Adam Silver
Commissioner of the National Basketball Association (NBA)
Adam Silver (born April 25, 1962) is an American lawyer and sports executive who has served as the fifth commissioner of the National Basketball Association (NBA) since February 1, 2014. He presides over a global sports and media organization that includes the NBA, WNBA, NBA G League, NBA 2K League, and Basketball Africa League.
Silver joined the NBA in 1992 and held several senior roles, including deputy commissioner and chief operating officer (2006–2014) and president and chief operating officer of NBA Entertainment (1998–2006). He was instrumental in the creation of the WNBA, the NBA G League, NBA China, and major media rights deals. Before the NBA, he practiced law at Cravath, Swaine & Moore and clerked for U.S. District Judge Kimba Wood.
He holds a BA in political science from Duke University (1984) and a JD from the University of Chicago Law School (1988). Silver has been recognized as the Sports Business Journal’s Executive of the Decade and named to TIME’s 100 Most Influential People.