All-Star Game Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: All-Star Game, Australia, A. Antetokounmpo, More

October 6th, 2025 at 3:02pm CST by Luke Adams

Regardless of the findings of the NBA’s investigation into the Clippers and Kawhi Leonard for potential salary cap circumvention, the 2026 All-Star Game won’t be relocated away from Intuit Dome, commissioner Adam Silver confirmed on Monday.

There had been some speculation that taking this season’s All-Star Game away from the Clippers could be one form of punishment for the franchise if the league determines it circumvented the cap by paying Leonard extra money via a no-show endorsement deal. However, there’s no guarantee the investigation will wrap up by mid-February, and even if it does, the All-Star Game won’t be affected, as Brian Mahoney of The Associated Press relays.

“There’s no contemplation of moving the All-Star Game,” Silver said. “Planning for the All-Star Game and the surrounding activities are operating completely independently of the ongoing investigation.”

We have more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

Olgun Uluc of ESPN shares his takeaways from the Pelicans‘ two exhibition games in Melbourne over the weekend, noting that projected 2026 first-rounder Dash Daniels (Dyson Daniels‘ younger brother) held his own against NBA competition and that NBL owner Larry Kestelman expects the NBA to return to Australia based on the success of this trip.
Alex Antetokounmpo, younger brother of Giannis Antetokounmpo, is expected to part ways with the Greek team Aris Thessaloniki and sign a G League contract, according to Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops. The 24-year-old forward has never appeared in an NBA regular season game, but previously signed Exhibit 10 contracts with the Raptors (2021) and the Bucks (2022 and 2023) prior to playing for those teams’ NBAGL affiliates.
The Athletic’s NBA beat writers pose one burning question facing each of the NBA’s 30 teams, including who will step up in the Celtics‘ frontcourt, whether or not the Magic have enough three-point shooting, and whether the Grizzlies can count on Ja Morant.
In a pair of stories for ESPN, Tim Bontemps identifies 10 names that could define the 2025/26 NBA season, while Bobby Marks previews trade season for 14 teams well positioned to be active in the coming months.

Lauri Markkanen Endorses New All-Star Format

September 19th, 2025 at 10:59am CST by Arthur Hill

Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen believes adding an international team will help spice up the NBA’s All-Star Game, writes Edvinas Jablonskis of BasketNews.

The new format was revealed earlier this month. It will split the All-Stars into three eight-man squads, one of which will be entirely composed of international players. The teams will compete in a round-robin format to crown a winner.

“There’s always pride when you’re representing your country, or in this case the world, and I think it’s going to be a fun format and hopefully I can be a part of it,” Markkanen said.

Markkanen made an All-Star appearance in 2023 during his first season in Utah, but injuries have prevented him from returning. He appeared in just 55 and 47 games the past two years.

However, at age 28 he still appears to be part of the future as the team transitions to a younger roster. A report in July indicated that the Jazz don’t have any plans to trade Markkanen, who still has four years and nearly $196MM left on his contract.

He seemed to be back in top form while leading Finland to the semifinals at EuroBasket. He averaged 26.0 points, 8.2 rebounds and 2.7 assists in six games while earning second-team all-tournament honors.

Asked to pick the roster for Team World at All-Star weekend, Markkanen selected Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Luka Doncic, Victor Wembanyama and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as his starting five. He admits there will be some tough decisions beyond that and hopes he will be in the mix with players such as Franz Wagner, Alperen Sengun, Domantas Sabonis and Karl-Anthony Towns.

“There are no bad options there. I think it’s a list of really good players, and it’s going to come down to team success and how players perform in each and every year,” Markkanen said. “And so I think the format is going to be fun to compete against the USA teams, and we’ll see who makes the team.”

Adam Silver: Burden Of Proof Is On League In Clippers Investigation

September 10th, 2025 at 6:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

Commissioner Adam Silver said investigators will carry the burden of proof in the NBA’s probe of potential salary cap circumvention by the Clippers, writes Tim Bontemps of ESPN.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday at his annual preseason news conference following the conclusion of the Board of Governors meeting, Silver said the league needs to focus on “the totality of the evidence” rather than the “mere appearance” of impropriety.

