The NBA Is Officially Unleashing A New Team USA vs Team World Format In An Effort To Save The All Star Game

Las Vegas Review-Journal. Getty Images.

Earlier this summer, Adam Silver confirmed the rumors that the NBA was going to test out a Team USA vs Team World format in some capacity at the 2026 All Star Game 

We didn’t have many details at the time, just that the idea was happening. Given his obsession with trying new things with wacky formats and new ideas, it wasn’t all surprising that they were maybe going down this road in 2026. 

Now that a few months have gone by, we have the details 

My thoughts?

Look I’m not going to bury the idea before I even see a single second of it. It could very well work and be entertaining. I enjoy the IST, the Play In idea works, so why can’t this? I’m willing to have an open mind. I have questions, but I’m willing to see it play out before casting judgement

One of the more obvious questions when we first heard the idea would be how would they fill out Team World? Would guys who maybe weren’t as deserving get the nod just to fill out the roster? Now seeing that it’s only 8 guys, I don’t think we have to worry about that. You can easily come up with 8 worthy All Stars for Team World, so at least that question has been answered.

In the end, will this new format make players try harder? I’m not so sure. You get the sense Adam Silver wants some of the 4 Nations juice from the NHL, but I’m not positive that happens. As long as the Larry O’Brien trophy exists, players aren’t going to risk injury by going hard as hell in a fake game. It is what it is at this point. My guess is these games will look like every other All Star game, it’ll just be a tournament style. Could be fun, but I don’t see players trying harder just because of the format.

How do you solve that problem? I’m not sure you can. With how long the season is, this level of talent has to focus on health for their playoff runs. For a lot of them, the expectation is to win the title. That’s what matters, not a fake game.

In the meantime, I guess keep throwing shit against the wall and see what sticks. Personally, I don’t need these fancy new ideas. Just give us a normal game with East vs West with the players wearing their own teams normal jersey. You know, like the old days when the All Star Game and overall experience was a thousand times better.