For the second year in a row, the NBA has changed its format as the 2026 NBA All-Star Game tips off on Sunday. This year’s event will feature a United States vs. World format, with two teams being made up with players from the U.S., and one made up of international players. The teams will then compete in a round-robin tournament with four 12-minute games. In the tournament, USA Stars will play Team World in Game 1 at 5 p.m. ET at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif. Team World is the 2.5-point favorite at FanDuel. USA Stripes will then take on USA Stars in Game 2 at 5:35 p.m. ET, with USA Stripes a 2.5-point favorite.Â
That will be followed by USA Stripes meeting Team World in Game 3 at 6:10 p.m. ET, with Team World the 1.5-point favorite. After Game 3, the top two teams by record will advance to face each other in the championship game. If all three teams have a 1-1 record after Game 3, the tiebreaker would be point differential in each team’s two round-robin games. Team World is the +155 favorite to win it all, followed by USA Stripes (+160) and USA Stars (+200). The All-Star Game MVP favorite is Victor Wembanyama (+270) followed by Jaylen Brown (+850). Before making any 2026 NBA All-Star Game picks, be sure to see the NBA All-Star Game predictions from SportsLine’s Mike Barner.
New users can target the DraftKings promo code, which offers $300 in bonus bets if your first $5+ bet wins:
Barner is one of the most respected voices in the industry. His expertise has been on full display lately as he entered the All-Star Break on an amazing 40-17 run on his NBA betting picks, returning $2,014 to $100 players. Anyone following at sportsbooks and on betting apps could have seen huge returns.
Now, Barner has set his sights on the 2026 NBA All-Star Game. You can visit SportsLine now to see the picks. Here are the latest NBA odds and trends:
|
USA Stars vs. Team World spread: |
Team World -2.5 on FanDuel Sportsbook |
|
USA Stars vs. USA Stripes spread: |
USA Stripes -2.5 |
|
USA Stripes vs. Team World Spread: |
Team World -1.5 |
|
Team odds to win the tournament: |
Team World +155, USA Stripes +160, USA Stars +200 |
|
NBA All-Star Game picks: Â |
See picks at SportsLine |
|
NBA All-Star Game streaming: Â |
FuboTVÂ (Try for free) Â |
New users can check out the latest Kalshi bonus code CBSSPORTS to get a $10 bonus after making $10 in trades:
2026 NBA All-Star Game predictionsÂ
One surprise: Barner is not backing USA Stripes to win it all, despite it having veteran players whose games are tailor-made for an All-Star Game, like Jaylen Brown and Kevin Durant. USA Stripes, however, also has a roster with no true centers on it and only one player taller than 6-foot-8. That does not bode well and could be a major problem in the paint, especially when they have to go against the massive Team World, which has just two players shorter than 6-foot-8. USA Stripes averages 32.4 years of age, compared to 27.3 for Team World and 24.4 for USA Stars.
USA Stripes has four of the top-10 scorers in the NBA this season, led by Brown, who is averaging 29.3 points per game for Boston. Donovan Mitchell of Cleveland averages 29 points, while Kawhi Leonard of the Clippers is eighth at 27.9 points and Jalen Brunson of New York is 10th at 27 points. See who he is backing at SportsLine.
How to make 2026 NBA All-Star Game picks
Barner has revealed his pick for each individual matchup, identifying x-factors for which teams will win and cover throughout the round-robin format. He’s sharing who it is over at SportsLine.
So who wins the NBA All-Star Game 2026, and what crucial X-factor gives one side an edge? Visit SportsLine right now to get Barner’s overall champion, all from the NBA handicapper who is 40-17 on his past 57 NBA picks.
