What is NBA All-Star voting?
NBA All-Star voting is the league’s official process for choosing which players are recognized as All-Stars and invited to its midseason showcase game. It blends input from fans, current players and media to decide the 24 players who earn All-Star status before they are placed on USA or World teams for the 2026 event.
The term now covers both the selection of starters via public and panel voting and the subsequent choice of reserves by NBA head coaches. With the 2026 USA vs World format, the voting results feed directly into a three-team tournament that highlights both American and international talent on a global stage.
How All-Star voting works now
Under the current system, fans account for 50% of the vote that determines All-Star starters, while active NBA players and a panel of media members each contribute 25%. Their combined rankings are used to identify which players receive starting spots, providing a mix of popularity, peer respect and expert analysis in the final decision.
Head coaches from around the league then select the reserves, historically by position categories and wildcard slots, and are not allowed to vote for their own players. This second step is intended to make sure deserving players who may not top fan ballots, including strong defenders or underrated contributors, still have a path to All-Star recognition.
How the USA vs World format changes things
For 2026, the NBA has announced that the All-Star Game will feature a round-robin USA vs World format, with three teams — two USA squads and one World squad — each made up of at least eight players. The top two teams by record will meet in a final game, with point differential breaking ties, turning the exhibition into a mini-tournament that showcases depth and international representation.
Although the league has kept the same fan–player–media voting structure, the 24 All-Stars are now selected without strict positional requirements and then organized into American and international groups. If the standard process does not naturally yield at least 16 American and 8 international All-Stars, the Commissioner can adjust the selections to satisfy those roster minimums and make the USA vs World concept work as intended.