The NBA paid close attention to what the NHL did over its All-Star break and wants to replicate the model.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver and president of league operations Byron Spruel spoke with media members in New York on Monday. Both said that they are interested in going to a format similar to what the NHL had with its 4 Nations Face-Off.
Rather than play an All-Star Game, the NHL this year decided to have players compete against each other while representing their countries. The four countries involved were Canada, Finland, Sweden and the United States. The US beat Canada in a heated round robin game, though Canada won the rematch in the championship game to capture the first event.
Players went all-out in terms of effort, and the games delivered huge ratings. The NBA has faced the opposite problem, as players hardly give any effort, so ratings have been declining.
“Given the strong interest we’ve seen in international basketball competitions, most recently in last summer’s Olympics in Paris, we’re discussing concepts with the players’ association that focus on NBA players representing their countries or regions instead of the more traditional formats that we’ve used in the past,” Silver told The Athletic.
Next year’s NBA All-Star Game is set to take place at Intuit Dome in the Los Angeles, Calif., area. NBC is set to televise the event. Given that Los Angeles will host the 2028 Summer Olympics, which will also be televised by NBC, the TV network supports pushing a format that would see players face off against each other based on countries. The 2026 NBA All-Star weekend is also set to coincide with the 2026 Winter Olympics held in Italy, for which NBC also has the TV rights.
