NBA Celebrity All-Star Game 2026 and All-Star Weekend schedule: who played, who’s next, and how USA fans can watch in Eastern Time

NBA Celebrity All-Star Game 2026 and All-Star Weekend schedule: who played, who’s next, and how USA fans can watch in Eastern Time

The NBA Celebrity All-Star Game 2026 kicked off All-Star Weekend on Friday, February 13, 2026 ET in the Los Angeles area, setting the tone for a three-day stretch that blends entertainment, skills-show precision, and the league’s evolving approach to its marquee showcase. The celebrity game delivered a familiar formula—big names, surprise buckets, and moments built for replay—while the rest of All-Star Weekend leans into a tighter, made-for-television cadence Saturday and Sunday.

The immediate headline from the celebrity game: Team Giannis beat Team Anthony 65–58, with Rome Flynn taking MVP again after a 17-point night. Tacko Fall powered the paint with a monster line, while Jeremy Lin’s late long-range make helped swing momentum. Keenan Allen led Team Anthony in scoring, and the crowd moments came in waves from a mixed roster that included musicians, actors, media figures, and athletes from other sports.

NBA All-Star Weekend 2026 schedule in ET: the key event times that matter

All-Star Weekend 2026 is built around three core nights, and the schedule is straightforward if you track it in Eastern Time:

  • Friday, February 13, 2026 ET

    • Celebrity game: 7:00 p.m. ET (Kia Forum, Inglewood)

    • Rising Stars: 9:00 p.m. ET (Intuit Dome, Inglewood)

  • Saturday, February 14, 2026 ET

    • All-Star Saturday Night: 5:00 p.m. ET (Intuit Dome, Inglewood)

    • Event order note: the 3-point contest is first, followed by the other Saturday events

  • Sunday, February 15, 2026 ET

    • All-Star Game: 5:00 p.m. ET (Intuit Dome, Inglewood)

If you’re searching “us mens hockey today” style for basketball—meaning you just want the quickest way to catch live action—Friday and Sunday are clean single-start windows, while Saturday is a longer block with multiple contests inside it.

NBA celebrity game 2026 roster: the names that drove the storyline

The celebrity rosters were designed for maximum contrast: recognizable entertainment figures, high-level athletes from other sports, and a few basketball-specific ringers who can actually play. The result is usually one predictable outcome and one surprising one.

The predictable outcome: someone with real basketball instincts ends up controlling stretches. This year, that showed up through the sheer interior force of Tacko Fall and the late-game steadiness from Jeremy Lin.

The surprising outcome: the “moment creators” often matter as much as the stat leaders. This edition featured crowd-popping bursts from Dylan Wang and a strong presence from Jenna Bandy as the only woman starter—exactly the kind of detail that makes the celebrity game feel less like a novelty and more like a real tentpole of the weekend.

On the coaching side, the game leaned into star power with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Anthony Anderson as the figureheads, supported by high-profile assistants that kept the energy high and the pacing quick.

Where to watch the celebrity game and the 3-point contest, without missing the start

For viewers in the United States, the simplest rule is this: the celebrity game is carried on a major sports cable broadcast, while Saturday Night and Sunday’s All-Star Game are carried on a major broadcast network with a parallel streaming option.

If you’re specifically asking “where to watch celebrity 3 point contest,” the important clarification is that the 3-point contest is part of Saturday Night programming, not the celebrity game. The best practical move is to tune in right at 5:00 p.m. ET on Saturday, because the 3-point contest is the first event in the sequence.

Behind the headline: why the NBA is leaning harder into weekend packaging

All-Star Weekend is no longer just a game; it’s a programming strategy. The incentive is clear: three consecutive nights create multiple entry points for casual viewers who might not watch a full regular-season broadcast. The celebrity game is the gateway product—low stakes, high familiarity, and lots of “I know that person” energy—while Saturday is built for compact competition and Sunday is built for prestige.

Stakeholders have different goals:

  • The league wants social-share moments that convert into broader viewing.

  • Players want to protect health while still “showing up” culturally.

  • Sponsors want clean, repeatable highlight beats that can live beyond a single night.

  • Fans want a reason to care that feels genuine, not forced.

The missing piece, as always, is whether the weekend’s momentum translates into sustained attention after Sunday. A great All-Star Weekend can lift the league’s narrative for weeks—if it produces moments people talk about on Monday that still matter by Thursday.

What happens next: the realistic scenarios to watch on Saturday and Sunday

  1. A new 3-point winner emerges if the field stays hot early. Trigger: the first two shooters put up high totals and pressure the rest.

  2. Saturday becomes dunk-driven if one finalist lands a truly clean, first-try finish. Trigger: judging controversy stays low and execution stays high.

  3. Sunday’s All-Star Game conversation shifts positive if the format produces competitive late possessions. Trigger: a close score in the final minutes.

  4. If competitiveness lags, the weekend still “wins” if the celebrity and skills nights generate the biggest viral moments. Trigger: replayable clips dominate the post-weekend chatter.

All-Star Weekend 2026 is already doing what it’s designed to do: give fans multiple reasons to tune in, even if they only catch one night. If you want, tell me whether you’re watching from the U.S. or elsewhere and I’ll translate the key start times into the cleanest viewing plan in ET.