. Would be intriguing to see how differently it would play out than a FIBA tournament.

You could maybe draw up something continental in a 4 Nations style. Maybe pairing Australia with Asia. And then Europe, Africa and The Americas?

[Raps in 4]

Does it have to be sustainable? I think a better approach might be to come up with a new idea every year. I know that's basically what they've been doing, but I don't think there's any reason to assume USA vs World is going to be a regular thing.

Absolutely ditching the all star game, and instead doing a "4 Nations" type thing would be the absolute best case scenario for the NBA.

You already do pre-season games with Euroleague teams and Aussies - I wonder if you could convince them to all hold breaks at the same time and have like countries participate in a quick international tournament (every 2 years or something) in America with NBA Rules and what not. Would be intriguing to see how differently it would play out than a FIBA tournament.

You could maybe draw up something continental in a 4 Nations style. Maybe pairing Australia with Asia. And then Europe, Africa and The Americas?

There isn't nearly enough talent outside the US to do that. Even countries that are good at basketball, like France, Serbia, Lithuania, etc. wouldn't have more than 1-2 players. We can't even do it by continent. Only Europe would have enough players for a team.

It has to be USA vs. World for now.

Hockey is popular in more countries than basketball, and the genetic requirements for becoming an elite hockey player are not nearly as strict so it's easier for small countries to produce lots of elite talent.

[YogurtProducer]

Absolutely ditching the all star game, and instead doing a "4 Nations" type thing would be the absolute best case scenario for the NBA.

You already do pre-season games with Euroleague teams and Aussies - I wonder if you could convince them to all hold breaks at the same time and have like countries participate in a quick international tournament (every 2 years or something) in America with NBA Rules and what not. Would be intriguing to see how differently it would play out than a FIBA tournament.

You could maybe draw up something continental in a 4 Nations style. Maybe pairing Australia with Asia. And then Europe, Africa and The Americas?

There isn't nesrly enough talent outaide the US to do that. Even countries that are good at basketball, like France, Serbia, Lithuania, etc. wouldn't have more than 1-2 plamaubeyers. We can't even do it by continent. Only Europe would have enough players for a team.

You can do Canada USA France Australia.

But the only way to realistically do this would be to invite other leagues to join this theoretical "4 Nations" tournament.

[Raps in 4]

You could maybe draw up something continental in a 4 Nations style. Maybe pairing Australia with Asia. And then Europe, Africa and The Americas?

There isn't nesrly enough talent outaide the US to do that. Even countries that are good at basketball, like France, Serbia, Lithuania, etc. wouldn't have more than 1-2 plamaubeyers. We can't even do it by continent. Only Europe would have enough players for a team.

You can do Canada USA France Australia.

But the only way to realistically do this would be to invite other leagues to join this theoretical "4 Nations" tournament.

USA would win every game by an average of 60 points lol. The NBA is trying to make the ASG more competitive, not less.

[SFour]

I like USA vs World, I think the players will take it more seriously because pride is on the line.....world will definitely be taking it more seriously

[Potential]

This should be permanent. Let anyone play without having to be voted in as an all star. We need to forget about this whole "all star" thing. I know it's tradition but it's become a huge topic in the wrong way the past few years. And I don't think it's a proper way to describe a player esp with it being a popularity contest with the voting and the rest of the players being chosen in and being undeserved replacements because of team standings. It's all about All-NBA anyway

[YogurtProducer]

There isn't nesrly enough talent outaide the US to do that. Even countries that are good at basketball, like France, Serbia, Lithuania, etc. wouldn't have more than 1-2 plamaubeyers. We can't even do it by continent. Only Europe would have enough players for a team.

You can do Canada USA France Australia.

But the only way to realistically do this would be to invite other leagues to join this theoretical "4 Nations" tournament.

USA would win every game by an average of 60 points lol. The NBA is trying to make the ASG more competitive, not less.

USA in the Olympics didnt win by 60 points. Biggest win was 26 vs Serbia.

[Childs]

2027: G league all stars vs NBA all stars
2028: NHL all stars vs NBA all stars
2029: NBA Geriatric all stars vs NBA young all stars
2030: NBA execs vs NBA all stars

Keep experimenting Silver.

[YogurtProducer]

I like USA vs World, I think the players will take it more seriously because pride is on the line.....world will definitely be taking it more seriously

I think World is the one you gotta worry about.

