Tracy McGrady has shared that the NBA is reportedly planning on announcing a 1-on-1 tournament is coming to the 2026 All-Star Weekend.
During a recent appearance on Gil’s Arena, McGrady claimed he was informed by NBC that the competition will be included as part of NBA All-Star Weekend in February, 2026.
“I don’t know if you guys know, but I had a conversation with NBC — sorry NBC, if I’m not supposed to be telling this — I think they’re gonna have 1-on-1 at All-Star Weekend this year,” he said around the 1:33:30 mark in the video above.
NBC Sports announced in July that McGrady will be a studio analyst for NBA on NBC this upcoming season.
The seven-time NBA All-Star argued that the league needs to create a new generation of superstars, and believes a 1-on-1 tournament will help accomplish that. “When you get rid of KD and Steph [Curry] and them boys, how many superstars are in our league? Not that many,” he said. “So we gotta create more stars. How can you create more stars in our league? 1-on-1.”
McGrady expects the players who are towards the back end of the roster will be the ones making a name for themselves through the competition.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver said after a Board of Governors session on Wednesday (September 10) that he expects to finalize the latest tweaks to the All-Star Game format prior to the start of the 2025-26 season, according to USA TODAY.
The league has been tinkering with the annual event for years now, after it became apparent that the long-running format was no longer feasible possibly due to player concerns surrounding getting injured during the game.
Silver suggested the latest iteration would consist of a “Ryder Cup-type format of U.S. against international,” referring to the golf tournament. The success of last year’s Four Nations Face-Off may have also influenced their decision.
Even though the NBA commissioner did not mention that a 1-on-1 tournament was also on the table, the women’s 3-on-3 basketball league Unrivaled provided the league with a template, and proved that the format can thrive.
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