The NBA all-star game returns with a revised format for the 2025 festivities in San Francisco.
The narrative: Three teams — selected by Shaquille O'Neal, Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith — are comprised of the all-stars. The fourth squad is the winning NBA's Rising Stars Challenge team. A semi-final is played and the winning squads go at it in the final. The first team to 40 wins each contest.
Check out our NBA all-star game MVP odds for the event on Feb. 16.
NBA all-star game MVP odds
Click on linked odds below to bet now. Note: Lines have changed/market no longer available if grey.
| Shaq's OGs | Kenny's Young Stars | Chuck's Global Stars |
| Steph Curry (+600) | Anthony Edwards (+1,000) | Victor Wembanyama (+800) |
| LeBron James (+800) | Jalen Brunson (+2,000) | Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (+800) |
| Damian Lillard (+1,000) | Jaren Jackson Jr. (+2,500) | Donovan Mitchell (+1,600) |
| Kevin Durant (+1,600) | Tyler Herro (+4,000) | Karl-Anthony Towns (+2,000) |
| Jayson Tatum (+1,600) | Cade Cunningham (+4,000) | Nikola Jokic (+3,000) |
| Kyrie Irving (+2,500) | Evan Mobley (+6,000) | Alperen Sengun (+4,000) |
| Jaylen Brown (+3,000) | Darius Garland (+6,000) | Pascal Siakam (+4,000) |
| James Harden (+4,000) | Jalen Williams (+6,000) | Trae Young (+4,000) |
NBA odds as of 1:15 p.m. ET on 02/14/25.
Go to full NBA all-star weekend betting markets.
Curry won the all-star game MVP — now known as the Kobe Bryant Most Valuable Player — in 2022 and he's favoured to do so again.
The future Hall of Famer is having a down year, scoring 23.4 PPG (his lowest since the 2012-13 season), but these games aren't exactly known for stingy defence.
Curry also benefits from being on Shaq's team which will face Candace Parker's Rising Stars — a sure cakewalk to the final.
I want to tap into that built-in value by backing another former MVP, Kevin Durant, alongside Victor Wembanyama.
Best bets to win the NBA all-star game MVP
Kevin Durant (+1,600): At 36 years old, Durant could certainly be considered an OG in today's league. But he's not playing like a man at the end of the road.
The Phoenix Suns superstar is averaging 27.3 points to go along with 6.0 rebounds and 4.3 assists. KD enters the all-star break on a scoring binge, dropping 37, 34 and 27 points in his last three games.
He's won this award twice before (2012, 2019) and is a good bet to nab a third.
KD has attempted 12-plus shots in five straight all-star games, averaging 24.4 points in 11 appearances.
He also said this about the new format: "I hate it. Absolutely hate it. Terrible." The Slim Reaper has run off of spite for years, though, making me like this play even more.
Victor Wembanyama (+800): A real MVP is bound to come for Wembanyama sooner or later but I think he'd settle for all-star honours this time around.
At 7-foor-4, the French Phenom is practically unguardable.
He loves to let it fly from deep and can rattle the rim, too, which makes him a compelling pick in a game with little to no defence.
I think Chuck's Global Stars are much deeper than Kenny's Young Stars and that has me looking toward Wemby as a value play.
