6:30pm EST: Another game-winner! This time it’s De’Aaron Fox drilling the three at the buzzer to win it for the USA Stripes. Next up we’ve got the USA Stripes vs. World. Tip off coming soon.
Barnes finishes with 2 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, and 1 steal. Ingram finishes with 2 rebounds and an assist after missing all three of his shot attempts.
6:21pm EST: Ingram getting locked up by Cunningham down low on back-to-back possessions. On the other side Barnes ran a baseline dribble handoff with Cunningham for a three. Looks like Barnes may have been poked in the eye on that last possession. Something to monitor.
6:05pm EST: USA Stripes vs. Stars tipping off now. Barnes vs. Ingram.
5:53pm EST: BARNES WINS IT FOR USA STARS! He drills the game-winning three off a kickout from Jalen Duren. What a moment. Barnes finishes game one with 3 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, one steal and one block.
5:50pm EST: Barnes locks up Wembanyama at the end to send the game to overtime. 32-32. First to five wins it in overtime.
5:46pm EST: Barnes with a massive block on Canadian Jamal Murray, this man can’t stop playing clutch defense.
5:44pm EST: Defense is picking up, Barnes just got a big steal and offensive rebound to cut the World lead to 1.
5:36pm EST: Coach Darko’s World team is on a 14-2 run behind Karl-Anthony Towns deep three point shooting. Barnes has a rebound.
5:30pm EST: Scottie Barnes has checked in for the USA Stars, let’s see what he can do.
5:23pm EST: Yeah man Victor Wembanyama isn’t messing around, he’s got all 7 of team World’s points to start this one. Clearly meant it when he said he was coming out of the gates hard.
5:15pm EST: They’re just wrapping up intros now, in the first matchup we’ve got Scottie Barnes and the USA Stars vs. Coach Darko and the World team. Really hoping we at least get some semi-competitve hoops today.
4:55pm EST: We’re about five minutes from go time, which team is going to take it all? I’ve got team World.
4:00 pm EST: We are LIVE! Welcome everyone, we’re about an hour away from tip off of the 2026 NBA All-Star game. Get some snacks, or perhaps some supper instead given the early start this year. Really excited for my first live blog, I’ll be here throughout the entire event so feel free to ask questions in the comments.
This year’s All-Star game is a USA vs. World format, featuring two USA teams and one World team competing in a mini round-robin format. Each game is just 12 minutes long, and after completing the round-robin the top two teams will compete in a final championship game.
The schedule for the tournament is as follows:
- USA Stars vs. World
- USA Stripes vs. Winner of Game 1
- USA Stripes vs. Loser of Game 1
- Championship game (top two teams)
Given all the confusion of All-Star replacements and players switching from the USA to the World, I don’t blame you if you don’t know who’s on which team, so here are the rosters as well:
USA Stars
Scottie Barnes (Toronto Raptors)
Devin Booker (Phoenix Suns)
Cade Cunningham (Detroit Pistons)
Jalen Duren (Detroit Pistons)
Anthony Edwards (Minnesota Timberwolves)
Chet Holmgren (Oklahoma City Thunder)
Jalen Johnson (Atlanta Hawks)
Tyrese Maxey (Philadelphia 76ers)
Coach: J.B. Bickerstaff (Detroit Pistons)
USA Stripes
Brandon Ingram (Toronto Raptors)
Jaylen Brown (Boston Celtics)
Jalen Brunson (New York Knicks)
Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors) – injured
Kevin Durant (Houston Rockets)
De’Aaron Fox (San Antonio Spurs)
LeBron James (Los Angeles Lakers)
Kawhi Leonard (Los Angeles Clippers)
Donovan Mitchell (Cleveland Cavaliers)
Coach: Mitch Johnson (San Antonio Spurs)
World
Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks) – injured
Deni Avdija (Portland Trailblazers)
Luka Doncic (Los Angeles Lakers)
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Oklahoma City Thunder) – injured
Nikola Jokic (Denver Nuggets)
Jamal Murray (Denver Nuggets)
Norman Powell (Miami Heat)
Alperen Sengun (Houston Rockets)
Pascal Siakam (Indiana Pacers)
Karl-Anthony Towns (New York Knicks)
Victor Wembanyama (San Antonio Spurs)
Coach: Darko Rajakovic (Toronto Raptors)
Raptors fans have plenty to cheer for with Barnes on one USA team, Ingram on the other and Coach Darko taking charge of the World team (which also features two former Raptors and two Canadians).
Some All-Star reading ahead of the game: