OT - Adam Silver's legacy

[The Vo Show]

With all these posts on here and elsewhere on social media about the quality of the refereeing, I was thinking about Adam Silver's era. He's had a few controversies in his tenure and handled them inadequately imo. He's also let the all-star game devolve into what we see today (though I'm not sure how he could have prevented it).

He let the players obtain more power, which was good for them, but bad for the league. The league used to have fan bases that were loyal to their home team but I notice that the younger fan base are fans of players more than teams. They used to have it both ways, loyal fans to teams and/or players. I think with the amount of player movement, it eroded team fandom. Or maybe the CBA is the reason for this. Either way, I attribute it to Silver.

Then there is getting in bed with gambling. I understand all leagues are in bed with gambling now but I think thats a bad look for all of them. Now more than ever people are questioning the integrity of the game. And who can blame them when they put their money on outcomes that the NBA admits it gets wrong with every 2 min report they publish.

I don't think his tenure has all been bad. The play-in was a great idea.

[Richard4444]

Adam Silver is doing his job. Being a nice soft commish for the league. Teams and players do not want hard punishment for themselves.

[Meat]

With all these posts on here and elsewhere on social media about the quality of the refereeing, I was thinking about Adam Silver's era. He's had a few controversies in his tenure and handled them inadequately imo. He's also let the all-star game devolve into what we see today (though I'm not sure how he could have prevented it).

He let the players obtain more power, which was good for them, but bad for the league. The league used to have fan bases that were loyal to their home team but I notice that the younger fan base are fans of players more than teams. They used to have it both ways, loyal fans to teams and/or players. I think with the amount of player movement, it eroded team fandom. Or maybe the CBA is the reason for this. Either way, I attribute it to Silver.

Then there is getting in bed with gambling. I understand all leagues are in bed with gambling now but I think thats a bad look for all of them. Now more than ever people are questioning the integrity of the game. And who can blame them when they put their money on outcomes that the NBA admits it gets wrong with every 2 min report they publish.

I don't think his tenure has all been bad. The play-in was a great idea.

His one job is to increase league value/revenue, he’s done that wonderfully

[Richard4444]

About the great amount of player movement. Now with social media and the "woke" movements, players have more power and projection and want to make use of their power to fulfill their goals and desires. Every professional wants to choose his employer and the place they live and work.

On the other hand, to make small market teams competitive you have to give them some tools to keep their players.

Silver is trying to reach a middle-ground commitment. The league offers a few perks to stand pat.

[Richard4444]

The young generations are getting more attached to the players than the franchises because:

1) They tend to be highlight fans. They do not have enough patience to watch the whole game.

2) Considering the rise of gambling and fantasy games, they are fans of their bets. They like the players and teams they bet on.

3) They are social media fans. Now the players can have channels to directly reach their audience. They do not need the team anymore.

4) In NBA usually half of the teams are rebuilding and can not compete. The new generations do not have a lot of patience to deal with the growth pains of a rebuilding process.

[Clyde_Style]

The young generations are getting more attached to the players than the franchises because:

1) They tend to be highlight fans. They do not have enough patience to watch the whole game.

2) Considering the rise of gambling and fantasy games, they are fans of their bets. They like the players and teams they bet on.

3) They are social media fans. Now the players can have channels to directly reach their audience. They do not need the team anymore.

4) In NBA usually half of the teams are rebuilding and can not compete. The new generations do not have a lot of patience to deal with the growth pains of a rebuilding process.

Good observations

Silver is largely a mirror of late-stage capitalism. He's all about partnering to generate revenue streams which is what gambling is to the NBA, another form of monetization.

This dovetails perfectly into the gripe and swipe attention span of fresh generations of viewers whose identities are not as tied to their hometown as older generations are.

League office rule adjustments are all about product and viewer habits and have very little to do with basketball as a craft and how it should be played.

[The Vo Show]

With all these posts on here and elsewhere on social media about the quality of the refereeing, I was thinking about Adam Silver's era. He's had a few controversies in his tenure and handled them inadequately imo. He's also let the all-star game devolve into what we see today (though I'm not sure how he could have prevented it).

He let the players obtain more power, which was good for them, but bad for the league. The league used to have fan bases that were loyal to their home team but I notice that the younger fan base are fans of players more than teams. They used to have it both ways, loyal fans to teams and/or players. I think with the amount of player movement, it eroded team fandom. Or maybe the CBA is the reason for this. Either way, I attribute it to Silver.

Then there is getting in bed with gambling. I understand all leagues are in bed with gambling now but I think thats a bad look for all of them. Now more than ever people are questioning the integrity of the game. And who can blame them when they put their money on outcomes that the NBA admits it gets wrong with every 2 min report they publish.

I don't think his tenure has all been bad. The play-in was a great idea.

His one job is to increase league value/revenue, he’s done that wonderfully

That I will give him but I still wonder if thats just because he took over for Stern at the right time or is that a function of something Silver is doing?

[Loaded_Hollows]

He’s done a lot of good for the WNBA for sure.

[nykballa2k4]

Silvers legacy will be Donald Sterling (positive) and allowing guys like Jah, Draymond, Bridges to do bad things with basically slaps on the wrist.
Message to the players: Assault your wife, choke players on the court unprompted, brandish a gun to kids -- see you soon. Place a bet on another sport -- try your luck over seas.