“The burden is on the league if we’re going to discipline a team, an owner, a player or any constituent members of the league,” Silver told reporters. “I think as with any process that requires a fundamental sense of fairness, the burden should be on the party that is, in essence, bringing those charges.”

The NBA hired a law firm this week to handle the investigation of whether owner Steve Ballmer and the team violated league rules through Kawhi Leonard‘s $28MM “no-show” job with Aspiration. Ballmer was an investor in the green banking company, which has since gone bankrupt.

Sources told Bontemps that Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz plans to conduct a thorough investigation, and no firm deadline has been set to reach a conclusion.

Silver added that he’s “a big believer in due process and fairness,” and said other NBA owners feel the same way about the case.

“At least what’s being said to me is a reservation of judgment,” Silver said. “I think people recognize that that’s what you have a league office for. That’s what you have a commissioner for — someone who is independent of the teams. On one hand, of course, I work collectively for the 30 governors, but I have an independent obligation to be the steward of the brand and the integrity of this league. … To the extent we have had discussions (with the board of governors) — they’ve been limited — we communicated to them that we engaged Wachtell to do this investigation. And maybe I cut off any further conversations and said, ‘Let’s all withhold judgment, let’s do this investigation and then we will come back to you in terms of our findings.'”

Silver addressed a few other topics in today’s news conference:

He confirmed the new All-Star Game format, which will feature two teams of American-born players and one international team in a round-robin competition. Silver expressed hope that the new approach will help to motivate the players. “I think in the case of the NBA, this is what I’m trying to convey, particularly to younger players, is that All-Star is a big deal,” he said. “There’s been great traditions out there. People have great memories of these All-Star Games. It’s part of the fabric of this league, the excitement that comes from it and the engagement from our players.”
Discussions are continuing on a potential new NBA-run European league, and Silver said he and deputy commissioner Mark Tatum traveled this summer to Europe, where they met with stakeholders. Silver also denied speculation that the venture in Europe will replace NBA expansion efforts. He called them “completely different entities” and said expansion was discussed at the board meeting, although there’s nothing new to report. “Part of the difficulty in potentially assessing it is a sense of long-term value of the league, and a little bit maybe it’s a high-class problem, but as with some of the recent jumps in franchise valuations, that sort of creates some confusion in the marketplace about how you might even price an expansion franchise,” Silver said. “I’ll only say it’s something that we continue to actively look at.”
Silver refused to say if there are any limitations on Malik Beasley‘s availability while the league investigates his role in a gambling scandal. “I’ll only say there that the investigation is ongoing,” Silver said. “As I understand it, there’s still a federal investigation that’s ongoing of Malik Beasley as well. We will address whatever is presented to us in his case.”

NBA Planning New Round-Robin All-Star Game Format

September 3rd, 2025 at 7:19pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The NBA intends to implement a round-robin tournament format, with an international twist, for the 2026 All-Star game at the Clippers’ Intuit Dome home court on Feb. 15, 2026, reports Shams Charania of ESPN. The league has been nothing if not proactive in tinkering with the format of the competition in recent years, cycling through many different approaches to engage players and fans.

Sources tell Charania that this coming season’s round-robin competition is expected to involve a trio of eight-player teams: a pair of U.S.-born rosters and one squad made up of international players. They would play 12 minutes per quarter of action in a Ryder Cup-emulating setup.

The NBPA and the league received a “positive” reaction from the Competition Committee when they discussed the proposed format change on Wednesday, Charania notes. NBA executives, owners and players were all involved in talks.

For this past February’s All-Star game, the league attempted a four-team tournament format with three All-Star clubs and a fourth “rising star” team. Judging by the ratings, fans were relatively unmoved.

Rumors have abounded since the spring that the league would embrace more of an international flavor to the All-Star game’s format. The competition will be broadcast on NBC after the league’s longtime partnership with TNT ended this past season. The NBA All-Star game will take place while NBC is in the midst of airing the 2026 Olympics in Italy.

Roughly a quarter of current players were born outside the U.S., including all of the league’s Most Valuable Player winners since James Harden in 2017/18.

