The NBA commissioner needs to be as impartial as it gets when it comes to the franchises he oversees. Adam Silver has definitely been that, but he's always been a New York Knicks fan at heart.
Silver grew up in New York and would catch Knicks games alongside his father at Madison Square Garden. Back in 2014, he referred to himself as a “subdued” Knicks fan, but a fan nonetheless. That's why beyond the economic benefits for the NBA that a Knickerbocker resurgence brings, there's definitely a little bit of youthful exuberance hiding inside the NBA's head honcho for his boyhood team.
In a recent interview with Carton and Roberts, Silver was asked about what it meant to him to see the Knicks thriving again for the first time in a while.
“I wanna be careful here .. you wanna see that in every market you go to. Look, I'm a New York guy. I grew up here. It's great to see the Knicks successful. I know that in terms of what people talk to me about as the commissioner, whether I'm just walking into your studio today or walking in my neighborhood, people love to talk about the Knicks.”
Silver obviously couldn't be outwardly expressing his joy for the Knicks, but you could feel some excitement coming out. He's already used to being a subdued fan, but even more so now.
Silver spoke further on what the success in New York meant, not just for him, but for the fans and people watching at home.
“It's been a terrific story. That energy in Madison Square Garden. I know that was one of the first nationally televised playoff games where we had a full arena. A lot of my friends who don't work in sports, you name it, banking, real estate, media. When they saw that Madison Square Garden full, it was almost like ‘Wow, pandemic is ending'. Now we're seeing now a little bit of a change with the Delta Variant. But I know for people watching people come together in Madison Square Garden, I think that was meaningful.”
The Knicks were just happy to be there last season. Now with one playoff appearance under their belt, the pressure is on to sustain the success. Adam Silver will definitely be rooting for them to replicate their winning ways, both for the league and the subdued fan inside of him.
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