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Adam Silver | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2014 | |
| 5th Commissioner of the NBA | |
| Assumed office February 1, 2014 | |
| Deputy | Mark Tatum |
| Preceded by | David Stern |
| 2nd Deputy Commissioner of theNBA | |
| In office July 1, 2006 – February 1, 2014 | |
| Commissioner | David Stern |
| Preceded by | Russ Granik |
| Succeeded by | Mark Tatum |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1962-04-25)April 25, 1962 (age 63) Rye, New York, U.S. |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | |
Adam Silver (born April 25, 1962) is an American lawyer and sports executive who is serving as the fifth and currentcommissioner of theNational Basketball Association (NBA). He joined the NBA in 1992 and has held various positions within the league, becoming chief operating officer and deputy commissioner under his predecessor and mentorDavid Stern in 2006. When Stern retired in 2014, Silver was named commissioner.
During Silver's tenure, the league has continued to grow economically and globally, especially inChina. Silver made headlines in 2014 for forcingDonald Sterling to sell theLos Angeles Clippers, after banning Sterling for life from all NBA games and events when private recordings of him making racist remarks were made public.[1][2]
Silver was born into aJewish-American family.[3][4] His father Edward Silver (1921–2004) was a lawyer who specialized inlabor law and was a senior partner at the law firmProskauer Rose.[5][6] Silver grew up inRye, New York, a northern suburb of New York City inWestchester County. He attendedRye High School and graduated in 1980.[7]
After high school, Silver went toDuke University. He was a member of thePhi Delta Theta fraternity,[8] and graduated in 1984 with a Bachelor of Arts degree inpolitical science.[9][10] Silver worked from 1984 to 1985 as a legislative aide toLes AuCoin, who was a member of theU.S. House of Representatives.[11] Silver then attended theUniversity of Chicago Law School, graduating in 1988 with aJ.D. degree.[12]
After law school, Silver spent a year as alaw clerk for JudgeKimba Wood of theU.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.[13] He then joined the law firm ofCravath, Swaine & Moore as an associate.[14][15]
Since joining the NBA in 1992, Silver held the position of senior VP and COO ofNBA Entertainment working his way up to president and COO, which he held for eight years.[16] During his time with NBA Entertainment, Silver was an executive producer of theIMAX movieMichael Jordan to the Max,[17] as well as the documentaryWhatever Happened to Micheal Ray?[18] He also contributed to the productions ofLike Mike[19] andThe Year of the Yao.[20]
Silver also held the positions of NBA chief of staff and special assistant to the commissioner.[21]
Silver was the NBA's deputy commissioner and chief operating officer for eight years. In that role, he was involved in the negotiation of the league's last three collective bargaining agreements with theNational Basketball Players Association, the development of theWNBA andNBA Development League, the partnership withTurner Broadcasting to manage the NBA's digital assets, and the creation of NBA China.
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On October 25, 2012, NBA commissionerDavid Stern announced his retirement date and endorsed Silver to succeed him.[22][23][24] Shortly after, the NBA Board of Governors unanimously voted in favor of Silver to become the next NBA commissioner.[25] Silver officially assumed the role on February 1, 2014, after Stern stepped down from the position.[26]
On April 25, 2014,TMZ Sports released a video ofLos Angeles Clippers ownerDonald Sterling holding a conversation with his girlfriend that included racist remarks. Silver responded four days later, announcing that Sterling had been banned from the NBA for life. In addition, Silver fined Sterling $2.5 million, the maximum allowed under the NBA constitution. Silver stripped Sterling from virtually all of his authority over the Clippers, and urged owners to vote to expel Sterling from ownership of the Clippers. Sterling was disallowed from entering any Clippers facility as well as attending any NBA games. It was one of the most severe punishments ever imposed on a professional sports owner.[27]
On November 13, 2014, Silver published an op-ed piece inThe New York Times, where he announced that he is in favor of legalized and regulated sports betting, mentioning that it should be "brought out of the underground and into the sunlight where it can be appropriately monitored and regulated."[28]
Dwight Howard, who played for theHouston Rockets at the time, accused Silver of immediately forcing him to remove and apologize for a 2014 "Free Palestine" tweet about the2014 Gaza War.[29] The NBA, however, has denied this accusation.[30]
