Stephen Curry will be joining Olympic teammates LeBron James and Kevin Durant once again, this time at the All-Star Game.
The NBA announced the rosters for this season's midseason showcase event on Tuesday night, splitting 25 names onto three squads. It's the debut of another new All-Star format — this one U.S. vs. The World, on Feb. 15 at the Los Angeles Clippers' home in Inglewood, California.
It's a concept that Commissioner Adam Silver thinks will tap into national pride for the players and comes at a fitting time. The game will be aired on NBC, which is also broadcasting the Milan Cortina Olympics that start later this week and run through Feb. 22.
The U.S.-vs.-World concept was talked about for years before becoming a reality this season. The NBA and the National Basketball Players Association unveiled the long-awaited plan in their latest attempt to spark renewed interest in the game following a largely panned tournament format last season.
The Clippers' Kawhi Leonard, likely the most deserving name left off the original list of 24 All-Stars, was added to the pool of U.S. players Tuesday shortly before the rosters were unveiled. And that move likely was what sent New York's Karl-Anthony Towns to the World team.
Towns was born in New Jersey but has played international basketball for the Dominican Republic — his late mother's homeland.
The NBA had said in recent months that it would adjust roster sizes as needed to ensure all three teams had at least eight players, the minimum required under the new format. Giannis Antetokounmpo is not expected to play for the World team because of injury, which is why that squad has nine players.
The U.S. teams were split by age: The older players were assigned to USA Stripes, the younger ones to USA Stars.
The rosters:
Jaylen Brown, Boston; Jalen Brunson, New York; Stephen Curry, Golden State; Kevin Durant, Houston; LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers; Kawhi Leonard, Los Angeles Clippers; Donovan Mitchell, Cleveland; Norman Powell, Miami.
Coach: Mitch Johnson, San Antonio.
Scottie Barnes, Toronto; Devin Booker, Phoenix; Cade Cunningham, Detroit; Jalen Duren, Detroit; Anthony Edwards, Minnesota; Chet Holmgren, Oklahoma City; Jalen Johnson, Atlanta; Tyrese Maxey, Philadelphia.
Coach: J.B. Bickerstaff, Detroit.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee; Deni Avdija, Portland; Luka Doncic, Los Angeles Lakers; Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City; Nikola Jokic, Denver; Jamal Murray, Denver; Pascal Siakam, Indiana; Karl-Anthony Towns, New York; Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio.
Coach: Darko Rajakovic, Toronto.
All games will be 12 minutes.
— Game 1: USA Stars vs. World.
— Game 2: USA Stripes vs. winning team of Game 1.
— Game 3: USA Stripes vs. losing team of Game 1.
— Game 4: Championship (top two teams from round-robin play). If all three teams finish 1-1 after the round-robin games, the first tiebreaker will be point differential across each team’s games.
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James walks up court during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the New York Knicks, Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/John Munson)
Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry celebrates scoring a three point shot during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Utah Jazz, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Tyler Tate)
Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard descends after making a dunk during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Philadelphia 76ers Monday, Feb. 2, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
PHOENIX (AP) — Ta'Niya Latson scored 16 and Agot Makeer added 14 points and South Carolina played stifling defense to beat UConn 62-48 on Friday night, ending the Huskies' 54-game winning streak and advancing to the women's NCAA Tournament championship game.
The Gamecocks will face the winner of Texas and UCLA semifinal on Sunday for the title, capping off another March Madness. South Carolina (36-3) will be looking to win its fourth national championship. Their other three have come in the last decade.
UConn (38-1) entered the Final Four undefeated for the ninth time in school history and for the third straight time left without a title. The Huskies also lost in the 2017 and 2018 national semifinals. This was the fewest points UConn had scored since putting up 49 points in a national championship game loss to the Gamecocks in 2022.
The Huskies and Gamecocks played last season for the title and UConn came away with an 82-59 rout for the school’s 12th national championship. UConn also beat South Carolina handily during the 2024-25 regular season.
With less than a second remaining in the game, UConn coach Geno Auriemma walked across the court to shake hands with Dawn Staley and had an animated conversation with the South Carolina coach while pointing to the floor. Staley yelled back at him as assistants from both teams separated the two.
When the clock ran out finally, Auriemma walked straight to the tunnel and didn’t shake hands. The two teams did shake hands.
The teams came into the game as the second- and third-leading scoring teams in the nation, both averaging over 87 points per game. This was a defensive battle.
Leading 46-44 a few minutes into the third quarter, South Carolina scored five straight points, capped by Agot Makeer’s 3-pointer to extend the advantage to seven.
Sarah Strong hit a 3-pointer to get the Huskies back within 51-47 with 4:39 left. The Huskies didn't score again until Strong hit a free throw with 30.8 seconds left, after South Carolina had scored 11 straight points.
South Carolina clamped down on UConn’s two stars. Strong, who was honored as the AP Player of the Year on Thursday, had 12 points and 12 rebounds, but went 4 for 16 from the field. Azzi Fudd had just eight points for the Huskies, making only 3 of 15 shots.
UConn had its worst shooting night of the season finishing 19 for 61 (31.1%) from the field.
Trailing 26-24 at the half, South Carolina opened the third quarter with a 12-2 run to take the lead. The Gamecocks extended the advantage to 40-30 — the biggest deficit the Huskies’ had faced this season.
UConn, which missed 10 of its first 11 3-point attempts, then started to get hot from the field, hitting three consecutive 3-pointers, the last by Fudd to get within 40-39. The All-America guard had missed seven of her first eight shots as she was blanketed by South Carolina’s defense.
South Carolina’s Tessa Johnson scored the final four points of the quarter to make it 44-39.
Both teams had cruised to the Final Four, each winning in the first four rounds of the tournament easily. The Huskies had been rarely challenged all season long, routing their Big East opponents by record margins.
Facing their first real test in a long time, they had no answer.
The opening 20 minutes was full of missed shots and turnovers. The two teams combined to shoot 22 for 62 from the field (35.4%) and had 14 turnovers. UConn led 26-24 at the half.
There were dozens of former Huskies and Gamecocks players in the crowd including Diana Taurasi, Paige Bueckers and Aliyah Boston. Boston was sitting next to Flavor Flav, who is a huge supporter of women’s sports.
AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness
UConn guard Azzi Fudd (35) fouls South Carolina forward Joyce Edwards (8) during the second half of a woman's NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game at the Final Four, Friday, April 3, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
South Carolina guard Agot Makeer (44) and UConn guard Kayleigh Heckel (9) scramble for the ball during the second half of a woman's NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game at the Final Four, Friday, April 3, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
South Carolina guard Ta'Niya Latson (00) drives against UConn guard Blanca Quinonez (4) during the second half of a woman's NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game at the Final Four, Friday, April 3, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
South Carolina guard Tessa Johnson (5) shoots over UConn forward Sarah Strong (21) during the second half of a woman's NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game at the Final Four, Friday, April 3, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
South Carolina guard Ta'Niya Latson (00) and South Carolina guard Agot Makeer (44) go for a rebound against UConn during the first half of a woman's NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game at the Final Four, Friday, April 3, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