[Luv those Knicks]

He’s done a lot of good for the WNBA for sure.

Caitlin Clark saved the WNBA. Maybe Silver did something, but to my limited perspective, Caitlin was the savior.


I think he's mostly OK. He's trying and he seems to take the job seriously. He's going after flopping and players who do too many technical and seems OK on the financial perspective. I think I like him better than David Stern.

[KnIcKsYaNkSmEtS1127]

You can’t think about his legacy without Lebron as the main player. The NBA bet on Lebron and he delivered. He took the idea of the big 3 and put it on steroids. He also changed the game from team loyalty to hired assassin. The answer to the big 3 was hoist as many 3s as you can and that worked for the Warriors. The players don’t care about the regular season, everyone loves each other. Lebron changed the NBA culture and none of it for the better.

[Luv those Knicks]

You can’t think about his legacy without Lebron as the main player. The NBA bet on Lebron and he delivered. He took the idea of the big 3 and put it on steroids. He also changed the game from team loyalty to hired assassin. The answer to the big 3 was hoist as many 3s as you can and that worked for the Warriors. The players don’t care about the regular season, everyone loves each other. Lebron changed the NBA culture and none of it for the better.

That probably happens with or without Silver, so like the WNBA, I don't think he gets credit/blame for that.

I think Silver helped set up rules to prevent superteams, which is more good than bad I think, though there are some restrictions that aren't ideal.

[KnIcKsYaNkSmEtS1127]

You can’t think about his legacy without Lebron as the main player. The NBA bet on Lebron and he delivered. He took the idea of the big 3 and put it on steroids. He also changed the game from team loyalty to hired assassin. The answer to the big 3 was hoist as many 3s as you can and that worked for the Warriors. The players don’t care about the regular season, everyone loves each other. Lebron changed the NBA culture and none of it for the better.

That probably happens with or without Silver, so like the WNBA, I don't think he gets credit/blame for that.

I think Silver helped set up rules to prevent superteams, which is more good than bad I think, though there are some restrictions that aren't ideal.

I agree I think Lebron and international stars, social media have way more to do with the success of the sport than Adam Silver. I’d say Silver has done nothing to stop super teams. Coaches have become irrelevant except for the stand out ones. Lebron has been picking and choosing his coach for 10+ years. Durant and Kyrie did it in Brooklyn. I’d be interested to see years down the road who was ultimately responsible for Doc get hired by the Bucks. I know at the time management gave some defensive metric bs but they were dominating so seems to me Giannis just didn’t like him.

[Luv those Knicks]

You can’t think about his legacy without Lebron as the main player. The NBA bet on Lebron and he delivered. He took the idea of the big 3 and put it on steroids. He also changed the game from team loyalty to hired assassin. The answer to the big 3 was hoist as many 3s as you can and that worked for the Warriors. The players don’t care about the regular season, everyone loves each other. Lebron changed the NBA culture and none of it for the better.

That probably happens with or without Silver, so like the WNBA, I don't think he gets credit/blame for that.

I think Silver helped set up rules to prevent superteams, which is more good than bad I think, though there are some restrictions that aren't ideal.

I agree I think Lebron and international stars, social media have way more to do with the success of the sport than Adam Silver. I’d say Silver has done nothing to stop super teams. Coaches have become irrelevant except for the stand out ones. Lebron has been picking and choosing his coach for 10+ years. Durant and Kyrie did it in Brooklyn. I’d be interested to see years down the road who was ultimately responsible for Doc get hired by the Bucks. I know at the time management gave some defensive metric bs but they were dominating so seems to me Giannis just didn’t like him.

As I recall, after Kyrie & Durant, Jersey was limited in who they could trade for, but it seems that rule has since been reversed.

Not sure how much it had to do with Silver vs the Owners and collective bargaining agreement anyway.

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10070955-nba-rumors-supermax-contract-restrictions-eliminated-in-new-cba-after-2-player-limit#:~:text=According%20to%20ESPN%27s%20Adrian%20Wojnarowski%20and%20Bobby%20Marks%2C,players%20they%20currently%20can%20have%20on%20the%20books.

[KnIcKsYaNkSmEtS1127]

That probably happens with or without Silver, so like the WNBA, I don't think he gets credit/blame for that.

I think Silver helped set up rules to prevent superteams, which is more good than bad I think, though there are some restrictions that aren't ideal.

I agree I think Lebron and international stars, social media have way more to do with the success of the sport than Adam Silver. I’d say Silver has done nothing to stop super teams. Coaches have become irrelevant except for the stand out ones. Lebron has been picking and choosing his coach for 10+ years. Durant and Kyrie did it in Brooklyn. I’d be interested to see years down the road who was ultimately responsible for Doc get hired by the Bucks. I know at the time management gave some defensive metric bs but they were dominating so seems to me Giannis just didn’t like him.

As I recall, after Kyrie & Durant, Jersey was limited in who they could trade for, but it seems that rule has since been reversed.

Not sure how much it had to do with Silver vs the Owners and collective bargaining agreement anyway.

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10070955-nba-rumors-supermax-contract-restrictions-eliminated-in-new-cba-after-2-player-limit#:~:text=According%20to%20ESPN%27s%20Adrian%20Wojnarowski%20and%20Bobby%20Marks%2C,players%20they%20currently%20can%20have%20on%20the%20books.

Nice job on the research. Appreciate it.