2025 NBA Rising Stars Game: The new format and the reason behind having four teams

The NBA All-Star Weekend kicks off tonight, Friday February 14 with the Celebrity All-Star Game and Rising Stars Challenge. The events continue on Saturday and, as is typical, will conclude on Sunday with the final All-Star Game. This year, however, the NBA made a significant change to the format of the game.

The NBA’s “mini-tournament” format for the 2025 All-Star Game

In the past, the NBA All-Star game was always just one 48-minute game between the Eastern Conference and Western Conference with teams chosen by the leading vote-getters. Last year, the NBA returned to an East vs West game. That format ended in a 397-point affair that was widely critcized. So this year, the NBA is introducing a brand new, four-team mini-tournament to be played at the Golden State Warriors' Chase Center this Sunday.

Three teams of NBA All-Stars, plus the winner of the annual Rising Stars challenge will make up the four teams. Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal, and Kenny Smith are the honorary coaches of the three NBA All-Star teams and chose their players earlier in February. The Rising Stars team will be coached by TNT analyst and WNBA legend Candace Parker, and we’ll know her roster by the end of the night tonight at the conclusion of the Rising Stars Challenge.

Meet the future legends: These are the 2025 NBA All-Star Rising Stars Game rosters

How it works

The Rising Stars Challenge, which will be played as a four-team tournament as well, will take place tonight at 9 p.m. ET. It will feature the league’s best rookies and sophomores plus seven players from the G League. The winner of that tournament comprises the fourth team to play in the NBA All-Star Game this Sunday, February 16.

Each of the four NBA All-Star teams will have eight players (24 total), the same as in previous years. In the mini-tournament, Kenny’s Young Stars will face Chuck’s Global Stars in the first semifinal (Game 1), and Shaq’s OG’s will play Candace’s Rising Stars in the second semifinal (Game 2). Then, the winner of Game 1 will play the winner of Game 2 in the championship (Game 3). For each game, the winner will be the first team to reach or surpass 40 points.

2025 updated NBA All-Star Game rosters: Full list of players for Shaq, Kenny and Chuck’s teams

The voting process is the same as usual - 10 players were selected as starters with 12 players per conference. The prize pool is $1.8 million this year, with the winning team’s players to receive $125,000 each. The runners up will receive $50,000 each, and the losing teams' players will receive $25,000 each.

Why the change?

For several years now, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has been trying to find ways to make the All-Star event more competitive. It’s difficult, as there’s nothing really at stake and it’s a bit of a fun break for the players, despite their being money involved (which is an incentive for the players, but not the fans).

After last year’s game saw the teams score 211 and 186 points in Indianapolis, Silver heard the criticism and made a change.

“I think everyone was disappointed in what they saw last year,” Silver said back in November. “It wasn’t just the league, it was the players, as well the players association. I think we all did what we thought we could, thinking we would - particularly in Indiana, sort of the heartland of basketball - somehow we would give it the college try, and we’d see a more competitive game.”

“We all want to do a better job providing competition and entertainment for our fans.”

Thus, this new format was born as a way of trying to “excite the fans and also excite the players, so it’s something they’re enthusiastic about participating in”.

The NBA insists that putting competitive athletes in a competitive situation will guarantee they show up and play hard. We will have to see this weekend. But the shorter game with a 40-point score limit will definitely help things along.

The events kick off tonight at 7 p.m. ET starting with the Celebrity Game, followed by the Rising Stars competition. Saturday will feature the three NBA All-Star events - Skills Challenge, 3-point contest, and Slam Dunk. And Sunday will complete the events with the final All-Star Game. You can follow along with each event right here on AS USA as we bring you live text coverage.

Get your game on! Whether you’re into NFL touchdowns, NBA buzzer-beaters, world-class soccer goals, or MLB home runs, our app has it all. Dive into live coverage, expert insights, breaking news, exclusive videos, and more – plus, stay updated on the latest in current affairs and entertainment. Download now for all-access coverage, right at your fingertips – anytime, anywhere.