A lot of changes are happening in the NBA this year, which may make you wonder who exactly is in charge. The NBA has a commissioner, which is the highest position of the NBA. Here’s what you need to know about who is the NBA commissioner and how they came to have this role.
Who is the NBA Commissioner?
The NBA Board of Governors unanimously elected Adam Silver to be the NBA commissioner in February of 2014. He is a powerful person, presiding over a vast network of media business and global sports income generators that have been structured around four sports leagues: NBA G League, the NBA 2K League, the National Basketball Association, and the Women’s National Basketball Association.
Silver has been ranked number 1 of the 50 most influential people in sports business. He was also named the Sports Business Journal Executive of the decade. Furthermore, Silver has earned accolades as Time’s 100 most influential people and Bloomberg Business’s 50 people who defined global business. Finally, he is also in the list of Fortunes World’s 50 greatest leaders and has earned Sports Executive of the year and Sports Illustrated executive of the year.
What is The Role of Nba Commissioner?
Adam Silver is responsible for growing the sport of basketball nationwide. He has shown himself to be open to all kinds of different ideas and technologies and is a lover of innovation. Under his rule, transparency has improved and basketball has become more of a deliberate tool for social cohesion and the promotion of general fitness and health through various communities.
History of Adam Silver
Before he became the NBA commissioner, Silver was the NBA Deputy Commissioner as well as the Chief Operating Officer. He did this for nearly a decade. Many of the signature achievements of the NBA during this time have been attributed to the work of Silver. He negotiated three bargaining agreements and helped to develop Nationwide basketball leagues like the Basketball Africa League and NBA China.
Prior to this role, Silver was president and CEO of NBA entertainment. He’s held a number of important positions within the league. Prior to his career in the NBA, Silver was a litigation associate. The majority of his cases were around antitrust and media. He graduated from Duke University as well as the University of Chicago Law School.
Who Else Has Power in The Nba?
Aside from Adam Silver, who has the lead role in NBA management, there are a number of other important characters who influence and make decisions in the NBA:
Mark Tatum
Mark Tatum is the Deputy Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer of the NBA. Like Silver, his appointment was unanimous by the NBA Board of Governors in 2014. Tatum had been with the NBA since 1999 and handled most of the business operations and international efforts with the NBA.
He has been a strong leader and developed a number of extremely important relationships within the industry to help grow the league for the nearly two decades that he has been with the NBA. He has also been responsible for bringing significant revenue into the NBA, such a corporate logos and a lucrative partnership with Gatorade and Nike.
Shareef Abdur-Rahim
Abdur-rahim is president of the NBA G League, which means that all of the business and basketball responsibilities for operations falls to him for this league. He also tests rules in their experimental phase and makes efforts to expand the league.
Michael Bass
Bass is the Executive Vice President and Chief Communications officer of the NBA, WNBA, NBA G League, and NBA 2K League. He takes care of all communications and evolving business and basketball worldwide.
He also handles communication like basketball media operations and communications. He’s been with the NBA for over two decades and has been an important spokesman on a number of matters.
Kathy Behrens
Behrens is president of social responsibility and player programs. She is the overseer for MBA programs that work toward player social responsibility, youth basketball, and coordinate the league. She also works to enhance opportunities for marketing for both former and current players.
Behrens has been with the NBA since 2000, overseeing community outreach, volunteer, and service initiatives. She has also served as senior vice president of community and player programs. She is well prepared for her position due to her experience at New York Cares, a not-for-profit mobilizing volunteers to help people in need throughout new york boroughs.
Learn Who is Important in The NBA
It’s not nearly as fun to learn about management as it is to learn about players in the NBA, but management matters now more than ever. If you want to make sure that you can stay up-to-date on management decisions and changes throughout the ongoing year, sports pick has the latest and most important information on NBA management.
