Adam Silver to extend his tenure as NBA Commissioner / News - Basketnews.com

Adam Silver will remain NBA Commissioner until the end of the current decade and will continue to lead the league in its future ventures.

Credit: Candice Ward-USA TODAY Sports – Scanpix Credit Candice Ward-USA TODAY Sports – Scanpix

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver is finalizing an extension to remain as commissioner of the NBA for several more years.

ESPN, which first reported the agreement, said Silver's new deal will stretch “through the end of the decade." It's the second time the league's owners have approved an extension for Silver, who also got one in June 2018 that had him under contract through the end of this season's NBA Finals.

Silver became commissioner on February 1, 2014, officially succeeding the late David Stern, his mentor, in a move that had been in the works for years; Stern officially announced his retirement more than a year earlier and the Board of Governors unanimously approved the plan to have Silver, the longtime deputy commissioner, take over.

Silver, 61, oversaw the creation of an In-Season Tournament which began this season and guided the league through the Covid-19 pandemic. He kept the league positioned to take full advantage of evolutions in communications and US gambling laws without risking the NBA's integrity.

One of Silver's earliest actions was the banning of former Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling from the NBA for life after racist remarks he made went public.

Silver later had to oversee an eventual sale of the Phoenix Suns after toxic workplace revelations involving former Suns owner Robert Sarver.

He also guided the league through major issues with China in the wake of social media messages by Daryl Morey, then general manager of the Houston Rockets, supporting 2019 protests in Hong Kong.

Silver also led the league in its talks on what became a nine-year, $24 billion media rights deal with ESPN and Turner Sports — sending revenue skyrocketing (from around $4.8 billion in his first season to an estimated $13 billion this season) and, in turn, serving as the catalyst to have player salaries soar as well.

“All the salaries are going up. NBA’s making money. So, he’s done a phenomenal job,” Los Angeles Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said Saturday night. "I’m glad. He can stay as long as he wants as long as I’m around. He’s been great.”

“He’s been a great leader who built on David’s legacy and really turned us in to a major multinational organization,” said Mark Cuban, who until recently had been the primary owner of the Dallas Mavericks

Silver is the fifth commissioner of the league, predated by Stern, Larry O'Brien, J. Walter Kennedy and Maurice Podoloff.

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