Before we get into today’s Bullets, I’d like to send my condolences to the Donovan family after yesterday’s news of the passing of Billy Donovan Sr., father of Chicago Bulls head coach Billy Donovan. Billy Donovan, Sr. played college basketball at Boston College and was a terrific scorer in his own right. He was inducted into the BC Hall of Fame in 2000.
We’re almost done with the NBA All-Star break, but there are still a ton of things we haven’t gotten the chance to talk about yet. The first being just how big of a win this year’s All-Star Game was for the NBA.
Now, let’s talk some hoop.
© Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn ImagesIn recent years, the discussion around the NBA has been centered on its declining viewership. Fans have been so invested in trashing the product that even numbers that don’t affect them have somehow become the driving force in arguments. It got so loud that you could potentially credit or blame, it as the reason the NBA moved to streaming platforms rather than staying on traditional cable channels. Over All-Star Weekend, Commissioner Adam Silver even confirmed that.
“We have a very young audience, and people were predicting that ratings would go down because our audience wouldn’t find the games since they were no longer on cable,” said Adam Silver. “It’s been the exact opposite. Our fans are finding those games in record numbers… We’re an entertainment product at the end of the day.”
Adam Silver: "We have a very young audience and people we're predicting that ratings would go down because our audience wouldn't find the games since they were no longer on cable. It's been the exact opposite. Our fans are finding those games in record numbers." byu/AncientOneAurelius innba And it’s safe to say the numbers back it up. According to NBC Sports PR, the 2026 NBA All-Star Game averaged 8.8 million viewers. That’s the highest it’s been since 2011."Legendary" Sunday featuring NBA All-Star Game and Milan Cortina Winter Olympics Delivers…More: t.co/GO2wNa1ypi pic.twitter.com/0h98hNRxIv
— NBC Sports PR (@NBCSportsPR) February 16, 2026 Yes, you could credit the new CBA, but it’s also that the players were willing to buy in and compete. They showed regular-season intensity. They played defense. They got emotional. They made fans care. That’s probably why the viewership was so high, essentially doubling the numbers from the last three years.The 2026 NBA All-Star Game drew 8.8 million viewers, the largest since 2011, NBC announced.Viewership peaked at 9.8 million viewers from 7-7:15 p.m. ET, the closing minutes of the game's "third quarter," when USA Stripes defeated Team World, 48–45. pic.twitter.com/Pc2ZIMGoi0
— Colin Salao (@colincsalao) February 16, 2026 However, one thing that hasn’t contributed to the ratings is the blatant tanking the NBA’s bottom-feeder teams have leaned into. Recently, it got so bad that the league even fined the Indiana Pacers and the Utah Jazz, and it doesn’t look like it’s stopping there. Adam Silver has suggested some pretty insane solutions to curb tanking — ones that could completely shift the power dynamic of the NBA. The ideas range from lighter punishments like fines, to taking away draft picks, all the way up to eliminating the NBA Draft entirely. He believes it’s “worse this year than we’ve seen in recent memory,” which is why he’s considering “every possible remedy.” According to Joe Vardon of The Athletic, there were even discussions where Adam Silver “would consider ending the NBA Draft and making rookies free agents if that’s what it took to stop tanking.”Adam Silver says he would consider ending the NBA Draft and making rookies free agents if that’s what it took to stop tanking, per @joevardon.(h/t @fullcourtpass) pic.twitter.com/keCAKRuoZa
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) February 15, 2026 Consider me overreacting, but that’s insane. Maybe not for a market like Chicago, but for the smaller ones, you’d be stuck in basketball hell. I hope it’s just a scare tactic, because if that ever comes into fruition, the league would be doomed, and Silver’s days would be numbered. However, it’s not tanking if you do it the way the Bulls do it. They tank ethically. They just lack the talent and structure it takes to win games. And this team, which entered the All-Star break with one of the worst active losing streaks in the NBA, has one of the toughest roads to the finish line yet. The Chicago Bulls have the fourth-toughest schedule remaining and currently hold the tenth-best odds at the number one pick in the NBA Draft Lottery. With each loss, those odds get better. And with the league cracking down on tanking, the Bulls might even leapfrog teams that are worse than them right now, making it the perfect cocktail for accidental success.Just a reminder: The Bulls have the 4th toughest schedule left, sit No. 10 in the draft lottery, they have a 3% at No. 1 and a 13.9% at top 4. That is all … enjoy All-Star Sunday.
— Joe Cowley (@JCowleyHoops) February 15, 2026MORE BULLS FROM BLEACHER NATION: Go Ad Free | Subscribe to the BN Newsletter
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