The 2024 NBA All-Star Game is returning to the classic East vs. West format.
For over 60 years, the NBA used the world's greatest pickup game as a chance to showcase the best talent in a head-to-head matchup between the two conferences.
In 2018, a change was made to use a draft format for the All-Star Game, allowing the highest vote-getters in each conference to select from the pool of players who earned All-Star selections.
In 2020, the NBA made another change to adopt the Elam Ending, where the fourth quarter was played to a fixed score to, hopefully, spark tougher defense and a game-winning scenario.
In 2023, for the first time, captains LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo picked their teams just 30 minutes before tip-off, taking a "schoolyard" approach to the event.
After five years of trial with the draft and Elam Ending format, NBA commissioner Adam Silver revealed that the NBA will go back to the standard East vs. West, timed four-quarter format in 2024.
LIVE: Updates and highlights from the 2024 NBA All-Star Game
NBA All-Star Game format, explained
Over the summer, Silver revealed that the NBA would go back to the East vs. West format for the 2024 All-Star Game in Indianapolis.
That means no more All-Star Draft and no more Elam Ending target score. Instead, the All-Star Game will follow the same format as a typical NBA game, playing four 12-minute quarters with standard scoring to decide a winner.
The only thing the 2024 All-Star Game will adopt from the recently changed format is the charity donations.
During the Elam Ending era of the All-Star Game, the winning team of each quarter would donate money to a charity of the captain's choosing. Even though the score will no longer reset at the end of each quarter, the team that wins each quarter will still donate to the charity of the captain's choosing.
Why did the NBA get rid of the All-Star Draft and Elam Ending?
In his press conference, Silver said the NBA thought it was time to return to the classic All-Star format that features no All-Star Draft and Elam Ending.
"We thought it was time since we're coming back to such a traditional market as Indianapolis is, as Indiana is and all it means for basketball, that we were going to return to the classic format for our All-Star Game," Silver told the media.
"So this year, we will be featuring, as we had historically, it will be East vs. West with the return to the four quarters, the same format we're all used to for a basketball game."
2024 NBA All-Star Game rosters
As mentioned above, there will be no NBA All-Star Draft ahead of this year's game. Instead, the NBA will return to the traditional East vs. West format as the two conferences go head-to-head.
You can find the complete rosters with injury replacements for Joel Embiid and Julius Randle below.
| East | West |
|---|---|
| Tyrese Haliburton | Luka Doncic |
| Damian Lillard | Shai Gilgeous-Alexander |
| Giannis Antetokounmpo | LeBron James |
| Jayson Tatum | Kevin Durant |
| Bam Adebayo | Nikola Jokic |
| Paolo Banchero | Devin Booker |
| Scottie Barnes* | Stephen Curry |
| Jaylen Brown | Anthony Davis |
| Jalen Brunson | Anthony Edwards |
| Tyrese Maxey | Paul George |
| Donovan Mitchell | Kawhi Leonard |
| Trae Young* | Karl-Anthony Towns |
*Starters are listed in bold. Injury replacements are denoted with an asterisk.
NBA All-Star schedule 2024
Here is the schedule of events for NBA All-Star Weekend, which takes place from Feb. 16-18:
Friday, Feb. 16
- 11:30 a.m. ET — NBA All-Star Rising Stars Practice
- 7 p.m. ET — NBA All-Star Celebrity Game
- 9 p.m. ET — NBA All-Star Rising Stars Game
Saturday, Feb. 17
- 11 a.m. ET — NBA All-Star Practice
- 2 p.m. ET — NBA HBCU Classic (Virginia Union vs. Winston-Salem State)
- 8 p.m. ET — All-Star Saturday Night
- Skills Challenge
- 3-Point Contest
- Stephen Curry vs. Sabrina Ionescu 3-Point Contest
- Slam Dunk Contest
Sunday, Feb. 18
- 1:30 p.m. ET — NBA G League Next Up Game
- 8 p.m. ET — NBA All-Star Game
