NEW YORK-The NBA All-Star Game kicks off with a brand new glorious mini-tournament format around 2025, with Jaquille O Neil, Charles Barkley, and Kenny Smith as captains, from the day of the draft on February 6, representing Team Rising against all the other teams.
These changes were announced by the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association to counteract criticism that recent mid-season exhibition games had lacked intensity.
The All-Star Weekend of 2025 will take place on February 16 at Chase Center in San Francisco. The two-seed mini-tournament will consist of semifinals, with winners then facing off in a championship game. Each game will be played to a target score of 40 points.
Cash prizes for both winners and defeated teams
The total prize pool for the tournament will be $1.8 million, with winning players awarded $125,000 each. In addition, players on the second-place team will receive $50,000 each, while all those on the losing side in the semifinals will be awarded $25,000 each.
The mini-tournament’s first team to qualify is the winner of the Rising Stars game on February 14 and will feature first- and second-year NBA players, including G-League talent. The winning team, in honor of one of TNT’s All-Star analysts, WNBA great Candace Parker, will be called “Team Candace.”
The remaining three teams, Team Chuck, Team Shaq, and Team Kenny, will be selected by Barkley, O’Neal, and Smith, respectively. Each former NBA great will select eight players on February 6 for the draft.
The existing system of fan voting for All-Star starters, wherein the voting of fans corresponds to 50% of the total votes while players and a media panel share 25% each, will remain unchanged. Reserve players will be selected by the coaches of the NBA.
The head All-Star coaches will come from the coaching staff of the Eastern and Western Conference teams with the best records as of February 2. Two head coaches will lead the All-Star teams while the Rising Stars game and the additional All-Star lineup will be managed by two assistant coaches.
All-Star voting begins on Thursday and lasts through January 20.
This new format aims to inject fun and fierce competition into the game, paving the way for an unforgettable event in 2025.