Commissioner Says NBA Expansion Isn’t ‘Automatic’

June 5th, 2025 at 9:50pm CST by Arthur Hill

NBA commissioner Adam Silver indicated Thursday that expansion may not be as much of a priority for the league as some fans are hoping, according to Joe Vardon and Sam Amick of The Athletic. Speaking at his annual news conference before the start of the NBA Finals, Silver said he doesn’t think it’s “automatic” that the league will decide to add more teams.

Silver has stated in the past that expansion would become more of a front-burner issue once the new collective bargaining agreement was in place and new media rights deals had been worked out. Both those things have happened, but the league hasn’t taken any action to expand.

Silver added that he expects the Board of Governors to direct the commissioner’s office this summer to “continue to explore” the possibility of adding teams. That action could involve meetings with prospective ownership groups, but Silver cautioned that there are concerns among the current owners about bringing in more partners to divide up revenues.

“It depends on your perspective on the future of the league,” Silver said. “You know, as I said before, expansion in a way is selling equity in the league, and if you believe in the league, you don’t necessarily want to add partners. On the other hand, we recognize there are underserved markets in the United States and elsewhere, markets that deserve to have NBA teams — probably even if we were to expand, more than we can serve.”

Fans in Seattle have been counting on a return of the SuperSonics, who left for Oklahoma City in 2008. Las Vegas has also been heavily rumored as a leading candidate for the next round of expansion.

Silver has been concentrating lately on creating a new NBA European league, and he framed that during Thursday’s presser as a type of expansion.

There’s more from Silver’s media session:

The commissioner confirmed that changes are in the works to the All-Star Game, but it won’t be a straight U.S. vs. the World format, per Vardon and Amick. Silver noted that NBC plans to air the game on a Sunday afternoon amid its Winter Olympics coverage, which he expects to boost fan interest. However, he expressed doubt that matching a team of American players against a team of international players is workable.
Despite concerns about television ratings, Silver said the league is embracing the small-market matchup between the Pacers and Thunder, the authors add. “We set out to create a system that allowed for more competition around the league,” Silver told reporters. “The goal being to have 30 teams all in a position, if well-managed, to be competing for championships. And that’s what we’re seeing here.”
Playoff injuries to stars such as Jayson Tatum and Stephen Curry have led to calls for a shorter regular season, but Silver doesn’t believe that’s necessary, Vardon and Amick relay. The commissioner points out that there are longer breaks between playoff games than there used to be, and he said this season’s injury rate is the second-lowest in the past decade. “Money is part of it, there’s no question about it — we’re a business,” Silver said. “But having said that, I don’t really see the benefit to reducing the number of games. People used to say you should reduce the number of games because it will lead to reduction in the number of injuries. There’s absolutely no data to suggest that.”

And-Ones: All-Star Game, Rubio, Draft Sleepers, Broadcasters

June 5th, 2025 at 8:56am CST by Luke Adams

Asked during an appearance on FS1’s Breakfast Ball (Twitter video link) whether a U.S. vs. the World format for the All-Star Game is something the NBA could implement as soon as 2026, league commissioner Adam Silver replied, “Yes.”

Silver cautioned that nothing has been set in stone yet, but that plan has been set in motion, according to Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press, and the NBA believes the timing makes sense. There was significant interest in the men’s basketball event at the 2024 Paris Olympics that featured a star-studded Team USA taking on NBA stars from other countries, and the 2026 All-Star Game will air on NBC while the network is also broadcasting the Winter Olympics.

“What better time to feature some form of USA against the world?” Silver said on FS1. “I’m not exactly sure what the format will be yet. I obviously paid a lot of attention to what the NHL did (with its ‘4 Nations Face Off’ All-Star event earlier this year), which was a huge success. … But also, going back, last summer, our Olympic competition was a huge success.”

As Reynolds writes, the biggest sticking point for the NBA is that approximately 70% of the NBA’s players are American, with just 30% from other countries. So even though some of the game’s biggest stars – including Nikola Jokic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Luka Doncic – could represent the “world” team, a format that requires 12 non-U.S. players to be named All-Stars would likely result in some glaring snubs among U.S. players.

Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

Veteran point guard Ricky Rubio, who announced his retirement from the NBA in January 2024, played for Barcelona at the end of the 2023/24 season before taking ’24/25 off. The 34-year-old Spaniard published a message on social media on Thursday that could be interpreted as either a hint at his retirement as a player or a signal that he isn’t done yet. “I took this year to reflect on my career and my life, and I’ve realized that if I’ve gotten to where I am today, it’s not because of the assists I’ve given, but because of the assists I’ve received,” Rubio wrote (via Twitter). “This isn’t a goodbye, it’s a thank you to all the people who have helped me along the way.”
Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports identifies seven of his favorite “sleepers” in this year’s draft, naming UNC’s Drake Powell, Gonzaga’s Ryan Nembhard, Kentucky’s Koby Brea, and four others as prospects capable of outperforming their probable draft slots.
Richard Deitsch and Andrew Marchand of The Athletic dig into the NBA’s media landscape, with Marchand noting that the league’s new partners, Amazon and NBC, will be keeping an eye on players nearing the end of their respective careers who might be interested in transitioning to broadcasting. That group includes Draymond Green, Stephen Curry, and LeBron James, according to Marchand, who adds that Steve Kerr would qualify too if he moves on from coaching in the coming years.

NBA Mulling International Format For All-Star Game

April 28th, 2025 at 9:43pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The NBA is mulling an “international competition” for the annual All-Star Game, The Athletic’s Joe Vardon reports.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver and president of league operations Byron Spruell said discussions were being held with new broadcast partner NBC regarding an original format for the All-Star Game. Next season’s game will be held at the Clippers’ Intuit Dome on Feb. 15, 2026. The Intuit Dome will also be the home base for the basketball events in the 2028 Summer Olympics.

The league has been inspired by the NHL, which held a wildly successful four-team international tournament in place of its All-Star Game. The NBA is considering a U.S. vs. the rest of the world matchup.

“Looking to do something new and different yet again, but excited about the possibility,” Spruell said.

The NBA has been groping for ways to regain interest in the All-Star Game, which in recent years has essentially turned into a defensively-absent dunk contest. If the NBA goes in this direction, it will be the third format in three years.

This February, the NBA experimented with a four-team tournament with three squads of All-Stars and a fourth of “rising stars.” However, the tournament was a flop, lacking suspense and drawing poor TV ratings.

Approximately 25 percent of current NBA players were born outside of the U.S., including many of its top stars.

Bucks Co-Owner: No Mandate To Get Under Second Apron

April 1st, 2025 at 5:44pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Bucks co-owner Wes Edens is adamant that there was no mandate by ownership to get under the second tax apron for financial reasons prior to the trade deadline, he told Eric Nehm of The Athletic.

“No. No. Not at all. None of that,” he told Nehm.

Milwaukee dealt longtime forward Khris Middleton, 2024 first-round pick AJ Johnson, Delon Wright, a 2028 first-round pick swap, and cash in exchange for Kyle Kuzma, Jericho Sims, and a pair of second-rounders in a four-team trade in February. That transaction moved Milwaukee under that second, more punitive, apron. Edens did admit that being under the second apron has its benefits.

“For the first time, they’ve included both financial penalties and sporting penalties and so you do not want to be in the second apron if you can avoid it,” he said. “We have come out of our pockets to put the best team we can on the field and spent a lot of money doing so and have a championship to show for it and a lot of wins. But we always want more.

“The moves we made at the deadline were basketball moves. And the financial was a part of it, in the consideration of the second apron, but I think that (general manager) Jon Horst and his organization did and recommended what they thought would be best for the basketball team and I think that they did a great job.”

Here are a few more highlights from Nehm’s interview with Edens:

On Damian Lillard‘s blood clotting issue and whether the Bucks can still make a deep playoff run:

“You’ve seen us have some good results. The last couple of weeks have not been what we wanted, but it’s a long season, and I’m optimistic that with Giannis (Antetokounmpo) and his leadership and the other players that we’ve got, we’ve got a strong core and so let’s let’s play with it. The one thing I learned in this sport is that nobody feels sorry for you. Everyone’s had a deal with their injuries and maybe we’ve had more than our share (with) some of the stars these last three, four years. But I’m optimistic this team can make a real run of it, so let’s see.”

