For as long as I can remember, the NBA has always dominated the NHL in terms of popularity and viewership. Regular season games, the All-Star Game, and playoff games for the NBA always topped the numbers put up by the NHL substantially. However, the NHL is currently on the rise as more stations, such as ESPN, have started to show hockey more which has broadened the audience.
One major complaint against the NBA which has been recently discussed is the care of the players. NBA players have become known for sitting out games for rest and taking it easy on defense. Add this on top of the lack of overall effort shown in the All-Star Game. This is compared to NHL players who have revealed that they constantly play through more gruesome injuries than NBA players. Also, they try much harder in their new version of the All-Star Game, the 4 Nations Face-Off. The idea of the 4 Nations Face-Off has probably been the greatest thing to happen for hockey in years. It is a round-robin tournament between Canada, the United States, Finland, and Sweden, 4 of the best hockey nations in the world. The games were exhilarating and the players truly cared and showed pride in their nations. The best example of this is when Canada matched up with the United States in Montreal. This game was scheduled on the night of the NBA skills competition, dunk contest, and 3-point contest which have become more boring as time has gone on. Many tuned on to watch the Canada vs United States game instead of the regular NBA All-Star festivities, and they got to witness an extremely entertaining and passionate battle between 2 bitter rivals. At the start of the game, there were 3 fights within 9 seconds, showing that this was not a regular All-Star game and the players cared greatly about the exhibition match. The United States ended up winning 3-1 and this tournament ended with a rematch between these 2 nations in the championship game, where Canada would end up winning 3-2 in overtime.
At the end of the 4 Nations Faceoff, all I have seen on ESPN and across social media is complaints against the NBA that the players need to show more heart, care, and take pride in what they do, like the NHL players. The NHL has greatly expanded because of the tournament and the popularity of the sport is the highest it has been in years. Hopefully, this inspires the NBA to adopt a similar style All-Star game, and the players to try more and care just like in the NHL.
