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After David Stern retired as NBA Commissioner in 2014, it was Adam Silver who assumed the position. Since then, Silver has done a tremendous job as the NBA Commissioner. Here are Adam Silver's 10 greatest achievements as NBA commissioner, ranked.
1. Heavy ban on Donald Sterling
Silver ultimately showed that there was no room for racism in sports. After Donald Sterling's controversial statements were released to the public, the NBA Commissioner slapped the former owner with the harshest penalty in the NBA, which is a lifetime ban.
Moreover, Sterling was also forced to cough up a hefty fine of $2.5 million while also giving up his ownership of the Los Angeles Clippers.
2. Handling the issue against China on free speech
Although not directly related to basketball, Silver has often made moves as a commissioner by taking stands against issues, proving that the world is so much bigger than basketball. When Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey made a statement on social media about the Hong Kong protests in China, all of NBA's partners in that country took notice.
While the league's partnerships and sponsors were threatening to cut off ties with the NBA, Silver made sure to take a gallant stand to defend Morey's actions. Although the ramifications were serious afterwards, Silver made a follow-up statement to preserve the basic human right to free speech while calming their partners in China down.
3. NBA Bubble
If there was an achievement that separates Silver from the rest, it is his magnificent job in organizing the NBA Bubble. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, companies and organizations around the world were forced to shut down as millions of lives were devastated by the virus.
Instead of canceling the 2019-2020 season, after announcing its postponement, Silver mounted a NBA Bubble inside Disneyland. This allowed the NBA season to continue, giving basketball fans around the world a brief escape against the pandemic.
To make matters more interesting, the season concluded successfully without any player or staff inside the bubble contracting the virus. It was certainly a herculean effort for the commissioner.
4. Coach's Challenge
Referees are human. As a result, they have the tendency to commit some errors in making the calls of the game. For many years, NBA fans have endured questionable calls, some of which decided championships. To make matters worse, fans and players had to live with those calls.
But with Silver in charge, he has minimized those errors by implementing the coach's right to make a challenge. This has paved the way for reviews and reversed calls that should benefit the game's integrity.
5. Play-In Tournament
One of Adam Silver's greatest moves as commissioner was integrating the NBA Play-In Tournament into the season. This allows teams in the seven to 10 seeds to battle it out for the final playoff spots.
Traditionally, the final win-loss card and standing in the conference dictates a team's chances of making it to the postseason. The addition of the Play-In Tournament spiced things up for NBA teams with championship hopes and gave more teams something to play for at the end of the season.
6. 65-game rule for NBA Season Awards
Load management has been a glaring issue in the NBA. NBA fans would see players sit out a handful of games. In combatting load management, Silver implemented the 65-game rule for NBA Season Awards. This prevents players who don't play much from becoming eligible for NBA honors.
This has ultimately added some fairness in terms of awards. It makes more sense given that a player that plays more games is more deserving to be crowned an award. Furthermore, this also pushes players that are gunning for an award to play more games and disincentives players from missing games for “load management.”
7. NBA In-Season Tournament
Although many NBA fans were initially skeptical about the NBA In-Season Tournament, it turned out to be another masterpiece in Silver's administration. The NBA In-Season Tournament brought more intensity to the regular season. This also incentivized teams to play harder with the money on the line, especially with a $500,000 reward for every player on the championship team.
8. Tackling the flops
Another issue that the NBA has been dealing with as of late is the influx of flops. Silver has been dead focused on trying to limit players' flopping during games that negatively affects the integrity of the game. Silver put down the hammer by rewarding the opponents a free throw should any player try to flop into a foul. However, flopping continues to be prevalent in the NBA today.
9. Player Participation Policy
In relation to load management, even Silver has already imposed a rule to further strengthen the league's battle against it in the form of the Player Participation Policy. This allows NBA fans to expect their favorite stars to suit up for the game that they bought tickets for. But more importantly, this reduces player absences when they're healthy.
10. Brief change in NBA All-Star Game format
Although the All-Star Games with team captains were short lived, any basketball fan will not deny that the change in format injected some life into the NBA All-Star Game that was getting more and more boring. While the format eventually went stale, you can count on Adam Silver to cook something up that would make the NBA All-Star Game attract interest once again.
