This year’s NBA All-Star Game averaged 4.7 million viewers, the second-least-watched game on record! On the contrary, the NHL’s 4 Nations Face-Off had an average viewership of 16 million for the final game. Both formats had 4 teams, but only one could generate more viewership. Former player turned analyst P. K. Subban hailed the NBA’s current generation as responsible. Meanwhile, Kevin Garnett critiqued the hockey “culture.” But there is no bad blood between the two, as ESPN’s analyst heaped praise on the Celtics legend.

“Listen, KG, you guys get me back on here, man. I want to come on and talk some basketball.” On All the Smoke podcast, the 13-year NHL veteran stated he would want to return to talk more about basketball. Although Kevin Garnett was not on the show, host Matt Barnes, a former NBA champion, suggested he would help connect the two.

“Hey, KG man, you are the Big Ticket, you are the truth, respect, love. And he was a dawg, that is a guy that I loved to watch play. And my sister loved to watch you play too, man. She was a big basketball fan,” P. K. Subban made it clear that he had no issues with the 2004 MVP’s response to his statements. But what did the 15x All-Star actually say about the difference between the NHL and the NBA?

The 48-year-old said, “Respects to hockey and them trying to get their viewership right, but until they tap into some culture, I don’t know what that’s going to be. At least for Americans, at least for the group of people that I’m around and how we talk about sports.” Kevin Garnett, on his podcast, also suggested that hockey promotes fighting. He added, “To beat up another sport to glorify your own, I wasn’t feeling that…Hockey to me, when I watch those guys they’re passionate too, but you talk about teaching kids, imagine going into a setting where you want to fight.”

The topic stemmed from the NBA’s All-Star game which came with a new format and new rules, still, the efforts from players were not up to the mark as per P. K. Subban. The ESPN analyst also credited two other players from the previous generation who had the killer mentality.

Not just Kevin Garnett, P. K. Subban wants current players to learn from two icons

The players not putting in effort has been a theme in recent times during the All-Star game discourse. The declining viewership also suggests that fans are not buying into the current product. Last year’s game saw a team score 200+ points, which had never happened before. That’s why Kevin Garnett wanted the players to play for the fans. Garnett said, “So I think it needs to be understood what it means to be an All-Star. And you know what? Everybody’s not one. And that’s what nobody wants to hear.”

Somewhat in agreement with KG’s comments from a few weeks ago, P. K. Subban harped on Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan’s mentality. “I’m watching (Kobe Bryant) walk off the court with his fricking finger dislocated, popping it back in and going. His Achilles is torn, and he’s shooting free throws. So do we want to celebrate this, or not?… The guy’s a gamer. Michael Jordan’s a gamer.”

Subban’s message was clear: he wanted NBA stars to give more to the game, just like MJ and Kobe. However, Kevin Garnett issued a response by suggesting that NHL players fight a lot, even though his underlying context has been a lack of fight from the NBA stars. That’s why the ESPN analyst suggested a sitdown with The Big Ticket.