The NBA All-Star weekend had some highlights. Matt McClung stumped the audience once again with his creative dunks. The All-Star game had some defense. Chris Paul and Victor Wembanyama tried to hack the skills challenge. It all led to the unprecedented success for the NBA. You see, across all of their social media pages, they amassed a billion views, a record for the league. It was a sign that the thing they did flowed in the right trajectory especially after two horrid years.

But it still wasn’t enough. Because even during their weekend, all the audience could buzz over was the NHL.

The National Hockey League also had their equivalent of the All-Star weekend. However, they introduced a bigger change than ever before. Instead of the traditional All-Star Game, the NHL introduced the 4 Nations Face-Off. The national committee’s of each of the USA, Canada, Sweden and Finland took their picks to assemble the best 23 hockey players from their country.

What has followed since has been gripping action that fans can’t get enough of. With a USA-Canada final still pending, their previous meeting captured insane viewership. Their round-robin game attracted 4.4 million average viewers as per ESPN. It peaked at 5.2 million according to Front Office Sports. No other non Stanley Cup Finals since 2019 managed to draw such craze among fans.

And this all happened under the noses of the NBA All-Star weekend, arguably the bigger sport and league in America. It signalled at something important for Adam Silver and the NBA. They need to find a way to have players battle their prides. And maybe the answer is take some inspiration from the NHL.

Giannis Antetokounmpo urges Adam Silver to adapt a NHL-like model

The new format for the All-Star game, a mini-tournament did produce some positives. Players displayed greater energy and the shorter scoring target helped with it. However, it was nowhere close to the intensity fans want. Furthermore, it also received backlash over the Rising Stars being part of Sunday night, heavily in fact by Draymond Green.

Several fixes have been put forth. Damian Lillard of the Milwaukee Bucks would much prefer the old East vs West format. However, that has proven to yield unsatisfactory results. Maybe it’s time to listen to Giannis Antetokounmpo.

In his press conference, the Greek Freak made a suggestion. He wants Adam Silver to implement a World vs The USA model to make the game for competitive. That way there would be something at stake. The USA is widely accepted as an unopposed basketball powerhouse. The Paris Olympics saw the best of the crop mesh together in their pursuit for gold.

However, it wasn’t made easy. Now imagine the best European and international players having the ability to match the starpower Team USA boasts. In recent years, they have won the major accolades. In that way, similar to the NHL, it’s a chance for the player to battle for something greater than merely a showcase game.

The opportunity to represent their country could serve as great motivation for Team USA who are constantly doubted around the international space. On the other side, the international players get an opportunity to pull off an upset against the greatest basketball powerhouse that has existed for decades.

It might be a way to bring seriousness and vigor back to the game. However, it sure needs something to move players enough for them to play to their best capabilities.