JD POV: 4 Nations vs NBA All-Star

While the 4 Nations Face-Off had even the most casual sports fans jumping out of their seats, NBA All-Star weekend proved to be pretty uninspiring. In our latest bonus clip, Jason Demers wades into the discussion to break down the differences between these two events and why the NHL is so different from the NBA. To hear the entire episode, check out Thursday's show with actor Jeremy Piven.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:04):
NHL Unscripted is a production of the NHL and iHeart podcasts.
We'll get to our guest, Jeremy Piven in just a
second last topic though, speaking of the passion of NHL
players versus the lack of passion the NBA All Star Game.
Our buddy PK Suban, you've hosted Coast to Coast with
him Andy Patrello on Amazon. PK went on ESPN and said, hockey's.

Speaker 2 (00:23):
A different sport from the NBA. You can't compare the
cultures because of the way the game is played. You
can step on an NBA floor and go through the emotions.
You can't do that in hockey. You can't like the
culture of our sport. You have to play it with passion.
You have to be willing to fight, you have to
be willing to leave it on the ice. That's what

(00:45):
fans are investing in. So for us, when we charge
fifteen hundred dollars for a ticket to come to fort
fans know what they're getting.

Speaker 1 (00:53):
Again, I don't mean to be that guy Schirp in
the NBA, but if you've ever seen a greater Di comedy,
people what hockey all is all about, and that intensity
versus the lame mass NBA All Star Weekend.

Speaker 3 (01:02):
Oh that was pathetic to watch that. I would love
to see the viewership. If anything, it was pathetic. And no, listen,
nothing against them, it's you. Listen to Kevin Durant. He
tweeted just today talking about retweeted yesterday just talking about
how he said, Hey, listen, like, maybe we just scrapped

(01:23):
the All Star Weekend because everybody's complaining and guys don't
try hard enough. And I'm like, that's you, guys. You
guys aren't trying hard enough. That's what's causing the problems
in the complaining. And then somebody's clapped back at him
and he just went, well, go watch hockey then, because
they seem to care a lot. And I'm like, are
you eating me? There's no other sport where they could
just openly shit on the fans and the fans are like,

(01:45):
here's my money, here's my money. Load. It's just load.
It's crazy. And listen, I've said it on multiple of
these of these episodes. Get your paper booboo. I'm like,
if you can find a way to hack the system, head,
good for you. I give you the golf clap, But
for canon. What makes me prideful to be a guy

(02:07):
who played in the NHL and representing his country is
the fact that we could put that all aside and
there's no friends. You could be playing with guys on
your same team and then you play against them because
they're from a different country, and there's such a melting
pot of guys and it's just balls to the wall. Man.
Guys just sacrifice themselves. This is middle of the season.
You're not getting paid for this. Yes there's a bonus

(02:29):
at the end, but you are not getting your predetermined contract.
You are getting a bonus if you win as a team.
The way these guys lay their their bodies on the line,
it's just it gives me chills. It gives me clammy
paws in my hands just thinking about it, talking about
it and watching these guys, it makes me I said,
I said it a couple of times in the last

(02:49):
few days. This has been one of the only things
that's made me want to come back as a player,
to experience that feeling again of just the buzz, the hum,
the fans, the country, the people like It's just this
is what makes hockey so great. And this is also
a magnifying glass of what makes basketball so great is
they don't truly care about It's very much an individual sport,

(03:10):
even though you're within a team. It's very individualistic the
culture of it. And I was sitting with somebody yesterday
for lunch and they told me something pretty interesting. They
said they were like the NBA All Star Game and
specifically the sport has really started to change since Kobe's passed.
Since Kobe was gone, the culture's tried to change because
he kind of moved the bus. Jordan as well was

(03:32):
doing that, but Kobe was the guy that took the mantle.
Then after that, how do you expect Like PK said
it perfectly, and I love what he said, how do
you expect Lebron's that, I'm out, I'm good, I don't
need to play it. And credit to him, He's created
a monster franchise around himself and and he's created this
brand that's synonymous with him and his lifestyle. But again,

(03:52):
people follow that, and then all the players follow that.
There's no accountability anymore. Guys don't hold each other accountable.
And then I just feel like Kobe's been a huge
missing piece in terms of culture within the NBA gamers.
So it's sad to see that Durant would even say
that because I'm a big proponent. You've heard me talk
about it before. I nan of respecting the fans because

(04:14):
without them, there's no money. Yeah, without them, there's no money.
The viewership is what drives money, drives brand deals, it
drives ratings, it drives TV deals. It's the fans that
show up, So you have to this is something for them,
for your country. You have to show up and show out,
and it just hasn't been the case. So, like I
said before, it's pathetic to.

Speaker 1 (04:36):
Enjoy the full NHL Unscripted with Verkin Demur's experience. Look
for full episodes every Thursday wherever you get your podcasts.
NHL Unscripted is a production of the NHL and iHeart Podcasts.
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