Adam Silver facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Adam Silver
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Official portrait, 2014
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| 5th Commissioner of the NBA | |
| Assumed office February 1, 2014 |
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| Deputy | Mark Tatum |
| Preceded by | David Stern |
| Deputy Commissioner of the NBA | |
| In office July 1, 2006 – February 1, 2014 |
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| Commissioner | David Stern |
| Preceded by | Russ Granik |
| Succeeded by | Mark Tatum |
| Personal details | |
| Born | April 25, 1962 Rye, New York, U.S. |
| Spouse |
Maggie Grise
(m. 2015) |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | |
Adam Silver (born April 25, 1962) is an American lawyer and a top leader in sports. He is the fifth and current commissioner of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He started working for the NBA in 1992. Over the years, he held many important jobs. In 2006, he became the chief operating officer and deputy commissioner. His mentor, David Stern, was the commissioner at that time. When Stern retired in 2014, Adam Silver became the new commissioner.
Under Silver's leadership, the NBA has grown a lot. It has become more popular around the world, especially in China. In 2014, Silver made a big decision. He banned Donald Sterling, who owned the Los Angeles Clippers, from the NBA for life. This happened after recordings of Sterling making offensive comments were made public. Silver then made Sterling sell the team.
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Adam Silver's Early Life and School
Adam Silver was born into a Jewish-American family. His father, Edward Silver, was a lawyer who worked with labor laws. Adam grew up in Rye, New York, which is a town near New York City. He went to Rye High School and finished in 1980.
College and Law School
After high school, Silver went to Duke University. He studied political science and graduated in 1984. From 1984 to 1985, he worked for Les AuCoin, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. Then, Silver went to the University of Chicago Law School. He earned his law degree in 1988.
After law school, Silver worked for a judge named Kimba Wood for a year. He then joined a law firm called Cravath, Swaine & Moore.
Adam Silver's Career in the NBA
Adam Silver joined the NBA in 1992. He has held many important roles within the league.
Working with NBA Entertainment
When he first joined the NBA, Silver worked for NBA Entertainment. This part of the NBA creates movies and shows about basketball. He started as a senior vice president and chief operating officer. Later, he became the president and chief operating officer, a role he held for eight years.
During his time at NBA Entertainment, Silver helped make several movies. He was an executive producer for the IMAX movie Michael Jordan to the Max. He also worked on the documentary Whatever Happened to Micheal Ray?. He helped with the movies Like Mike and The Year of the Yao too. Silver also served as the NBA's chief of staff.
Becoming Deputy Commissioner
Before becoming the top commissioner, Silver was the NBA's deputy commissioner and chief operating officer for eight years. In this role, he helped with many important things. He was involved in talks about player contracts. He also helped develop the WNBA and the NBA Development League. He worked on the partnership with Turner Broadcasting for the NBA's digital content. He also helped create NBA China, which expanded the league's reach in China.
Leading the NBA as Commissioner
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On October 25, 2012, the previous NBA commissioner, David Stern, announced he would retire. Stern said he wanted Adam Silver to take his place. Soon after, the NBA's Board of Governors voted for Silver to become the next commissioner. Silver officially started his new role on February 1, 2014.
Handling Challenges and Big Decisions
On April 25, 2014, a video was released showing Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling making offensive comments. Four days later, Silver announced that Sterling was banned from the NBA for life. Silver also fined Sterling $2.5 million, which was the most allowed by NBA rules. Silver took away almost all of Sterling's power over the Clippers. He also asked other team owners to vote to remove Sterling from owning the team. Sterling was not allowed to enter any Clippers building or attend any NBA games. This was one of the strongest punishments ever given to a professional sports owner.
In November 2014, Silver wrote an article for The New York Times. He said he supported making sports betting legal and regulated. He believed it should be "brought out of the underground and into the sunlight."
In 2014, Houston Rockets player Dwight Howard posted "Free Palestine" on social media. Silver quickly told him to remove the post and apologize.
On October 4, 2019, Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey posted a message supporting the Hong Kong protests. Morey later deleted the post. The NBA and Morey both released statements about it. Morey said he didn't mean to cause offense. The NBA called the post "regrettable." These statements caused some criticism from US politicians. On October 7, Silver defended the league's response. He supported Morey's right to speak freely. He also accepted that China had a right to respond. This caused some tension between China and the NBA. Chinese companies, like smartphone maker Vivo, stopped working with the NBA. Silver said that people around the world will have different views. He added that it's not the NBA's job to decide these differences.
On March 11, 2020, Silver made a big decision. He chose to suspend the 2019–20 NBA season because of the COVID-19 pandemic. On June 4, it was announced that the season would start again for 22 of the 30 teams. This happened in the NBA Bubble, a special place created to keep players and coaches safe. It cost $170 million to make sure the season could finish successfully. Silver later said the bubble worked "better than what we had envisioned."
Awards and Recognition
Adam Silver has received many honors for his work. In 2016, Sports Business Journal named him the most influential person in sports business. In 2015, he was named Executive of the Year by the same journal. That year, Time magazine also named him one of the 100 Most Influential People. Fortune magazine listed him as one of the 50 Greatest Leaders.
In 2014, Sports Illustrated named Silver their Executive of the Year. He is on the board of trustees for Duke University. He also received an award from the University of Chicago Law School in 2016. Silver is also on the board of the Lustgarten Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research. Since 2023, Silver has been on the board of trustees for NewYork–Presbyterian Hospital.
Adam Silver's Family Life
In 2015, Adam Silver married Maggie Grise, who is an interior designer. They have two daughters. Their first daughter was born in April 2017, and their second in May 2020.
See also
In Spanish: Adam Silver para niños