On the death of Junior Bridgeman and what will happen with his 10 percent stake in the franchise:

“He made a difference to a tremendous number of people. … I’m sorry for us as owners and for the Bucks organization and the fans that he was not able to be an owner longer. I presume (the Bridgeman estate must work through his affairs). He clearly wasn’t expecting to pass and they still have a lot of stuff to sort through, their … significant assets and whatnot. So, they’ll work through that.

On the possibility of bringing an All-Star Weekend to the city:

“With respect to Milwaukee, I think we have a deserving venue. As they add more hotel rooms in the city here — that’s a big part of it — can you stage this? I would be a huge fan and would be honored if there was a game here. Next year, they’re headed back to L.A. and it’s probably a little bit more kind, weather-wise, in the middle of winter than Milwaukee but that’s OK. There have been cold-weather venues that have done really well in Chicago, and in Toronto and other places. So we’ll see.”

NBA Searching For New All-Star Format For 2026

March 28th, 2025 at 9:00am CST by Arthur Hill

The NBA will scrap its mini-tournament format for the All-Star Game and go back to the drawing board in a search for new ideas, according to Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press.

At a press conference Thursday in New York, commissioner Adam Silver admitted that this year’s experimental format was “a miss.” It involved a four-team tournament featuring the 24 NBA All-Stars divided up into three teams, along with another squad consisting of rookies and second-year players who won the Rising Stars event. Instead of being timed, all the games were played to a 40-point target score.

“We’re not there in terms of creating an All-Star experience that we can be proud of and our players can be proud of,” Silver admitted.

Finding a workable solution to the All-Star Game has been a problem for the league for roughly the last decade. The traditional East vs. West matchup grew stale, as there was nothing to motivate players or inspire them to put forth much effort on defense. The NBA had captains pick their teams for a few years, and the Elam ending was a brief success, but most often the quality of play has been low.

This year’s changes were instituted after the 2024 game resulted in a 211-186 final score that drew intense criticism from league insiders and media members.

One drawback to this year’s competition was a nearly 20-minute break during the championship game that was used to recognize TNT’s broadcast team, which was airing the game for the last time.

“It was well-intentioned,” Silver said. “But I think the long stoppage in play in that final game didn’t work for anyone.”

NBC will televise the game next year as part of its new broadcast deal, and Silver said the league is talking to network officials about potential changes. Reynolds notes that the game will take place during the Winter Olympics, which could lead to a U.S. vs. the World format that has been proposed for some time.

The 2026 game, which will be hosted by the Clippers at their new Inuit Dome, will have an earlier starting time, Reynolds adds. It will be played in the afternoon, leading up to Olympics coverage at night.

Atlantic Notes: Celtics All-Star Bid, Claxton, Russell, Watford, Dadiet

February 17th, 2025 at 5:43pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Celtics’ bid for an All-Star Game remains under consideration even though the team is up for sale, Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe reports.

The All-Star Game hasn’t been held in Boston since 1964. The Celtics’ bid had been put on hold as the league determines other scheduling commitments, Washburn adds.

With the refurbishing of Boston’s TD Garden and the construction of additional hotels over the past several years, commissioner Adam Silver has previously stated that the city would be an ideal candidate for a future All-Star weekend.

We have more from the Atlantic Division:

Nic Claxton has reestablished himself as the Nets’ defensive anchor in recent weeks, Andrew Crane of the New York Post writes. After averaging 1.1 blocks per game in his first 40 games this season, Claxton has swatted an average of 3.1 attempts in the last seven contests, including a five-block night against Philadelphia. Claxton is in the first year of a four-year, $97MM contract.
Following the departure of Ben Simmons via a buyout, Brian Lewis of the New York Post anticipates that D’Angelo Russell and Trendon Watford will soak up more minutes. After missing six weeks due to hamstring injury, Watford returned on January 29. He has averaged in 10.6 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.2 steals in 20.2 minutes per game this month for the Nets.
Knicks rookie Pacome Dadiet has renewed his Ivorian citizenship, according to Basketnews.com. That could pave the way for Dadiet to play for Ivory Coast in international competitions. Dadiet has represented France at various youth international levels. Dadiet, a late first-round selection, has appeared in 13 games this season.