The NHL and NBA used different approaches to their All-Star festivities this year. 

Reactions to changes have been overwhelmingly positive for the NHL, as fans (both new and returning) enthusiastically pick sides in the 4 Nation Face-Off. 

Meanwhile, the NBA has been grilled for changing the format into an equally boring display of All-Stars laboring through the games to receive their checks.

Where Colin … Was Wrong?

No one gave a rip about the NBA’s change to a four-team tournament. 

The unrecognizable and bad product was a bitter reminder of NBA All-Star Weekends of the past, once considered appointment television in America. 

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – FEBRUARY 16: Karl Anthony-Towns #32 of Team Chuck and Evan Mobley #4 of Team Kenny go up for the opening tip off during the 74th NBA All-Star Game as part of NBA All-Star Weekend on Sunday, February 16, 2025 at Chase Center in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Juan Ocampo/NBAE via Getty Images)

The NBA’s state — with failing Finals numbers and now All-Star Weekend — in 2025 certainly prompts questions on whether the league can uphold interest after so many years of a bad product.

Some media members don’t want to paint the NBA in such a negative light. Enter Colin Cowherd, who posted on X his not-so-subtle endorsement of the NBA’s popularity following the All-Star Game(s) on Sunday, which drew negative reviews.

Always classy and sometimes out of touch with the culture, Cowherd delivered an emphatic promise that the NBA’s going to be just fine.

“NBA recently signed an 11 year deal worth 76 BILLION dollars. Pretty sure they’ll overcome All Star Weekend criticisms,” Cowherd posted. 

To say it mildly, Cowherd was putting makeup on a pig.

OutKick founder Clay Travis stepped in to give some pushback on Cowherd’s blind confidence in the NBA by reminding the FS1 host that bad leadership is capable of sinking any brand.

“Counterpoint: when you make a sh**ty product eventually it catches up with you. Look at Star Wars. And, heck, look at ESPN Radio in what we do,” CT posted, responding to Colin.

“Really the NBA just shifted risk of loss from the league to its streaming and TV partners, who are going to lose billions on their deals,” Clay added.

Adam Silver is showcasing bad leadership himself. And the NBA could very well fall short of delivering a proper return on investment for those billions of dollars in TV contracts — if anything shows up in the green at all.

PARIS, FRANCE – JANUARY 23: NBA Commissioner Adam Silver addresses the media prior to the game of the San Antonio Spurs against the Indiana Pacers as part of the NBA Paris Games 2025 on January 23, 2025 in Paris, France. (Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images)

The NBA’s showcase events are a snooze fest, weighed down by a barrage of three-point attempts and laughable defense. 

Load management and pushes for social justice added to the loss of fan interest in the NBA.

Since Sunday’s painfully dull ASG, reports have ‘leaked’ from the NBA criticizing Commissioner Adam Silver for failing to stop the bleeding in fan interest.

Silver’s “love” for tournament formats, including the in-season tournament, hasn’t been working, said an unnamed NBA exec (via the New York Post). After this recent overhaul of All-Star Weekend, Adam Silver seems out of ideas to resuscitate the once-compelling events.

Mac McClung, a G-League player, also won the NBA’s Dunk Contest on Saturday. He headlined an event that has featured legends like George Gervin and Michael Jordan.

The NBA’s big events don’t have the same pull, which many see as a sign that the league may be headed for a further decline in relevance, as leagues like the NHL and NFL only move higher in ratings.

Clay’s example of the Star Wars franchise highlights the miscalculation that Disney made by putting Kathleen Kennedy in charge of the property, taking it over from George Lucas, which sent the prized IP down the toilet in a spiraling mess of bad direction.

Clay Travis calls his shot: the NBA is headed for a wake-up call. (Getty)

In recent years, Star Wars spin-offs, which garnered their own successes before Kennedy’s takeover, now struggle to reel in audiences and have led to several cancelations. 

According to Forbes, Disney is $2.8 billion short of netting profits from their purchase of Lucasfilm, with all eyes on bad leadership as the problem. 

If you asked someone in the early 2000s whether Star Wars could ever lose its popularity as a brand, you’d be hard-pressed to find any skeptics.

NBA Finals Are Also Ratings Disasters

The NBA’s greatest games, the Finals series, have seen huge drop-offs in ratings since 2020. 

In 2024, when the Mavericks and Celtics faced off in the Finals, the NBA drew an average of 11.3 million people each game, the lowest Finals viewership numbers since 2021. 

Game 4 of the 2024 Finals series drew 9.6 million viewers, the second-lowest total ever for a Game 4 in the championship series.

Colin Cowherd has enough insight from guys in NBA circles. But the NBA has a glaring issue with its lack of star appeal and bad gameplay, which even former players have criticized. 

A dwindling interest in pro basketball is leaving even casual fans in the dust — many of whom couldn’t tell you which NBA team LaMelo Ball plays for or the squad Paul George joined after his time with the Clippers.

Send us your thoughts: alejandro.avila@outkick.com / Follow along on X: @alejandroaveela