Voting for the 2025 NBA All-Star Game is now underway. The league is changing their ways with a new, adjusted format for the All-Star Game, which for the first time will feature a mini-tournament with four teams and three games.
The NBA decided to change up the All-Star break after the previous iteration of the game faced criticism for producing uninteresting basketball from disinterested players.
Now, the 24 NBA All-Star selections will be divided evenly into three teams with the rosters named for and drafted by TNT NBA analysts Shaquille O'Neal, Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith. The fourth team will be the winning squad from the Rising Stars challenge, the annual showcase of top first- and second-year NBA players and G League stars.
Fans can help decide the players who are selected into the league's 24 All-Star spots, and the NBA world has already kicked off campaigns to get their guys in.
The fan vote helps select the five All-Stars named as starters in each conference. The fan vote counts for a 50% share, while current NBA players and a media panel account for 25% apiece. All-Star reserves are selected by NBA head coaches once the starters are determined.
Here's everything you need to know about the rules for All-Star voting and how to help your favorite players get honored:
Key Dates for NBA All-Star Voting
Voting for the 2025 NBA All-Star Game opened on Dec. 19 and runs through the end of the day on Jan. 20. Fans can vote on NBA.com or the NBA app. Fans can vote once per day while the voting period is open. The league also has an All-Star sweepstakes for a chance to win a trip to NBA All-Star Weekend by voting while logged in with an NBA ID.
The NBA has announced a handful of "triple voting dates" where votes count extra. This year's triple voting dates are Dec. 21, Dec. 25, Jan. 3, Jan. 10, Jan. 17 and Jan. 20.
During the voting period, fans can place one vote per player for up to five players in each conference every day.
Votes count through 11:59 p.m. ET on Jan. 20. The NBA All-Star Game starters, which fans help decide, will be revealed by TNT on Jan. 23. The reserves, selected by NBA head coaches, are set to be announced the following week on Jan. 30.
How the All-Star Voting Process Unfolds
NBA All-Star voting tipped off on Dec. 19 and continues through Jan. 20. Fans can submit one full ballot each day through the NBA App and the NBA.com voting page (NBA.com/vote). The league recommends voting while logged in with an NBA ID, the league's online membership program which is free to join.
There are six special “3-for-1 Days” where NBA ID members’ votes will count three times. The triple voting dates are Dec. 21, Dec. 25, Jan. 3, Jan. 10, Jan. 17 and Jan. 20. NBA ID members also earn a sweepstakes entry with each vote for the opportunity to win a trip to the San Francisco Bay Area for NBA All-Star 2025.
The fan vote helps determine the All-Star starters, which includes five players from each conference. Fan votes make up 50% of the vote, while current NBA players and a media panel comprise the rest, each at 25% apiece.
After all votes are tallied, players will be ranked in each conference by position (guard and frontcourt) within each of the three voting groups: fan votes, player votes and media votes. Each player’s score will be calculated by averaging his weighted rank from the fan votes, the player votes and the media votes. The two guards and three frontcourt players with the best score in each conference will be named All-Star starters. Fan voting will serve as the tiebreaker for players in a position group who end up with the same score.
Once the All-Star starters are determined by fans, players and media members, NBA head coaches select the All-Star reserves, which will be seven additional players from each conference for a total of 24 NBA All-Stars. Should any All-Star not be able to compete, NBA commissioner Adam Silver will select their replacement from the same conference.
Who Can Be Voted Into the NBA All-Star Game?
All current NBA players are eligible for All-Star voting. Fans can place a vote with one full ballot, which contains up to 10 players, each day. The NBA's All-Star voting ballot consists of three frontcourt players and two guards from each conference.
Injured players can be voted for and eventually named an All-Star. However, if they are unable to compete, commissioner Silver will select a replacement for any players not able to participate. He will choose a player from the same conference as the player who's unable to compete.
#NBAAllStar Voting presented by AT&T will tip off on Thursday, Dec. 19 at 10 a.m. ET and conclude on Monday, Jan. 20 at 11:59 p.m. ET.
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) December 17, 2024
Fans will have the opportunity to vote for the 2025 NBA All-Star Game starters via the NBA App and https://t.co/RiEezZ9Qpf with their NBA ID. pic.twitter.com/6PRYmnWrkV
Controversies and Criticism Surrounding NBA All-Star Voting
As the fan vote determines 50% of the players named as starters for the NBA All-Star Game, a larger weight than current players and a media panel, controversies and criticism of voting outcomes are bound to happen.
Fan favorites, even in the midst of a potential disappointing year, still get tons of votes which can will someone to the All-Star game.
A famous example of All-Star voting controversy came surrounding big man Zaza Pachulia. Pachulia was a fan favorite, but he wasn't the type of player normally fit for the All-Star game, especially as a starter. He came in fourth-place amongst frontcourt vote-getters in 2016, then followed it by getting the second most votes in 2017.
The fan vote fully determined the All-Star starters through 2016, when Pachulia was just one spot behind being one of the three frontcourt starters in the West. The NBA changed to a weighted voting process the next season, which is still in place. If the league didn't adjust, Pachulia would have been named an All-Star starter in 2017.
Another controversy came surrounding Hall of Fame point guard Allen Iverson. Iverson was named an All-Star thanks to fan support in 2010 after he retired briefly to start the season before returning to play for the Philadelphia 76ers. He played just 28 games that season, which was his last in the NBA, but earned his 11th straight All-Star appearance.
Controversies are limited now thanks to the weighted voting system which gives fans 50% of the vote for All-Star starters, with current players and a media panel getting 25% each. The 2025 NBA All-Star Game will take place on Sunday, Feb. 16 in the San Francisco Bay Area at the Chase Center, home of the Golden State Warriors.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as NBA All-Star Voting Rules Explained: Timeline, Stages & Eligible Players.
