MONTREAL — It’s rare the NHL can upstage the NBA—especially when hockey has been struggling with ratings during the regular season and special events like the 2025 Winter Classic on New Year’s Eve, which drew record-low viewership. But when Team USA squared off against Team Canada on Saturday night in the NHL’s 4 Nations Face-Off, NBA All-Star festivities were barely a footnote to the evening.

The new international best-on-best hockey tournament featuring the U.S., Canada, Sweden, and Finland stole the spotlight as an overwhelming reception swept social media—an online buzz as big as the earsplitting roar within Montréal’s Bell Centre.

The enthusiasm was validated by the game’s huge ratings: According to ESPN, the U.S.-Canada game averaged 4.4 million viewers on ABC, peaking at 5.2 million. It makes the matchup the most-viewed non-Stanley Cup Final hockey broadcast since 2019.

“Real humans are watching NBA skills competition over USA vs Canada and I feel bad for them,” wrote one person on X. “I didn’t have Gary Bettman outshining Adam Silver on my bingo card this year,” wrote another. 

Even as Mac McClung won his third consecutive Slam Dunk Contest, pro basketball fans made clear that they had their attention elsewhere. “I’m the biggest NBA fan on the planet,” a 4 Nations Face-Off viewer posted on X during the U.S.-Canada game, “but the difference in buzz vibe and intensity between NBA’s All-Star weekend and the NHL 4 Nations is astronomical.”

The NHL’s 4 Nations Face-Off is, as of now, a one-off; the league will return to its normal All-Star Game in 2026 on Long Island, N.Y., at UBS Arena. Despite worries about fan reception for a novel tournament, 4 Nations Face-Off was able to unseat a well-established, Saturday primetime event in a league far bigger than the NHL, which is struggling to grow as fast as it wants.

The massive response to 4 Nations Face-Off shines another stark light on the flagging interest, poor viewership, and years-long struggle to make the NBA’s All-Star events relevant again. It’s a problem even NBA commissioner Silver has explicitly addressed, and the NHL’s eclipse is one more indication that the league has an All-Star conundrum on its hands.

The 2025 NBA All-Star Game did not have the nonsense of past years—like tons of halfcourt heaves—but the format brought around a new set of issues and additional questions for the future of the mid-season showcase.

One of the glaring issues was the reduction in the time of actual basketball played. This was partly by design (each game had a target score of 40) as the league hoped a shorter game would bring out a sense of urgency among its players. However, the TV timeouts had to come in after every 10 to 15 points, which limited the flow of the game.

The format also meant that two teams would play just one short game apiece. Players during the first round game between Team Chuck and Team Kenny only played around seven to eight minutes per game—and Rockets star Alperen Sengun played just four minutes before his team was eliminated.

Warriors star Draymond Green, who was not an All-Star but a member of TNT’s studio crew, gave the new format a “zero” out of 10 while citing the lack of basketball played.

“You work all year to be an All-Star and you get to play up to 40, and then you’re done,” Green said.

Another delay occurred during the first timeout of the final game. Comedian Kevin Hart led in recognizing the Inside the NBA crew for its All-Star coverage over the last few decades. (TNT is losing the rights to the All-Star Weekend to NBC starting next season, but Inside the NBA will continue its regular game coverage since TNT agreed a deal with ESPN in November.)

While the celebration had positive intentions, it caused a play stoppage of around 20 minutes in the middle of the championship game. All-Star Jaylen Brown appeared to be caught mouthing “get them out of here” to the camera during the delay and acknowledged the tribute’s awkward timing after the game.

“That kind of took the gas out of everything for a little bit,” Brown said.

Criticizing the Players

Charles Barkley had a counterargument supporting the league against the criticism from Green and other players about the new All-Star format. 

“His generation messed the game up,” Barkley said on the broadcast.

Barkley alluded to how over the last decade or so, stars have devalued the entire All-Star weekend.

It also served as an indirect shot at LeBron James, Green’s friend. James, who was named to a record 21st All-Star Game this year, announced hours before the game that he would not participate due to “foot and ankle discomfort.” He has also refused to participate in the Slam Dunk Contest, while Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, two players who, like James, were the face of the NBA at one point, have both won the event.

More Changes Coming

In an exclusive from FOS media and entertainment reporter Ryan Glasspiegel, there are already growing discussions about changes in the festivities for next year, which will be played at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles.

• Earlier start time: Moving the game’s start time to 5 p.m. ET (compared to this year’s 8:20 p.m.) to better accommodate East Coast viewers, account for the 2026 Winter Olympics, and potentially address declining ratings.
• One-on-one tournament: A proposed $1 million cash prize tournament, which would be similar to the event conducted by women’s basketball league Unrivaled that concluded Friday and had a $350,000 prize pool. Giannis Antetokounmpo said he’d “love to do it.”
• Team USA vs. Team World: Antetokounmpo suggested the format, but NBA Commissioner Adam Silver expressed doubts during a press conference in January, calling it an “old-fashioned concept.” 

As these ideas gain traction, next year’s event may look very different in hopes of reigniting fan interest.