Get ready for a whole new twist on the NBA All-Star Game in 2025 — as the league and the NBA Players Association have just unveiled a format that promises to shake things up and, theoretically, make things more exciting.
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And it's about time.
The revamped event, set to take place on Feb. 16 at San Francisco's Chase Center, will feature a mini-tournament with four teams and three games.
Yes, you read that right — a full-on mini-tournament during the All-Star weekend.
Here's how it'll work: two semifinal games (Game 1 and Game 2) with the winners squaring off in a championship game (Game 3). The first team to reach 40 points in each game will get the win.
Each team will feature eight players — three teams of NBA All-Star selections, and one team made up of the Rising Stars champion, the top rookies and second-year players.
The Rising Stars game, set for February 14, will determine the final team, with WNBA legend Candace Parker serving as the honorary GM for Team Candace.
But the real drama will go down when TNT's Inside the NBA crew — Charles Barkley, Shaquille O'Neal, and Kenny Smith — take control of the draft, selecting their respective teams live on February 6. (That just happens to be the same day as the NBA trade deadline, too.)
To top it off, there's a $1.8 million prize pool up for grabs. The championship team will get $125,000 per player, second-place $50,000, and third- and fourth-place teams $25,000 each.
Basically, the NBA All-Star Game had become a major joke. Changing things to motivate guys to give at least something close to a real effort makes sense. Who knows if it will actually work.
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(This article originally appeared on Hoops Wire and was republished with permission.)
