The NBA All-Star Game returns for 2026 as the new three-team tournament sees the USA Stripes, USA Stars, and World teams go head-to-head at the Intuit Dome in California.
The best players from the NBA will go head-to-head in three 12-minute games, with the two top teams after the round-robin facing off in the Championship game. Each team will play each other once, with any ties after the games are played being separated by point differential. The teams are split between legendary USA stars (Stripes), up-and-coming stars (Stars), and international stars (World).
We’ll take a look at the outright market, and provide you with our best free NBA betting picks to try and earn you some extra cash while you enjoy the action on the court.
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* Brandon Ingram (Toronto Raptors) replaces Stephen Curry
* Alperen Sengun (Houston Rockets) replaces Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Below you’ll find a breakdown of each team and their chances of winning the 2026 NBA All-Star Game outright.
The All-Star game is always a time where fans get to see the best players in the world play together on the same team, but this is a chance for fans to see the best from all over the world square off with the best Americans in the NBA.
A team that contains all of Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Luka Doncic, and Victor Wembanyama seems hugely unfair on paper, because they are all capable of doing absolutely everything in the court. Having Shai-Gilgeous Alexander on the team made it even worse for the opponents, but his injury has evened out the playing field a little more.
Jokic is notorious for not caring too much about the All-Star game in his career, but this is a chance for the team to prove that the best players in the world don’t necessarily come from the USA anymore.
Giannis is the only foreign player to ever win the NBA All-Star MVP award, and he will be keen to become only the 16th player to win multiple. That means he must perform well and win the tournament. Wembanyama is also likely to take the game relatively seriously, while Doncic has shown out at All-Star weekend in the past.
There is so much depth and quality to this roster that it seems crazy to look beyond them to win outright, and at +160 there is good value in it too.
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The USA Stripes team are coming into this game with a point to prove, that despite age and experience, this is still their league.
LeBron James is an All-Star for the 22nd time in a row, despite his injury-hit campaign so far, while last year’s MVP Steph Curry will miss the game due to injury. But despite that, the team still has the likes of two-time MVP Kevin Durant, one-time MVP Kawhi Leonard, plus stars like Jalen Brunson and Jaylen Brown.
It will be interesting to see what the starting team turns out to be for the round-robin. Still, this generation of players will not want to lose to the young guns. At the same time, they will also be adamant that the USA is still producing the best talent, so there is a lot of pride at stake despite what they have already achieved as individuals and a collective.
Having been on this stage countless times throughout their career, the bright lights and the expectation won’t affect them. They will know what is expected of them, and they’ll be ready for the task.
This team is favorites to win with some bookies, so the value of +175 is excellent, and it will be absolutely no shock if they come away with the win, so this is one to pay attention to.
The Stars are a team that are set to be the face of the All-Star game in the coming years, and while they are good enough to go toe-to-toe with the current competition, it would be a major surprise if they were able to claim victory.
Cade Cunningham and Tyrese Maxey have been named as starters for this team, and they are likely to be joined by the likes of Devin Booker and Anthony Edwards. They have the quality to cause problems, and they will also have the motivation to prove they are ready to take over.
Beating the old guard will see them considered even higher up the ranking among the best players in the league, while the patriotic pride will want them to stop the World from being victorious.
At odds of +220 there is fantastic value if you think it’s their time to take over and want to take the underdog.
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About the Author
Daniel is a football writer who has a great thirst for the Premier League and other major European leagues. A lover of the beautiful game and a firm believer that the eye test is better than statistics. Also an avid MMA fan.
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