The starters for the 2026 NBA All-Star Game will be revealed Monday on NBC/Peacock, and once again, the midseason marquee event is being tweaked.
The league confirmed in November that the 2026 “game” will be a round-robin tournament featuring two American teams and one international team. The teams will each include eight players and will compete in 12-minute matches. Eastern and Western conference starters are always selected by fans (50 percent of the vote), current players (25 percent) and a media panel (25 percent). However, unlike in past years, they are chosen regardless of their position.
Before the announcement of the starters, three of them Athletics The NBA writers who voted (Josh Robbins, William Guillory and Zach Harper) shared their ballots and the reasoning behind their choices.
Accept? Disagree? Let us know in the comments.
Ballot No. 1
Writer: Josh Robbins
East Entrances: Giannis Antetokounmpo (Bucks), Jaylen Brown (Celtics), Jalen Brunson (New York Knicks), Cade Cunningham (Detroit Pistons), Tyrese Maxey (Philadelphia 76ers)
West entrances: Luka Dončić (Lakers), Anthony Edwards (Timberwolves), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Thunder), Nikola Jokić (Nuggets), Victor Wembanyama (Spurs)
Why these choices? When I vote for All-Star starters, I lean towards the players who lead to victory. In cases where all else is equal, I reward players whose teams are at or near the top of the standings and who have a positive impact on defense rather than just offense.
The East was simple. Cunningham was the best player on the conference-leading team. In addition to his superb scoring, Brown was a two-way force for a team that, at the voting deadline, would have had home-field advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Brunson is the primary scorer and distributor for the second-best team in the East and led the Knicks to the NBA Cup title.
My final two spots in the East go to Antetokounmpo, Maxey, Donovan Mitchell and Jalen Johnson. Maxey was the top scorer and most consistent player on a team that would have struggled without him. Despite the Bucks’ struggles, Antetokounmpo separated himself due to his two-way play.
Dončić, Edwards, Gilgeous-Alexander, Jokić and Wembanyama are the best players on the top five teams in the West rankings. In the case of Jokić and Wembanyama, I did not hold their missed matches against them. They were undoubtedly dominant forces in the games they played.
Many others deserve to be starters. Stephen Curry remains a force. LeBron James may be playing his final NBA season, and as one of the greatest players of all time, he’s earned one final All-Star nod based on his career accomplishments. But I think media voters should base their picks solely on players’ performances so far this season. I think my starting choices in the West had better seasons.
Ballot No. 2
Writer: William Guillory
East Entrances: Antetokounmpo, Brown, Brunson, Cunningham, Maxey
West entrances: Dončić, Edwards, Gilgeous-Alexander, Jokić, Wembanyama
Why these choices? It took me about two minutes to select my five guys in the East. I feel like the case for each of them is obvious.
Cunningham has been the driving force behind the best team in the conference and is having an MVP-caliber season. Both Brown and Maxey have progressed as guys who were previously All-Stars but are now performing well enough to be in the conversation for All-NBA first team. Brunson is as stable as ever and Giannis is Giannis.
Leaving Mitchell aside was not an easy decision. He’s been sensational this season, but Cleveland’s overall disappointing play is why he didn’t make the cut for me.
In the West, the easy choices were Gilgeous-Alexander, Jokić and Dončić. These are the three best basketball players. Giannis is close to fourth, but that’s a different discussion for another story.
Once again, Joker and SGA are two of the best in the game. (Ron Chenoy / Imagn Images)
Wembayama has been the most exciting player to watch, but the only thing hurting his case is the fact that he has played less than 800 minutes this season as voting closes. The other four starters in the West have all played more than 1,000 minutes, but if I gave Giannis (783 minutes Friday) the benefit of the doubt, Wemby deserves it too.
The hardest decision of all my decisions was choosing who would get the last spot in the West. Edwards and Kevin Durant are the two candidates who stood out the most. Edwards’ overall numbers are slightly higher, and I think the 37-year-old Rockets star deserves a lot of credit for his effectiveness and the leadership role he’s taken on in Houston. But ultimately, Houston’s sporadic play over the past few weeks ultimately gave Edwards the edge.
Ballot No. 3
Writer: Zach Harper
East Entrances: Antetokounmpo, Brown, Brunson, Cunningham, Maxey
West entrances: Dončić, Edwards, Gilgeous-Alexander, Jokić, Wembanyama
Why these choices? The East seemed simple. Giannis is an obvious lock. He’s been so dominant on the field that it makes you forget how mediocre the rest of the team is at times. Maxey and Brown have been two of the best players in the league this season. Cunningham was spectacular in taking the Pistons to the top of the East. And Brunson continued to be his typically lethal self on the court. He flourished even more in Mike Brown’s system. The only other consideration for me with the starters was Mitchell, but he was penalized for the team’s success.
In the West, Jokić and Gilgeous-Alexander were the easiest choices. They have continued their historic play this season and you can’t deny them their place at the top of the league. Dončić was fantastic on offense, even with poor 3-point shooting. Yes, defense is an issue, but it fits perfectly into the All-Star Game effort. I know Wemby missed time, but not enough to feel like he doesn’t deserve to be a starter.
My final decision came down to Edwards vs. Devin Booker and Kawhi Leonard. Booker has been good but not quite to the level of Edwards. And Leonard only played 10 games through November. Edwards is quietly having an excellent season.
