NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has to be a jealous man these days. At a time when the general public is bored with his league’s All-Star Game, hockey fans in the United States and Canada are going nuts over the 4 Nations Face-Off being conducted by the NHL.

The 4 Nations Face-Off, featuring the best players from the United States, Finland, Sweden, and Canada, replaced the NHL’s All-Star Game this season and serves as an appetizer for when the NHL returns to Olympic participation starting in 2026 when the Games are held at Milan.

The 4 Nations Face-Off has been an immediate hit. Anticipation for Thursday night’s championship game between Team USA and Team Canada at TD Garden at Boston feels like the Super Bowl of hockey. 

“Something like this, when you see the intensity and the emotion and how much guys actually care and want to win and represent their countries, you can’t really compete with that,” American center Vincent Trocheck said. “It’s not comparable to an all-star game or a Pro Bowl or something like that. This is something that’s like playoff hockey. This is like Game 7 every night.”

The NBA All-Star Game went from being a must-watch during the days of Larry Bird and Magic Johnson to being mostly ignored nowadays, the competitive level is largely non-existent. 

Held last weekend at San Francisco, the 2025 NBA All-Star Game was the second-least watched ever, attracting an average of 4.7 million viewers, barely beating the all-time low of 4.6 million in 2023.  A new format implemented this year featuring a four-team tournament instead of the Eastern Conference All-Stars versus the Western Conference All-Stars failed to resonate with fans.

Former NBA legends Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal, and Kenny Smith drafted teams, while a group of Rising Stars comprised the fourth team. Mr. O’Neal’s team won, but the format felt more like a gimmick than a way to restore energy and intensity to the game.

Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green was openly critical of the new format, especially including the Rising Stars squad. “I had to work so hard to play on a Sunday night of All-Star Weekend, and because ratings are down, because the games are bad, we’re bringing in rising stars. That’s not a fix,” Mr. Green told the reporters at San Francisco. “I never played in the Rising Star game, and these guys get to touch the All-Star floor.”

He then offered this caveat. “It’ll be interesting to see how this 4 Nations thing turns out in hockey,” he said. “If that turns out great you might have to peak at that.”

The 4 Nations Face-off has been great for hockey. An estimated 5.4 million viewers in America watched Team USA beat Canada, 3-1, in the round-robin portion Saturday night in front of an electric crowd at Montreal.  It was the first time since 2016 that the best players from each country faced off against each other. There were three fights in the first nine seconds of the emotionally charged game.

“Both teams flexed and nobody backed down,” Canada coach Jon Cooper said. “Then a hockey game broke out and it was fantastic.”

The NHL’s involvement in the Olympics ended after the 2014 Sochi Games.  The sport’s best international players have been itching to go toe-to-toe ever since.

“There’s no bigger rivalry than Canada-USA in hockey,” Canada’s Brad Marchand said. “They’re the games that everybody dreams about playing growing up. They’re memories that will last for a lifetime.”

It will be difficult for the NBA to generate that kind of passion and intensity. The mid-season NBA Cup is intended to create added interest and tinkering with the All-Star format will continue. A 4-Nations concept could be in the making if talent continues to grow internationally. Team USA easily won gold at the Paris Olympics defeating France led by Victor Wembanyama and Rudy Gobert in the gold medal game, while Serbia led by Nikola Jokic claimed the bronze by beating Germany featuring Dennis Schroder. The problem is trying to fill the rosters with enough All-Star quality talent to make a tournament competitive.

Perhaps the NBA should copy golf and pit TEAM USA against a group of International All-Stars, much like the Ryder Cup where the best American golfers play a match against Europe’s best.

“It means a lot at any level to represent your country,” Auston Matthews of TEAM USA and the Toronto Maple Leafs said. “At a world stage like the Olympics or 4 Nations, competing against the players and their respective countries, I think it’s great for the players and great for the sport and the fans.”