The new format of the NBA All-Star Game is making for monster viewership numbers
On Sunday night, NBA All-Star weekend is over with the big game itself, which was actually four less games as part of a round robin tournament between three teams. The U.S. Junior National Team ended up getting the whole thing, with the Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards is the MVP of the All-Star game.
The NBA has been tinkering with the All-Star Game format for several years in hopes of quelling the constant complaints from fans, and if grades from Sunday any indication, the league may have just found its new solution going forward.
“Regardless of what the crowd looked like in the arena at times, 2026 NBA All-Star Game delivered its largest TV audience since 2011, averaging 8.8 million viewers across NBC, Peacock and Telemundo,” ClutchPoints NBA Insider Brett Siegel reported on X, formerly Twitter.
“The 2026 All-Star Game surpassed last year’s ratings by 87% (4.7 million views),” he added.
Going into this weekend, there was a lot of talk about the perceived lack of effort from the players during the past few All-Star games, and fans wondered if the new USA vs. World format would be enough to motivate the stars to play a little harder.
San Antonio Spurs phenom Victor Wembanyama set the tone at the start of this match with his competitive play, and the rest of the stars seemed to follow suit, with three of the four games at the event being completely uneventful.
It remains to be seen if the NBA will keep this exact format moving forward, as at one point the senior USA squad played three straight games, at the end of which it looked like they were a bit stuffed.
However, for a league where everything is on the line, NBA executives have to be satisfied with the outcome of the game’s ratings.
The NBA regular season is scheduled to resume on Thursday.
2026-02-16 23:13:00
