The NBA All-Star Game and all the attendant weekend festivities come to San Francisco this year with the Golden State Warriors hosting the contest on their home court at Chase Center.

The biggest stars in the NBA shined in the newly formatted All-Star Game that featured a four-team mini-tournament. The format was designed to have the players put on an entertaining performance for the thousands of fans in attendance.

Gabriella Sarmiento Wilson or also known as H.E.R. sits courtside during Game 1 of the NBA All-Star Game at Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)

It's amazing how many people will travel great distances just to be in the vicinity of the game. Ed and Cherry Fernandez live in Bermuda and were visiting New York when they flew to San Francisco–with no tickets–in the hopes of watching the game.

That number is a 13 percent decrease on the 2024 NBA All-Star Game, which drew 5.398 million viewers. And the numbers get even worse than that. It was the second-least-watched game in the event’s history, according to Front Office Sports, barely beating out the 2023 game, which had about 4.6 million people watching.

The NBA All-Star Game is an economic success for the sport but the game has declined in popularity, with a format change coming this year in San Francisco.

It was six hours before game time and people were already filing into the Thrive City plaza outside the Chase Center.

NBA All-Star Game predictions, picks, and odds for Sunday, February 16. We provide best bets and break down the game's new format.

As NBA All-Star Weekend kicks off in the Bay Area​, local and international communities united through food, music, culture and sport.

Front Office Sports reported on Wednesday that the 2025 NBA All-Star Game averaged just 4.7 million viewers across all TNT platforms. That is down 13 percent when compared to last year’s NBA All-Star Game.