The NBA is working on a plan to turn next season's All-Star Game into a U.S.-vs.-world competition, a person with knowledge of the situation said Wednesday.
It remains unclear how the format will work, said the person, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the league has not made any final determinations. Speaking to Fox Sports 1 earlier Wednesday, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver - who has talked about such a game on multiple occasions - was asked if U.S. vs. the world is possible.
"Yes," Silver said.
Silver addressed the idea on March 27 as well at the league's most recent board of governors meeting, when he revealed that the NBA was scrapping the All-Star mini-tournament format that was used this season.
At that time, the AP reported that the 2026 game - to be played Feb. 15 in Inglewood, California, just past the midpoint of the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics - will be moved from its traditional prime-time Sunday night slot to one that starts on Sunday afternoon. That's happening because the game will be aired on NBC under the terms of the new 11-year media rights deals that kick in next season. NBC is also the Olympic broadcaster in the U.S.