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The 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina have been a hit, not just in the United States but around the world. New stars are being born, ratings are up, and the competition across sports, new and old, is better than ever.
Already this year, we’ve seen the courage of Lindsey Vonn, the stunning collapse of Ilia Malinin, the speed skating dominance of Jordan Stolz, curling controversies, skiing drama, and much more. And that’s still with major medals to hand out in marquee events like figure skating and ice hockey.
But what if the Winter Olympics could offer more… like basketball?
It’s an idea that gained popularity during the 2026 Milan-Cortina Games, most notably from Dan Wolken at Yahoo Sports. The reasoning makes sense. The Winter Olympics are, by nature, less popular and accessible than their summer counterparts. The biggest basketball stars from around the world moving from summer to winter would not only give them more of a spotlight to themselves, but it would instantly become the biggest attraction at the winter games.
Yes, it may come at the cost of taking some of the shine off of figure skating, hockey, and most importantly, curling. And basketball isn’t traditionally seen as a “winter” sport; it does take place indoors in pretty much all professional settings. But a quick look at the Olympic schedule and you quickly see that everyone would benefit from basketball shifting to the winter.
Better balance
Basketball is a major draw at the Summer Olympics, but it must share the spotlight with headliners such as track & field and swimming. With other sports, such as flag football and baseball, coming to the Olympics in 2028, the top stars of the NBA may not be the only major professional athletes competing in the summer showcase. The Olympics currently lists a whopping 48 sports as part of the summer lineup. In contrast, the winter lineup only features just 16 sports. That imbalance is huge.
More stars
The Summer Olympics are filled with some of the most recognizable athletes in the world. Global stars in tennis, golf, cricket, and soccer will take part in 2028, in addition to the sports listed above, representing some of the world’s biggest sports. At the Winter Olympics, only hockey truly features athletes who are featured outside the fortnight in year-round sports. While we all love meeting new stars like Korey Dropkin and Cory Thiesse, comparing them to LeBron James and Steph Curry isn’t a fair comparison. Featuring basketball would immediately give NBC and the rest of the world a central selling point for the Winter Olympics every cycle, in addition to the traditional sports on display.
Stronger ratings
The Winter Olympics draw very good ratings, but they often lag behind what the Summer Olympics traditionally draw. The 2024 Paris Olympics averaged 30.4 million viewers on NBC, a level usually only the NFL can match. By comparison, these 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics are averaging 26.5 million viewers across all networks. Adding a consistent basketball tournament audience in the winter will further boost the overall product and bring the two seasonal games closer in prestige.
Winter Olympics’ impact on the NBA
Of course, the major sticking point might just be what the NBA thinks about the idea. Right now, basketball being played in the summer takes place during the middle of the NBA offseason. Would the NBA be willing to interrupt its regular season (and risk midseason injuries to stars) and sacrifice time for the Olympics?
It could actually be a positive. As soon as the NFL season ends, the sports media world has no idea what to do with itself. So they pivot to an NBA season that has hit its pre-All-Star doldrums and finds a slew of injuries, load management, and tank jobs. Inevitably, every February, the NBA always ends up in some kind of crisis, whether real or manufactured.
By pausing the regular season and focusing on the Olympics, the NBA can take a breath and give everyone a reason to celebrate basketball. Instead of trying to create a mid-season showcase with a new All-Star Game format every year, basketball can harness some of the great energy that hockey has experienced when best-on-best international competition hits in the prime of its sports calendar. The NBA can then reset and focus on the stretch run of the season after a healthy break to focus on the playoffs. How much better would we all be served if we had Olympic basketball to talk about instead of whether or not players may actually be playing hard in an exhibition game?
Basketball at the Winter Olympics sure seems like a winning proposition all the way around. Of course, that means it will likely never happen, but it doesn’t hurt to dream of the possibilities.
About Matt Yoder