Could NHL surpass NBA?

[McMoMoney29]

Now I know this has been beaten to death multiple times on here, and the consensus is that hockey will never come close to the other 3 major sports, however lately with the NHL knocking it out of the park with the 4 nations and the NBA doing the opposite lately I thought maybe there’s a chance NHL could surpass the NBA. For example I’m 23, a couple years ago me and my buddies loved the NBA almost as much as hockey, more sometimes, but this past year or two my buddies and I have completely lost interest in the NBA and the league seems to worsen by the day with how star players treat regular season games and all star games etc. I was wondering if there’s others like me who absolutely loved the nba just recently and watched highlights and followed it more than NHL even though I’m from Canada and I bleed hockey, to recently just completely losing interest in the NBA. Obviously there’s a lot of different factors like the raptors sucking lately, interested to see what people think, knowing this is a hockey site so the answers with be bias and skewed. Even the MLB has gotten to be ridiculous with there being the same 2 or 3 teams the best every year because they’re richer. I think the NHL has been doing fantastic since Covid and am interested in some non bias answers.

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[Jay Gray]

Very doubtful and if it does it will be many years from now.

 

[jigglysquishy]

The NBA is further ahead of the NHL than it was 25 years ago. The gap will continue to grow.

 

[Icarium]

I think the NHL has been doing fantastic since Covid and am interested in some non bias answers.

So why did you post on a hockey forum?

 

[WillTheThrill]

Not until there are more black players in hockey. A big reason why half the population doesn't watch is because there's nobody who looks like them.

 

[BigDaddyLurch]

...imo, Canadians can't speak as unbiased on this issue as well as people from other Countries can, as Hockey is a religion here...

 

[JianYang]

No, nba is far more global, and the nhl is inherently restricted in terms of its growth abilities.

 

[McMoMoney29]

So why did you post on a hockey forum?

True lol but I’m sure even hockey fans can have a non bias opinion. Probably shouldn’t have added that part.

 

[Sasha Orlov]

Absolutely zero chance, less than zero even

 

[kodoshin]

It's not a realistic thing in the least. Hockey has so many things going against it that basketball never will. It's great that the NHL is doing as well as it is right now, but it's never going to compare to the popularity of the NBA.

 

[BigDaddyLurch]

...Hockey is also by far the most expensive sport to play...a LOT of kids just don't have the opportunity to play the game cuz it's soo expensive...

 

[qc14]

Despite what most people would say, the NHL has been a clear 2nd in post-covid "recovery" and "growth" to the NFL. I don't think it's been enough to overtake the NBA though.

The problem is that hockey always has and always will be fighting an uphill battle due to the barrier to entry. Anyone can go to the park with some friends and a ball and just play football/soccer/basketball/baseball. Hockey will never be able to reach that point. Doesn't mean the NHL and hockey in general can't be successful, and I'd argue that it's in a really good spot right now.

 

[dr robbie]

Not a chance. A flash in the pan success does not overcome all of the other hurdles (cheaper to play basketball, easier to designate park spots for basketball, simpler gameplay for basketball, etc. etc.). Throw in the fact that basketball is already more popular, more televised, more accessible, and more advertised, there's just basically no chance.

At best, hockey is able to keep it a "big 4" in north america.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

No. Too many people in the southern US have zero appreciation for the sport, and they can go shoot hoops at any park in a 5 block radius.

 

[2023FriendshipTour]

Will never happen the game will never be huge at the grass roots levels due to cost and climate. The 4 nations was great for the game, but doubt that will translate to a huge bump in viewership or participation at the NHL or grass roots level.

 

[barkovcanfinnish]

I think hockey is in a good place right now, and I hope that we’re going to enter a boom period with the Olympics next year too.

The NBA might be a joke but their star athletes are international icons, in a similar way that soccer stars are. Larger than life personalities. They market those guys so well, in a way that the NHL hasn’t been able to do. Until more people are wearing McDavid jerseys in Europe, the NBA will always be above the NHL

 

[TheGreenTBer]

Hockey is extraordinarily expensive and extremely inaccessible compared to basketball. That will forever limit its growth potential.

People can talk about a whole bunch of other cultural and racial issues but the bottom line to me is that the game is way too expensive and it's too difficult to find available ice.

 

[Mr Kot]

NBA right now is in a bit of a tailspin, but it's pretty clearly ahead. NHL had it's chance in the 90's when they were neck and neck, but lack of tv deals that could compete over the years, no boosting of star players, and several lockouts/threats of lockouts probably did it for the NHL. It is growing, but probably missed it's boat. We will see how a new commissioner will do in the coming years.

 

[Do Make Say Think]

No

 

[FlyguyOX]

No. Too many people in the southern US have zero appreciation for the sport, and they can go shoot hoops at any park in a 5 block radius.

Funny that the southern hockey teams are doing so well in attendance compared to a canadian one like winnipeg.

 

[HFBS]

No. Not even if the NHL doubles and triples down on it's quest to make all panel hosts of a certain demographic.

 

[mightbeabird]

The NHL isn't going to beat the NBA anytime soon. In fact I think the MLS is gonna push the NHL out of the top 4 given enough time.

 

[BigDaddyLurch]

Funny that the southern hockey teams are doing so well in attendance compared to a canadian one like winnipeg.

...population & cost...don't be niave...

 

[Malkinstheman]

Unless you can find a way to make hockey equipment 1/10th the cost, theres a less than 0% chance that the NHL overtakes any of the big 3

 

[AfroThunder396]

Not anytime soon. The NBA is cool and relevant in mainstream pop culture in ways the NHL could never dream of.