On October 4, 2019,Houston Rockets general managerDaryl Morey issued atweet that supportedthe 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests.[31] Morey later deleted the tweet.[32] Two days later, Morey and theNBA each issued separate statements addressing the original tweet; Morey said that he never intended his tweet to cause any offense while the NBA said the tweet was "regrettable".[33][34] The statements drew attention and subsequent bipartisan criticism from several US politicians.[35] On October 7, Silver defended league's response to the tweet, supporting Morey's right to freedom of expression while also accepting the right of reply from the government of and businesses from China.[36] Soon after, Silver faced a rift between the partnership of China and the NBA. China responded negatively with decisions to possibly cut ties from the NBA. Silver publicly said, "It is inevitable that people around the world—including from America and China—will have different viewpoints over different issues. ... It is not the role of the NBA to adjudicate those differences."[37] Chinese smartphone manufacturerVivo responded to Silver's statements, stating, "Vivo has always insisted on the principle that the national interest is above all else and firmly opposes any remark and behavior that constitutes a challenge to the national sovereignty and territorial integrity. ... Starting today, Vivo will suspend all cooperation with the NBA."[38] The NBA eventually returned to China in 2025 after signing a five year deal to play two preseason games atVenetian Arena inMacau.[39]
On March 11, 2020, Silver made the decision tosuspend the2019–20 NBA season in reaction to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[40] On June 4, it was announced that the season would resume for 22 of the 30 teams in theNBA Bubble, a $170 million investment to protect the players, the coaches, and the successful completion of the season.[41][42] Near the end of the regular season, Silver stated that the bubble was "better than what we had envisioned."[43]
In 2016,Sports Business Journal ranked Silver No. 1 on its list of the 50 Most Influential People in Sports Business. In 2015, Silver was named Executive of the Year bySports Business Journal.[44] That same year, he was also named one ofTime's 100 Most Influential People[45] and one ofFortune's 50 Greatest Leaders.[46]
In 2014, Silver was named theSports Illustrated Executive of the Year.[47] He is on Duke University's board of trustees and received the 2016 Distinguished Alumnus Award from the University of Chicago Law School.[48] Silver is also on the board of theLustgarten Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research.[49]
Silver has sat on the board of trustees ofNewYork–Presbyterian Hospital since 2023.[50]
In February 2025, following theLuka Dončić–Anthony Davis trade, multiple conspiracy theories began circulating onsocial media platforms such asX,Instagram, andReddit. Specifically, accusations were made by fans, without evidence, that Silver and the NBA forced a trade of Dončić to a large market franchise, theLos Angeles Lakers, in order to solve the ongoing NBAtelevision ratings crisis, in which the NBA was experiencing a significant decrease in viewership.[51] Another conspiracy theory alleged, without evidence, that the Mavericks were intentionally alienating their fanbase so that Silver and the Mavericks ownership could better justify moving the team toLas Vegas, where the Adelson family, who has significant holdings in the Mavericks, does much of its business. Mavericks ownerPatrick Dumont and Silver both said that the Mavericks intended to stay in the Dallas area.[52][53]
As a result of not qualifying for the2025 NBA playoffs, the Dallas Mavericks entered the 2025 NBA draft lottery with just 1.8% odds to obtain the first overall selection. Despite these low odds, the Mavericks received thefirst overall pick in the2025 NBA draft, which prompted widespread accusations that theNBA draft lottery was rigged in order to compensate the Mavericks for the Dončić–Davis trade.[54] On June 25th, 2025,Duke University's All-American forwardCooper Flagg was drafted first overall by the Dallas Mavericks. The lottery drew comparisons toDavid Stern and the 1985 "frozen envelope" conspiracy theory, which alleged that the1985 draft lottery was rigged so that theNew York Knicks could selectGeorgetown superstarPatrick Ewing.[55]
In 2015, Silver married interior designer Maggie Grise.[56] They have two daughters, born in April 2017[57] and May 2020.[58]
Media related toAdam Silver at Wikimedia Commons| International | |
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