NBA All-Star Game 2025: Everything you need to know about the new format
by Tyler Doty
NBA: Who are the attendees and absentees for the 2025 All-Star Game
A quick break from your NBA predictions: on the night from Sunday to Monday, starting at 2:00 AM, the 2025 All-Star Game will take place. The usual stars will be there, starting with LeBron James, who will play in his 21st All-Star Game, setting an all-time record! The evening will be especially meaningful for Stephen Curry, who will play in front of his home crowd at the Chase Center, the home of the Golden State Warriors. Other well-known and beloved superstars, such as Kevin Durant, Nikola Jokic, Jayson Tatum, James Harden, and Damian Lillard, will also take part.
But this 2025 edition will also feature newcomers who will play in their very first All-Star Game. Among them is 2024 DOY Victor Wembanyama, who is already establishing himself as one of the top players in the league in just his second NBA season. Evan Mobley, Cade Cunningham, Tyler Herro, Alperen Sengun, and Jalen Williams will also experience their first selection.
The All-Stars of the Western Conference...
LeBron James (Los Angeles Lakers), Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors), Kevin Durant (Phoenix Suns), Nikola Jokic (Denver Nuggets), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Oklahoma City Thunder), Victor Wembanyama (San Antonio Spurs), Kyrie Irving (Dallas Mavericks), Anthony Edwards (Minnesota Timberwolves), James Harden (Los Angeles Clippers), Jaren Jackson Jr (Memphis Grizzlies), Alperen Sengun (Houston Rockets), Jalen Williams (Oklahoma City Thunder).
The All-Stars of the Eastern Conference
Trae Young (Atlanta Hawks), Jayson Tatum (Boston Celtics), Donovan Mitchell (Cleveland Cavaliers), Jalen Brunson (New York Knicks), Karl-Anthony Towns (New York Knicks), Cade Cunningham (Detroit Pistons), Evan Mobley (Cleveland Cavaliers), Jaylen Brown (Boston Celtics), Darius Garland (Cleveland Cavaliers), Tyler Herro (Miami Heat), Damian Lillard (Milwaukee Bucks), Pascal Siakam (Indiana Pacers).
As every year, there are last-minute withdrawals. This year, the unfortunate ones are Giannis Antetokounmpo and Anthony Davis, who are both injured. They will be replaced by Trae Young and Kyrie Irving, respectively.
A new format in the form of a mini-tournament
Traditionally, the All-Star Game followed a classic format: a 48-minute game between the players from the Eastern Conference and those from the Western Conference. Then, between 2018 and 2023, the NBA tried to increase competitiveness by mixing players from both conferences, but without success. Due to the lack of intensity in the games, the league reversed course last season, returning to the East vs West format.
However, the 2024 edition in Indianapolis turned into an offensive festival, with a final score of 211-186! Defense seemed optional for the players. The total of 397 points scored did not sit well with NBA commissioner Adam Silver, who had long called for a more competitive All-Star Game. Disappointed with the level of play in recent editions, he hinted that the league was open to a complete overhaul of the format everyone knew.
The least we can say is that he took action. This year, a completely new format is in place! The All-Star Game will take the form of a mini-tournament in three games, with two semifinals and a grand final. The 24 All-Stars have been divided into three teams of eight players, while a fourth team will complete the bracket. This team will be the one that wins the Rising Stars Challenge (a tournament between rookies, which included French players Bilal Coulibaly, Zaccharie Risacher, and Alex Sarr) on Friday.
The Teams
- Team Shaq: LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Jayson Tatum, Damian Lillard, James Harden, Jaylen Brown, Kyrie Irving.
- Team Chuck: Nikola Jokic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Karl-Anthony Towns, Victor Wembanyama, Donovan Mitchell, Alperen Sengun, Pascal Siakam, Trae Young.
- Team Kenny: Jalen Brunson, Anthony Edwards, Cade Cunningham, Evan Mobley, Darius Garland, Jaren Jackson Jr, Tyler Herro, Jalen Williams.
Tournament Schedule
- Rising Stars Challenge (Friday, February 14, 2025, at 9:00 PM EST)
- Semifinal 1: Team Chuck vs Team Kenny (Sunday, February 16, 2025, at 8:20 PM EST)
- Semifinal 2: Team Shaq vs Winner of Rising Stars Challenge (Sunday, February 16, 2025, at 9:10 PM EST)
- Final (Sunday, February 16, 2025, at 10:00 PM EST)
The rules are simple: the winner of each match will be the first team to score 40 points! A prize pool of $1.8 million is up for grabs to reward the participants. Each player on the All-Star Game champion team will receive $125,000, each player on the runner-up team will receive $50,000, and players from the teams eliminated in the semifinals will receive $25,000 each. That should definitely motivate some!
Our prediction for the 2025 All-Star Game winner
While it’s always difficult to make a prediction for this type of exhibition tournament, one team still stands out as clearly superior and seems capable of winning this competition without even needing to push their talent. Indeed, Team Shaq, with LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, and Jayson Tatum leading the charge, gathers the best players in the NBA in recent years and could very well go all the way. Behind them, the "supporting players" like Damian Lillard, James Harden, Jaylen Brown, and Kyrie Irving remain top quality.
Of course, the battle will be tough, especially with Team Chuck and its Nikola Jokic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Karl-Anthony Towns, Victor Wembanyama, and Donovan Mitchell, but we’re giving a slight edge to Steph Curry and his crew. Especially since Golden State Warriors’ number 30 will be playing in his own stadium, in front of his home crowd, and will surely want to put on a show and display his skills, as he has been doing so impressively for years now.
