"Their entire brand is 'we hate America'" - Jason Whitlock breaks down why NBA's international showdown won’t draw NHL-level ratings

For quite sometime now, the period following the NBA All-Star Game has seen critics picking apart this annual event's flaws and proposing ways to improve it. On Friday, a veteran analyst claimed that there was one solution that the NBA could not implement.

Speaking on his show "Fearless With Jason Whitlock," journalist Jason Whitlock brought up the NHL's widely successful 4 Nations Face-Off, which was held from Feb. 13 to Feb. 20 and had games scheduled on the same night as the NBA's All-Star Saturday. Per Whitlock, this tournament featuring top stars from the USA, Canada, Sweden and Finland embodied a certain quality that is sorely lacking in NBA players:

"Last night was a great celebration of sport, the National Hockey League, and it reiterates the importance of nationalism," Whitlock said. "When I think about the NBA and why they can't duplicate what the NHL just did, it's because NBA players, their entire brand is 'We hate America.'"

Jason Whitlock's praise of the multi-nation hockey tournament is predicated on the fact that the 4 Nations Face-Off outperformed the events of All-Star Saturday in the ratings. As per ESPN, the finals between the US and Canada drew an average of 4.4 million viewers, reaching a peak of 5.2 million. In contrast, a Reuters report placed the average viewership of All-Star Saturday at 3.4 million.

Whitlock anticipated that the NBA would aim to mirror the NHL's international structure for their top-level competition next year. However, he stated that the NBA's endorsement of the "Black Lives Matter" movement and pointed remarks from players such as LeBron James have caused "harm" to their brand in a nationalistic context.

"No one would buy it if they tried to wrap themselves in the flag," Whitlock added.

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"Declining reputation could cost his job": Jason Whitlock on NBA Commissioner

Days before making his comment on nationalism, Jason Whitlock made a prediction about NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and how he would be affected by the fallout of All-Star Weekend:

"When Draymond Green, one of your current players, is sitting on TV calling your product trash and your domestic reputation is as bad as the NBAs, and you're a laughingstock — the impetus is, eventually this is going to cost Adam Silver his job," said Whitlock. "I really authentically believe that."

Whitlock added that NBA players other than Green would eventually grow frustrated because the league's shortcomings would tarnish their reputations.