NBA Announces Starters For 2026 All-Star Game

The NBA has announced the starters for the 2026 All-Star Game, which takes place in Los Angeles at the Intuit Dome on February 15.

The West starters are Luka Dončić of the Los Angeles Lakers, Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Nikola Jokić of the Denver Nuggets and Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs. Dončić led the Western Conference voting.

Meanwhile, the East starters are Jalen Brunson of the New York Knicks, Tyrese Maxey of the Philadelphia 76ers, Cade Cunningham of the Detroit Pistons, Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics and Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks. Antetokounmpo led the Eastern Conference voting.

The reserves will be announced on January 25. They are selected by the NBA’s head coaches.

This year’s NBA All-Star Game has adopted a “Team USA versus the World” format, with the pool of All-Stars eventually being broken up into three rosters; two will be made up of American players, with the third comprising international players.

The 2026 NBA All-Star Game starters are made up of five American and five international players.

Lakers forward LeBron James could be selected as an All-Star reserve. However, this is the first time since his rookie season, all the way back in 2003-04, that he isn’t a starter. The NBA icon missed the first 14 games of the season with sciatica on his right side.

James, the leading scorer in NBA history, is 41 years old. He’s the oldest active player in the league. The four-time MVP is a 21-time All-Star. He’s made the most All-Star and All-NBA (21) teams in NBA history.

Most people expect James to be selected as a reserve by head coaches. The future Hall of Famer is averaging 22.6 points, 5.9 rebounds and 6.9 assists per game for the Lakers.