For years, the NBA has tried tirelessly to revive its once popular All-Star Game with a number of different format changes. But in the eyes of ESPN’s Michael Wilbon, the league would be better off following suit with the NHL and getting rid of the NBA All-Star Game in favor of an event to highlight international talent.
On Wednesday, the NHL kicked off the eight-day series of games called the 4 Nations Face-off to replace their traditional All-Star Weekend, a tournament-style event featuring four 23-player teams representing Team USA, Team Canada, Team Sweden, and Team Finland.
Already, the event has received rave reviews following Wednesday’s thrilling overtime game between Team Canada and Team Sweden.
MITCH MARNER!!! 🚨
He wins it for Canada in just an amazing overtime! 🍁 #4Nations pic.twitter.com/lcXpPbkoBw
— NHL (@NHL) February 13, 2025
Only time will tell what kind of ratings the 4 Nations Face-off will garner. But the buzz around the event has Michael Wilbon questioning whether a similar format could be implemented in the NBA to replace their All-Star Weekend.
During Thursday’s edition of Pardon the Interruption, Wilbon and Tony Kornheiser were joined by ESPN NHL analyst P.K. Subban. Wilbon shared his belief that the NBA needs to “follow suit very quickly” in replacing its own All-Star Game.
“Short tournament, but a popular tournament already, P.K.,” said Wilbon. “The players seem to love it. First of all, whose idea was this? The NBA needs to follow suit very quickly after the tone that the NHL has set with this to replace its All-Star Game. Why do the players love it so much?”
Subban then responded by both applauding the format of the 4 Nations Face-Off and how the players are buying into the concept with 100 percent effort.
“Hats off to the NHL and what they have done,” said Subban. “The players should be excited about it. I mean, the proof is what did the play look like last night? Was there hitting? Was there physicality? Shea Theodore is out of the tournament. That didn’t happen from him falling over by accident. These guys are playing for real.
“It’s not just Gary [Bettman]. It trickles down from him into to these teams and the culture of hockey. And the culture for us, the standard is when you put that jersey on, whether it is an original six jersey in the NHL or it’s your country’s jersey. You can’t play hockey going through the motions, guys…You gotta play with pride, you’ve got to leave it all out on the ice. When you put that country’s jersey on, buckle up. Showtime, primetime, on-time, it doesn’t matter. Guys are leaving it all out on the ice. You’ve got your family watching, your parents at home, everybody that has worked so hard to give you this opportunity.”
We have already seen media members calling for the NBA All-Star Game format to change to a Team USA versus Team World format. And Adam Silver has publically admitted that a change to this kind of format is a possibility in the future.
But as Subban alluded to, any format that the NBA tries to implement may fail unless players buy-in and put in much more effort than we have seen in recent All-Star Games, which has been a talking point for years now.
So it will be interesting to see whether the 2025 All-Star Game, which again has a new format, will perhaps change Wilbon’s mind on what is best for the future of NBA All-Star Weekend.
