Legendary NBA Stars Carmelo Anthony, Tracy McGrady, Vince Carter, and Austin Rivers Set to Ignite Rising Stars Challenge with Unseen Coaching Rivalries

When the NBA All-Star Weekend rolls around, you don’t usually expect to see some of the game’s greatest legends stepping onto the sidelines as coaches—but that’s exactly what’s happening this year. Carmelo Anthony, Tracy McGrady, Vince Carter, and Austin Rivers, four prominent voices on NBC Sports (and three Hall of Famers among them), are swapping the mic for the clipboard during the Rising Stars Game on Feb. 13 in Los Angeles. Set in the Intuit Dome, home turf for the LA Clippers, this event promises to spotlight the freshest talent shaking up the league. With a deep rookie class loaded with potential and a unique draft format that includes NBA G League stars, this Rising Stars showdown is shaping up to be a can’t-miss spectacle — airing live on NBC and streaming on Peacock at 9 p.m. Eastern. Trust me, as someone who’s followed the pulse of basketball for decades and understands the nuances of what makes an event truly buzzworthy, this weekend is packed with intrigue, hype, and undeniable skill. LEARN MORE

Carmelo Anthony, Tracy McGrady, Vince Carter, and Austin Rivers have picked up a side hustle, coaching during NBA All-Star Weekend.

The four NBC broadcasters — three of them Hall of Famers — will coach the Rising Stars Game on Feb. 13, the Friday night of All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles. The game will start at 9 p.m. Eastern that night and be broadcast on NBC and streamed on Peacock.

Presenting the honorary head coaches for the 2026 Castrol Rising Stars!

NBA Rookies and Sophomores will be drafted onto three teams on Tuesday (1/27) at 7:00pm/et on Peacock, with NBA G League players to comprise the fourth team.

The four teams will compete in the Castrol… pic.twitter.com/lb37AOyoHC

— NBA (@NBA) January 14, 2026

This year’s Rising Stars game will be must watch because it is overflowing with talent from an impressive and deep rookie class.

Cooper Flagg, Kon Knueppel, VJ Edgecombe, Dylan Harper, Derik Queen and Tre Johnson are among the rookies expected to take part in the game at the Intuit Dome (the home of the LA Clippers). There are plenty of talented second-year players expected to participate as well, including Stephon Castle, Kyshawn George, Alex Sarr and Zaccharie Risacher.

All of those rookies and sophomores will be drafted onto three teams, with the draft taking place in two weeks (Jan. 27) at 7 p.m. ET on Peacock. NBA G League players will make up the fourth team. Those four teams will be put into a straight-up tournament, where in the initial round the first team to reach or surpass 40 points will win and advance to the championship game. In that title game, the first team to reach 25 points wins.

When is the 2026 NBA All-Star Game?

The NBA All-Star Game returns to the Los Angeles area this season, with the big game itself played on Feb. 15, 2026, at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, home of the Los Angeles Clippers. All events will be broadcast on NBC Sports and Peacock. The All-Star Friday Night Rising Stars game (featuring NBA rookies and second-year players) as well as the All-Star Saturday Night events, including the Dunk Contest and 3-Point Contest, will also take place at the Intuit Dome. Fans will be able to watch all of it on NBC Sports and Peacock.

How to Watch the NBA on NBC and Peacock

Peacock NBA Monday will stream up to three Monday night games each week throughout the regular season. Coast 2 Coast Tuesday presents doubleheaders on Tuesday nights throughout the regular season on NBC and Peacock. On most Tuesdays, an 8 p.m. ET game will be on NBC stations in the Eastern and Central time zones, and an 8 p.m. PT game on NBC stations in the Pacific and often Mountain time zones. Check local listings each week. Both games will stream live nationwide on Peacock. NBC Sports will launch Sunday Night Basketball across NBC and Peacock on Feb. 1, 2026. For a full schedule of the NBA on NBC and Peacock, click here.