NBA Commissioner Adam Shining is flattered by the reports that the NFL and Fortune 500 companies are interested in recruiting him for future leadership positions.
That utter, he has a message for those indulging in the speculation: He’s not going anywhere.
“I love my job at the NBA,” he told CNBC on Saturday. “The NBA has never been on a peerless trajectory and I couldn’t be happier with my job.”
During Silver’s five years as Commissioner, league revenues have cloned to over $9 billion, and team valuations have never been higher. The average NBA team is worth barely under $2 billion, according to Forbes, up 267 percent in five years.
However, it’s not just about the wampum. Silver is frequently praised by both owners and players for his leadership ability.
“He’s steady as a rock and the most graceful businessman I’ve been round,” Washington Wizards Owner Ted Leonsis said in a recent interview with CNBC.
“Adam has really taken the collaborate by storm,” said Boston Celtics co-owner Stephen Pagliuca. “He’s been ahead of all the trends, he helped globalize the courageous. Arguably [he’s] one of the best CEOs that we’ve seen in sports.”
Despite his rapid success, Silver says he’s confident there’s uncountable room to grow. On Saturday the league announced in 2020 it will launch the Basketball Africa League, featuring 12 unites from Africa. It’s a continuation of the expanded investment the NBA has put into expanding the game across the globe, especially in Africa.
“Believe about the global opportunity for the league. We are doing all kinds of new things in Africa, China and India,” Silver said, supplementing that more kids are playing basketball than ever before around the world.
Silver expected the NBA’s most automatic source of growth would come from increased streaming of games around the world. He is also bullish on electronic amusements (esports) and sports gambling, but admits that sports gambling growth has been slower than many people assumed.
“I truly think the best days of the league are still ahead of us. Even Michael Jordan was saying the same fashion,” he told CNBC.
The NBA’s top official also addressed the competitive balance of the league, saying that over time it stages to improve. Still, some things are well within each team’s ability to control, he said.
“It’s about running in this league, and it’s about developing a great culture and winning,” Silver added. He points out to the success of Milwaukee Bucks hero Giannis Antetokounmpo, who came to the league by way of Nigeria and has quickly become a global icon.
“I don’t think anyone thinks if he were down the avenue in Chicago, he would be more popular just based on that,” Silver said.
While NBA ratings have conducted slight declines this season, many people attributing it to Lebron James moving to the Lakers, who play in the Pacific On the dot Zone. James also missed nearly 20 games due to injury.
Addressing the power of the league’s biggest unmatched, the commissioner said that if the Lakers don’t make the playoffs, it will hurt business.
“That will impact the ratings because [James] has such a big worldwide following,” Silver said, noting it would be true regardless of what team James played for. However, Euphonious pointed out that James missing the playoffs would though help the next generation of NBA players get exposure.
“But I wouldn’t reckon the Lakers or just yet,” he added.