On Sunday evening, the NBA All-Star weekend concluded with the big game, which was actually four smaller games as part of a round robin tournament between three teams. The United States youth team swept the field, with Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards taking All-Star Game MVP honors.
The NBA has been tinkering with the All-Star Game format for the past few years in hopes of appeasing fans' ongoing complaints, and if Sunday's ratings are any indication, the league may have found its new solution moving forward.
x, former ClutchPoints NBA insider Brett Siegel on Twitter reported, "Regardless of what the audience looked like in the arena at times, the 2026 NBA All-Star Game delivered the largest TV audience since 2011, averaging 8.8 million viewers across NBC, Peacock and Telemundo."
"The 2026 All-Star Game topped last year's viewership with 87% (4.7 million views)," he said.
This weekend, there was a lot of discussion about the perceived lack of effort from players in the past few All-Star games, with fans wondering if the new USA vs. World format would be enough to motivate the stars to try a little harder.
San Antonio Spurs phenom Victor Wembanyama set the tone early with his competitive play and other stars seemed to follow suit, losing three out of four games at the event.
It remains to be seen if the NBA will pursue this exact format, as at one point, the old USA roster played three straight games, at the end of which they appeared a bit tired.
However, for a league that is in its final stages, NBA officials have to be happy with the game's ratings results.
The NBA regular season is scheduled to resume on Thursday.
