"They want to go to private islands": Michael Wilbon takes a dig at NBA players while debating league's potential adoption of NHL's 4 Nations format

As the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament, designed to be a one-off event replacing the NHL All-Star Game approached, many felt a clear lack of hype for it. Fans felt the level of competition at the event would make for another dull experience like previous ASGs. However, the weight of wearing their country's sweaters showed on the players as they were pumped right from the start.

Players from all four teams took the tournament not as an exhibition event but as an actual playoff-caliber event with bragging rights for the country and best-on-best feature. The added geopolitical tensions between the USA and Canada, the two teams that faced each other in the final, heightened the global appeal and made hockey popular in a lot of households in North America.

The NBA who also hosted their All-Star break around the same time, for a number of years tried different formats to make their annual spectacle more exciting. This year, for the first time they tried a four-team playoff format but the level of competition on the court remained similar to an All-Star Game.

There have been propositions of the basketball players to take up the Team USA vs. Team World format but sportscaster Mike Wilbon, on ESPN, stated that it is still a distant thought as NBA players aren't as invested in showcasing their competitiveness during the break as compared to NHLers.

"The effort, the inspired effort that went into that competition, that hockey competition, that ain't there. The NBA players don't want to do that. They made it plain. I've had conversations with enough guys they don't want to put forth that effort during their break. They want to go to private islands and put that on Instagram.

"It's not what they're invested in. And by the way, who's going to push them to be that? Because when you make $70 million as opposed to seven, which is what a lot of NHL stars make, there's a leverage difference. So you ain't gonna see it anytime soon, if ever. It's one opinion we're done," Wilbon had said.

NHL set to take larger best-on-best focus, per Gary Bettman

During the 4 Nations Face Off it was also unveiled that the mini-tournament would be a starting point for the NHL to introduce more best-on-best events in the future. This includes the revamped version of the World Cup of Hockey in 2028 which is set to have eight teams. Alternatively, NHL players will also play in the Winter Olympics.

In an appearance on The Rich Eisen Show, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman discussed some of the plans for the proposed tournaments.

“We’re looking to do a full World Cup like you see in soccer. We're going to look to do it in a variety of locations and not just in North America, we’re going to do it in Europe as well,” Bettman said. “The success has been so overwhelming, we’ve got a lot of things to consider and sort out including what our own All-Star game looks like moving forward.”

This would mean a fixed slate of international best-on-best hockey in 2026, 2028, 2030, and henceforth. It remains to be seen what path the NHL takes in the odd years leading up to these major events.