USA wont wanna lose as they're repping their country. I don' think SGA, Giannis, and Jokic teaming up is gonna take it anymore seriously than they did before.

The only way to get effort in an ASG is a ridiculous prize (like, $10M to each winning player), or repping your own country

[CPT]

The article mentions the broadcast tie-in with the Winter Olympics, so it might be a one-off. They also mention the 4 Nations thing.

The NBA tried that 4 team mini-tournament last year and IMO it was terrible, but that doesn’t mean they won’t try it again.

Would they still use conferences? USA East, USA West, World East, World West?

Or USA, Canada, Europe, World? Canada is a tough sell there tbh.

Honestly regions of the US instead of conferences would be pretty cool.

[YogurtProducer]

The article mentions the broadcast tie-in with the Winter Olympics, so it might be a one-off. They also mention the 4 Nations thing.

The NBA tried that 4 team mini-tournament last year and IMO it was terrible, but that doesn’t mean they won’t try it again.

Would they still use conferences? USA East, USA West, World East, World West?

Or USA, Canada, Europe, World? Canada is a tough sell there tbh.

Honestly regions of the US instead of conferences would be pretty cool.

Canada IMO is the easiest sell because you can actually put out a real team.

In all honestly for marketing purposes the NBA should probably do North America vs the World. Americans are to dumb to realize SGA isn't international and they can root for him

[Raps in 4]

The article mentions the broadcast tie-in with the Winter Olympics, so it might be a one-off. They also mention the 4 Nations thing.

The NBA tried that 4 team mini-tournament last year and IMO it was terrible, but that doesn’t mean they won’t try it again.

Would they still use conferences? USA East, USA West, World East, World West?

Or USA, Canada, Europe, World? Canada is a tough sell there tbh.

Honestly regions of the US instead of conferences would be pretty cool.

Canada IMO is the easiest sell because you can actually put out a real team.

In all honestly for marketing purposes the NBA should probably do North America vs the World. Americans are to dumb to realize SGA isn't international and they can root for him

The only scoring guards World has are Canadian, while the US has an absolute glut of guards. If they want a competitive game, Canada would have to be part of World.

[Raps in 4]

I hope Scottie represents Jamaica. I'd rather have Scottie than Chokebiid on team World.

[wegotthabeet]

I hope Scottie represents Jamaica. I'd rather have Scottie than Chokebiid on team World.

Scottie + the twins

[djsunyc]

that jamaica team would be all defense.

would also be the first team to play without socks lol.

[Zeno]

I don’t know if anyone mentioned this but teams should be really careful giving international players a bonus for making the all-star team if this is an ongoing format. We might see them go way deeper into the international talent pool with this.

[CPT]

I don’t know if anyone mentioned this but teams should be really careful giving international players a bonus for making the all-star team if this is an ongoing format. We might see them go way deeper into the international talent pool with this.

That’s a consideration that might be bigger depending on the format.

I’m also slightly worried about the historical implications. As much as the game has become kind of a joke, being an All-Star means something. When comparing careers, if one guy was a 9x All-Star and the other just 3x, it’s going to be hard to make the case that “3x guy” was better.

I hope the players who deserve to be there get their nods and there aren’t too many where you are thinking “hmm… _____ is an All-Star? That’s weird.”

If it’s a one time or rotating thing, it might not be such a big deal. It’s not like there haven’t been some ridiculous selections in the past when it was still East vs West.

[JShuttlesworth]

The international team is almost deep enough for this to work without any issue.

As it stands I think the International team could win (assuming they actually tried), but there's probably 5-6 players who would be named All-Stars who didn't necessarily deserve it. SGA, Joker, Giannis, Doncic, Embiid*, Siakam, Sengun, Wemby, Sabonis*. Those guys are legit All-Stars. Embiid is born abroad but played for USA where as Sabonis was born in the US but plays for Lithuania -- I don't know how the NBA who handle those situations.

All of the other guys like Wagner, Murray, Markkanen, Giddey, Anunoby, Gobert, Zubac, etc. are fringe All-Stars at best. Gobert (x3), and Lauri (x1) are the only All-Stars in the lot. Still a really good roster though.

Fast forward 4-5 years the International Team could very well be composed of legit All-Stars though

[WaltFrazier]

next year, I'd do 7ft players vs under 7fters

format doesn't matter if the players don't care

After that, a 70s retro game, no three point line