The NBA All-Star Game mini tournament format may stick around after all.

While viewership was down this year as fans and media mocked the first-to-40 scrimmages, which featured the winning team from the Friday night Rising Stars Challenge, the league is already planning tweaks to the format for 2026.

According to the Sports Business Journal, the NBA is considering a plan that would include one International team and one Snub team in the tournament. This is not all that different from what we saw in San Francisco earlier in February, as Charles Barkley selected exclusively international players to his team on TNT’s televised “draft.” However, it signals that the NBA liked what it saw from the mini tournament format enough to keep it going for at least another year.

One interesting element would be the inclusion of the All-Star snubs. While one could ask whether these players would really be snubbed if they got to play in the All-Star Game(s), they likely would have a chip on their shoulder. If the NBA could convince them to show up despite not technically getting an All-Star appearance on their resume, it could be a fun wrinkle.

Sports Business Journal also reported that the league plans to meet with NBC before finalizing its plans. NBC will retake rights to the All-Star Game next season for the first time since 2002. If the network has strong thoughts on how to rejuvenate or enliven a game that has clearly lost its luster since the early-2000s, the NBA will likely listen.

The goal is to make the event worth watching and not an embarrassment. For now, the NBA believes the mini tournament is its best shot.