SAN FRANCISCO — Victor Wembanyama already has gone up against the U.S. in international events, most notably last year’s Paris Olympics, in which he led France’s march to the gold medal game against the Americans.
He’d like to be in that position more often — maybe even annually. And Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo loves that idea as well.
In the ongoing search for the right NBA All-Star format, there was plenty of talk over the weekend in San Francisco about an idea that has picked up momentum in recent years: the U.S. on one side, the world on the other side.
Count Wembanyama — the San Antonio Spurs’ 7-foot-4 All-Star center from France — as a fan of that notion.
“I would love to. My opinion is that it’s more purposeful,” Wembanyama said. “There’s more pride in it. More stakes.”
Antetokounmpo was even more succinct when asked if he’d be on board with such a move.
“I would love that. Oh, I would love that,” said Antetokounmpo, a native of Greece who is of Nigerian descent. “I think that would be the most interesting and most exciting format. I would love that. For sure, I’d take pride in that. I always compete, but I think that will give me a little bit more extra juice to compete.”
The latest format for the All-Star Game — a four-team, three-game mini-tournament with all games being of the first-to-40-points-wins variety — debuted Sunday night, with Shaq’s OGs winning the title.
The NBA decided to try the tournament approach, which mimics what was already in place with the Rising Stars event for first- and second-year players, after years of openly asking for more competitive games.
And the 211-186 final score in 2024 was the last straw.
“When you get events like this, All-Star weekend, we don’t worry about the competition,” said 15-time All-Star Kevin Durant of the Phoenix Suns. “It’s just more about celebrating the basketball family and the community around this time. It shows how united we are as a group, as a basketball community, and how we can unite the rest of the world with what we do as well. It’s a cool time.”
There is some evidence that a midseason matchup between the best American players and the best international players might work, and it’s happening right now in another sport.
The 4 Nations Face-Off hockey tournament, which opened last week in Montreal and concludes Thursday in Boston with the U.S. assured of a spot in the championship game, is obviously not meaningless to the players involved. There has been fighting — three brawls in the first nine seconds of the U.S.-Canada game Saturday in Montreal — and a ton of physicality, much to the delight of fans.
“Mayhem,” Canada coach Jon Cooper said.
The NBA — at least some in the NBA — are watching the hockey and taking note of how it seems to be working as a potential idea for basketball’s midseason showcase going forward.
“Sometimes things just get old and kind of need a facelift,” Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green said. “I know they’ve done different things to try to get it going. What’ll be interesting to see is how this 4 Nations thing turns out in hockey. If that turns out great, might have to peek an eye.”
Had it been U.S. versus the World this season for an All-Star format, here’s what the international team might have been:
Wembanyama, Antetokounmpo, Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokić (Serbia), Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Canada), Indiana Pacers forward Pascal Siakam (Cameroon) and Houston Rockets center Alperen Şengün (Turkey) were All-Stars already.
New York Knicks All-Star center Karl-Anthony Towns plays internationally for the Dominican Republic, his mother’s homeland, so it would make sense to add him to that mix. Luka Dončić (Slovenia), now of the Los Angeles Lakers, is almost always an All-Star lock as well, so that would be eight players.
And here’s where it gets challenging.
If a U.S.-World matchup had the traditional 12-man rosters, four more players from the world pool would be needed — and that would mean four fewer American players would get the All-Star nod.
“The USA has more talented players than the rest of the world,” said Jokić, the three-time MVP who led the Nuggets to the NBA title in 2023. “Europe and the rest of the world has talented players, but the majority of the players are coming from USA.”
The NBA says about 70% of the league’s players are American. It’s simple math: It would be easier for international players to make the All-Star roster if the traditional format was utilized.
“Not to say we couldn’t figure out a way around this, but to the extent we want to have a fair process for picking All-Stars, if you’re picking half the players from a 30% pool and the other half from a 70% pool, it might not be fair to the players,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said last month. “So that’s one thing we’re looking at.”
Silver sought input from current players such as Warriors star Stephen Curry before the league went to the tournament format this year.
If he asks Wembanyama or Antetokounmpo their thoughts about 2026 and beyond, it’s pretty clear what the answer will be.
“Having Shai, Jokić, Luka, Wemby, Towns, Şengün — obviously I’m missing some guys that I cannot think from the top of my head — going against the best U.S. players, I think it would be fun,” Antetokounmpo said. “I think that would be the best format.”