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a day ago
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NBA set to have 9th franchise win a title in Adam Silver's 12 seasons as commissioner. Parity reigns
NBA commissioner Adam Silver, left, presents the Michael Jordan Most Valuable Player trophy to Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander prior to Game 2 of an NBA basketball Western Conference Finals playoff series between against the Minnesota Timberwolves Thursday, May 22, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings) NBA Commissioner Adam Silver walks through the audience at the NBA basketball draft lottery in Chicago, Monday, May 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh) NBA Commissioner Adam Silver walks through the audience at the NBA basketball draft lottery in Chicago, Monday, May 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh) NBA commissioner Adam Silver, left, presents the Michael Jordan Most Valuable Player trophy to Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander prior to Game 2 of an NBA basketball Western Conference Finals playoff series between against the Minnesota Timberwolves Thursday, May 22, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings) NBA Commissioner Adam Silver walks through the audience at the NBA basketball draft lottery in Chicago, Monday, May 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh) OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — In the entirety of David Stern's 30-year tenure as the NBA's commissioner, eight different franchises won a championship. Adam Silver is in Year 12 of his run overseeing the league — and a ninth different franchise is about to win a title on his watch. Advertisement The parity era in the league is not new, and it most certainly lives on this year, with either the Oklahoma City Thunder or the Indiana Pacers set to become NBA champions. The winning team in these NBA Finals will be the seventh different champion in the last seven seasons, a run the likes of which the league has never experienced before. 'We set out to create a system that allowed for more competition around the league," Silver said Thursday night in his annual news conference before Game 1 of the finals. 'The goal being to have 30 teams all in the position, if well managed, to compete for championships. And that's what we're seeing here.' In Stern's 30 years, the eight championship-winning franchises were the Los Angeles Lakers (eight times), Chicago (six), San Antonio (four), Boston (three), Miami (three), Detroit (three), Houston (twice) and Dallas (once). For Silver, the chart looks much different. Golden State has won four titles since he became commissioner, and Milwaukee, Cleveland, Boston, the Lakers, Denver, Toronto and San Antonio have one. Oklahoma City or Indiana will be the next entry on that list. Advertisement 'David used to joke early on in his tenure as commissioner," Silver said. "He said his job was to go back and forth between Boston and L.A. handing out championship trophies.' And this run — seven champions in seven years — started in 2019, immediately after Cleveland and Golden State played in four consecutive finals and the league heard plenty of grumbling about a lack of unpredictability. In that seven-year span, 11 different franchises (out of a maximum of 14, obviously) have been to the finals at least once, with the Thunder and Pacers the newest names on that list. 'It's healthy for the league for all 30 teams to be constantly positioning,' Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. 'If you're good, you have to navigate being good. If you're not good, there's systematic things that can help you. I think generally that's good for the league. We're not focused on what's good for the league. We're focused on what's good for the Thunder. We're trying to operate within that environment.' In other matters covered by Silver on Thursday: Advertisement Expansion There is a board of governors meeting in Las Vegas next month, and Silver thinks it's likely that those owners will decide at that time whether or not to take the next official step toward expanding the league in the coming years. Officially exploring the notion of adding teams seems likely. 'It will be on the agenda to take the temperature of the room," Silver said. "We have committees that are already talking about it, but my sense is at that meeting they're going to give direction to me and my colleagues at the league office that we should continue to explore.' That does not mean it will definitely happen, even though there are certain markets — Seattle and Las Vegas among them — that are known to want NBA teams. "I'd say the current sense is we should be exploring it,' Silver said. 'I don't think it's automatic.' ___ AP NBA:
Yahoo
3 days ago
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NBA working on plan for US-vs.-world format at All-Star Game next season, AP source says
NBA commissioner Adam Silver, left, presents the Michael Jordan Most Valuable Player trophy to Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander prior to Game 2 of an NBA basketball Western Conference Finals playoff series between against the Minnesota Timberwolves Thursday, May 22, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings) NBA commissioner Adam Silver is seen on the court prior to Game 2 of an NBA basketball Western Conference Finals playoff series between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Minnesota Timberwolves Thursday, May 22, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings) NBA commissioner Adam Silver is seen on the court prior to Game 2 of an NBA basketball Western Conference Finals playoff series between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Minnesota Timberwolves Thursday, May 22, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings) NBA commissioner Adam Silver, left, presents the Michael Jordan Most Valuable Player trophy to Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander prior to Game 2 of an NBA basketball Western Conference Finals playoff series between against the Minnesota Timberwolves Thursday, May 22, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings) NBA commissioner Adam Silver is seen on the court prior to Game 2 of an NBA basketball Western Conference Finals playoff series between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Minnesota Timberwolves Thursday, May 22, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings) OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The NBA is working on a plan to turn next season's All-Star Game into a U.S.-vs.-world competition, a person with knowledge of the situation said Wednesday. It remains unclear how the format will work, said the person, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the league has not made any final determinations. Speaking to Fox Sports 1 earlier Wednesday, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver — who has talked about such a game on multiple occasions — was asked if U.S. vs. the world is possible. Advertisement 'Yes,' Silver said. Silver addressed the idea on March 27 as well at the league's most recent board of governors meeting, when he revealed that the NBA was scrapping the All-Star mini-tournament format that was used this season. At that time, the AP reported that the 2026 game — to be played Feb. 15 in Inglewood, California, just past the midpoint of the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics — will be moved from its traditional prime-time Sunday night slot to one that starts on Sunday afternoon. That's happening because the game will be aired on NBC under the terms of the new 11-year media rights deals that kick in next season. NBC is also the Olympic broadcaster in the U.S. So, NBC could show Olympic events in the morning and early afternoon, then the All-Star Game, then have prime-time Olympic programming. Advertisement The move comes on the heels of a popular tournament, the 4 Nations Face-off, that essentially took the place of the NHL All-Star Game this year, as well as strong competition at the Paris Olympics, where the Americans won a fifth consecutive gold medal by rallying past Nikola Jokic and Serbia in the semifinals, then topping host France and Victor Wembanyama in the title game — behind a barrage of late 3-pointers from Stephen Curry. 'What better time to feature some form of USA against the world?' Silver said on FS1. 'I'm not exactly sure what the format will be yet. I obviously paid a lot of attention to what the NHL did, which was a huge success. ... But also, going back, last summer, our Olympic competition was a huge success.' There is one big challenge regarding any U.S.-vs.-world format. About 70% of NBA players are American, while 30% are international, so it would in theory be easier for an international player to make the All-Star team — if the rosters are the same size. International players, when asked at this year's All-Star Game if they would want a U.S.-vs.-world matchup, sounded enthusiastic. Advertisement 'I would love to. My opinion is that it's more purposeful,' Wembanyama said back in February. 'There's more pride in it. More stakes.' Added Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo, who's from Greece: 'I would love that. Oh, I would love that. I think that would be the most interesting and most exciting format. I would love that. For sure, I'd take pride in that. I always compete, but I think that will give me a little bit more extra juice to compete.' The latest format for the All-Star Game — a four-team, three-game mini-tournament in San Francisco with the first team to 40 points winning each — was a miss. It came after years of the league asking players for a more competitive game. The 211-186 final score at Indianapolis in 2024 was the last straw, and the league — for one year, anyway — thought the tournament was the answer. ___ AP NBA:
