Image Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

NBA considering addition of 1v1 tournament worth $1 million prize money for next All-Star Weekend

The 2026 edition of the NBA All-Star event will be hosted in Inglewood.

Image Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

The 74th edition of the NBA All-Star Weekend came to a conclusion in San Francisco on Sunday, February 16. The three-day extravaganza saw several stars stepping up on the court and winning exciting contests for their respective franchises. The All-Star event will now shift to Intuit Dome in Inglewood for next year.

For the next edition of the NBA All-Star festivities, the league is reportedly considering the addition of another event. As per reports by Front Office Sports, the league is planning to 1v1 tournament for the All-Star 2026 event, with a prize money of $1 million.

While the organizers are still figuring out the format, initial reports suggest that the contest might feature a 16-player bracket. The matchups will be scheduled as per fan voting, seeding or even player challenges.

Notably, this year, the All-Star Game was hosted in a different format, with an aim to increase competitiveness and excitement among fans.

However, the idea of changing the format has backfired on the organization, as fans were quite disappointed with how the new layout significantly reduced the playing time.

Apart from a 1v1 event, reports also suggest that the league might make a change in the beginning of the All-Star Game from 5 p.m. ET next year. Not only this, but inclusion of big stars in the dunk contest, to increase its engagement, is also on cards.

Also Read:
2025 NBA All-Star Game: Hey NBA! Attract players first, not just fans
“His generation messed the game up”- Charles Barkley hits back at Draymond Green for criticizing new NBA All-Star format
“Team USA versus Team World”- Giannis Antetokounmpo proposes a solution to fix NBA All-Star Game

Anthony Edwards, Draymond Green pick their favorites to win 1-v-1 contest in All-Star event

As the rumors of possible inclusion of a one-on-one contest has been circulating among players and media, Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards and Golden State Warriors veteran Draymond Green picked their favorites to win it.

Edwards named Phoenix Suns’ Kevin Durant, saying that the latter can make any shot into a good shot.

“Kevin Durant, for sure. Anytime you’re playing somebody where any shot they take is a good shot… Like, sometimes for me, if my body’s a certain way, I’m like, ‘Ah, that’s a bad shot for me,’ because I’m not used to it. I’m not accustomed to being like this. I want to be comfortable when I shoot,” he said.

“But KD is accustomed to being uncomfortable with any shot, and he turns it into a good shot,” Edwards added.

Anthony Edward’s agree’s and say Kevin Durant would be the toughest person to beat in 1on1 if added too ASW..

KD could turn any shot Any shot into a good shot, I witnessed it at the Olympics and playoffs pic.twitter.com/fnFh1Q7fEj
— 𝐇𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 ✰ (@Hatedzs) February 15, 2025

On the other hand, Green named Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James as his favorite to win the contest. He simply said, “LeBron”.

Draymond says LeBron would win 1v1 tournament if the NBA ever had it 🍿👀 pic.twitter.com/s497XgIXqg
— House of Highlights (@HoHighlights) February 15, 2025

While nothing is official yet, it will be exciting to see if the 1v1 event could bring back the spark in the NBA All-Star games.

2026 NBA All-Star

Kevin Durant

Garima Ranawat

Garima is a sports writer with around two years of experience in Indian sports and a newfound interest in the NBA. Inspired by the leadership of cricketing legend MS Dhoni, she wishes to bring in newer perspectives to the NBA fanatics with her writing.