NBA All-Star 2026 Where to Watch: Start Times, Streaming Options, and the Full Viewing Guide in Eastern Time

NBA All-Star 2026 is staged in Los Angeles across three nights of events from Friday, February 13 through Sunday, February 15, 2026, culminating in a tournament-style All-Star showcase at Intuit Dome in Inglewood. For fans searching “where to watch,” the key twist this year is that the weekend is split across traditional television windows and multiple streaming destinations, with some events available only through a subscription stream rather than a standard cable bundle.

That fragmentation is not an accident. The league is using its 75th All-Star celebration to push viewers toward digital viewing habits while still keeping the headline events accessible for mass audiences.

NBA All-Star 2026 schedule in ET: the times viewers are searching for

Here are the key start times in U.S. Eastern Time:

Friday, February 13, 2026

• Celebrity Game: 7:00 p.m. ET

• Rising Stars games: 9:00 p.m. ET, 9:55 p.m. ET

• Rising Stars Championship: 10:35 p.m. ET

• HBCU Classic: 11:00 p.m. ET

Saturday, February 14, 2026

• All-Star Saturday Night show: 5:00 p.m. ET
  The three-point contest, shooting stars event, and dunk contest run in sequence inside that window.

Sunday, February 15, 2026

• Development league showcase: 2:30 p.m. ET

• All-Star tournament games begin: 5:00 p.m. ET

• Additional round-robin games: 5:55 p.m. ET and 6:25 p.m. ET

• All-Star championship game: 7:10 p.m. ET

The main broadcast window for Saturday night and Sunday’s All-Star tournament is designed to be appointment viewing, while Friday’s slate leans later and more stream-forward.

Where to watch NBA All-Star 2026 in the United States

In the U.S., the weekend generally breaks down into three ways to watch:

Over-the-air national television for the marquee nights
Saturday night’s skills-and-contests show and Sunday’s All-Star tournament air nationally on a major broadcast network, meaning many viewers can watch with a standard antenna or any live TV package that includes local affiliates.

A companion paid streaming service for simulcasts and Friday exclusives
Those same marquee windows also stream simultaneously on the broadcast partner’s subscription streaming service. In addition, Friday’s Rising Stars slate is positioned as a streaming-first offering, which is why many viewers will only find it inside a paid stream rather than on basic cable.

Cable sports channels for select Friday programming
The celebrity game and the HBCU Classic are carried on cable sports outlets rather than the main broadcast network. If you only tune in on Saturday and Sunday, you’ll miss some of the weekend’s most talked-about moments, including celebrity highlights and the Rising Stars spotlight.

Practical tip: if you have a live TV streaming bundle, search inside the guide by event name rather than channel name. “All-Star Saturday Night,” “All-Star Game,” “Rising Stars,” and “Celebrity Game” are usually indexed cleanly, and it helps avoid confusion when your package reshuffles sports channels.

Where to watch NBA All-Star 2026 internationally

Outside the U.S., the “where to watch” answer depends on local rights, and those rights can vary even between neighboring countries. The most reliable approach is to use the league’s official schedule hub and the official league app, which typically display the correct local broadcaster and start time once you choose your region.

If you want one watch plan that travels, look for the league’s subscription package that offers live games in many international markets. Availability and blackout rules differ by country, so the key is to confirm access before tipoff day, not five minutes before the event begins.

Behind the headline: why “where to watch” got harder this year

The league’s incentives are straightforward: drive big reach for the headline nights, but also migrate a meaningful share of fans toward direct digital viewing. That means splitting the weekend across different distribution lanes, which increases total monetization but also increases viewer friction.

Stakeholders feel the trade-offs immediately:

Fans gain more device flexibility, but pay for it with complexity.
Broadcasters want the largest possible Sunday audience, which is why the main event stays on widely available TV.
Streaming partners want signature exclusives, which is why Friday night becomes the “digital gate.”
The league wants proof that major moments can live outside a traditional cable-only model.

Second-order effects show up fast: more watch parties at bars for the main nights, more social chatter about missed Friday events, and more last-minute subscription signups that spike on Saturday afternoon.

What we still don’t know

Even with the schedule locked, a few things can still shift viewer experience:

Pre-game and red-carpet coverage timing varies by distributor and can start earlier than the listed event window.
Local affiliate schedules can add short delays or alternate programming in rare cases.
Streaming platforms can differ in how quickly replays are posted, which matters for anyone watching outside the live window.

What happens next: how to avoid missing the biggest moments

If you want the cleanest plan, use these triggers:

If you only care about the biggest stars and the trophy, block Sunday at 5:00 p.m. ET, with the championship at 7:10 p.m. ET.
If you care about the most viral highlights, add Saturday at 5:00 p.m. ET for the three-point and dunk contests.
If you want the full weekend arc, prioritize Friday night too, because Rising Stars often sets the tone for who becomes a breakout name by Sunday.

NBA All-Star Weekend is still built for casual drop-in viewing, but NBA All-Star 2026 is also a test of modern sports distribution. The easiest way to win that test as a fan is to pick your must-watch events now, then confirm the exact viewing option in your region through the league’s official schedule and app before the first ball goes up.