The NHL cracked the code when it came to finding an attractive alternative to the All-Star Game. “Four Countries Showdown” is the perfect thing to happen in hockey over the years as America, Canada, Finland and Sweden play intense and persuasive hockey. End of the season and race to the playoffs.
The final set, held between Team USA and Team Canada on Thursday, gave them the opportunity to showcase the best players in the league compete in fascinating fantasy lines outside the Winter Olympics and the World Cup. The Robin format in the shortened round also ensured that the tournament would not postpone the welcome, and fans wanted more. This is exactly what the NHL wanted.
The fact that the 4 Nations faceoff happened in the same week as the largely recovered NBA All-Star Weekend, also means that the NHL is simply winning while the NBA continues to make the All-Star Game complicated , the fact that it is a complete contrast.
This is the blueprint we've been talking about for a long time about fixing the sports All-Star game. For obvious reasons, it cannot actually work in soccer, but the globalization of basketball would be the ideal sport to have its own short tournament to showcase more international stars.
The biggest difference is that hockey is very regional. Incubator countries such as Canada, Finland and Sweden were able to easily choose three countries to place with the US in the tournament. Meanwhile, the NBA is a little more wider, with not just a few stars coming from a wide range of international countries. For this reason, it makes sense to have four important teams.
- united states of america
- Canada
- Europe
- The rest of the world
The first three are rather obvious inclusions, allowing the “remaining world of the world” team to introduce players from South America, Australia and Africa together in one team, essentially increasing the number of parity. It makes it possible.
If you're wondering what a starting five looks like in a tournament like this, here's a rough mockup.
Team USA
PG: Jalen Brunson
SG: Anthony Edwards
Sci-fi: LeBron James
PF: Jason Tatum
C: Anthony Davis
Team Canada
PG: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
SG: Jamal Murray
SF: RJ Barrett
PF: Andrew Wiggins
C: Zack Edith
Team Europe
PG: Luka Donccic
SG: Franz Wagner
SF: Giannis Antetokounmpo
PF: Victor Wenbaniama
C: Nicola Jokic
The rest of the team
PG: Josh Giddy (Australia)
SG: Dante Exum (Australia)
Sci-fi: Jonathan Kuminga (DOP Republic of the Congo)
PF: Pascal Siakam (Cameroon)
C: Joel Embiid (Cameroon)
Obviously there's a bench and a coach to put together, but that would be a pretty compelling tournament. The next step is to adjust your vote. As for the NBA All-Star Game, the biggest disconnect right now is that it is intended that fans feel like they have an agency, but fan votes are pretty much worth it.
This multinational format allows active NBA players. Essentially this is still an NBA player showcase, so there's no factor in choosing a player outside of Eurobasket or America, just like the way the NHL handled the four countries.
It allows fans to vote, but basically it geolocks fans' votes, so only media members and fans from certain regions of the world can vote for players. Certainly, there's not much we can do if someone is sad like hell and wants to use a VPN to vote outside their place, but this will at least make it about who the fans represent in the tournament We will ensure that you have the right to say.
From here we follow the NHL model. Round robin, then the top two teams play against each other for the title. The NBA will donate to award winning countries to basketball initiatives in underserved communities. Why not give your fans something a little? Randomly pick 10,000 fans who submitted their votes to the victorious country and get a free league pass for the next season. It gives people a reason to really care about this and put something on the line to celebrate basketball, including fans.
It will have better sight than it is currently in the NBA All-Star Game. I know it's not saying much, but this would be a good start.
