What is the Elam Ending, explained: How the NBA All-Star Game ending works

Let's break down the ending you'll see in the NBA All-Star Game and the Rising Stars games.

If you’re watching the 2023 NBA All-Star Game –also the All-Star Rising Stars games — and you start hearing about something called the “Elam Ending” that will decide the contest, and you’re confused? We’re here to help.

Let’s start with the format: In the fourth quarter of the game, there will be no more game clock. Instead, there will be a target score for one team to hit first. That number? It’ll be the team with the lead’s score through three quarters with 24 points added.

(Yes, that 24 is a tribute to Kobe Bryant’s jersey number.)

The first team to reach that score wins. It’s that simple.

It’s named for Nick Elam, a Ball State University who came up with it and saw it adapted by The Basketball Tournament six years ago. The NBA grabbed on to it in 2020, and it was an immediate hit as fans loved the drama that came with it:

There you have it!