NBA commissioner Adam Silver was in the hot seat last week for what he said about the league. Silver had a press conference recently and discussed the state of the association’s viewership. Views have always been the issue for the league over the past few seasons, which is why it’s an important topic, especially now that they have a new 11-year TV deal with ESPN, Amazon and NBC.
Silver’s press conference happened after a meeting with the NBA Board of Governors. The Commissioner was questioned about fans’ access to games, because they are now available on several premium streaming services.
“There’s a huge amount of our content that people can essentially consume for free,” he said. “This is very much a highlights-based sport. So, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter — you name it, any service, the New York Times, for that matter, your content is not behind a paid firewall. There’s an enormous amount of content out there — YouTube — another example, that is advertising-based, that consumers can consume.”
When Silver called it a highlights-based sport, it did not sit well with fans. On Tuesday, however, he took the opportunity to clear the air during his guest appearance at Front Office Sports’ “Tuned In.”
“A portion of the question [at the end] was about the impact of social media, that’s what I was answering,” Adam Silver commented. “And what I was saying in a very positive way… I think it’s an additive to those who watch our games live, and {it} increases the likelihood that they’ll watch our games live.
Last week, Adam Silver called basketball a "highlights-based sport."
The NBA commissioner wants to clarify what he meant.
Presented by @oneelevate_ pic.twitter.com/IL9RfvQbaB
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) September 16, 2025
“By saying highlights-based, I meant, when I watch the traditional SportsCenter and they have the Top 10 Plays and five of those are NBA plays, I’m like ‘Yeah!’ I’m not thinking like, ‘oh damn, more highlights are being promoted from our league.’ It’s a live game full of highlights.”
Adam Silver comments on Kawhi Leonard’s situation with the Clippers
Last week, the Los Angeles Clippers became the hottest team in the NBA due to the accusations regarding the signing of All-Star forward Kawhi Leonard. Since the report’s publication, Adam Silver has only made one statement regarding the issue. Silver stated during his address at Front Office Sports that before any punishment is meted out, the Clippers and Leonard should be the subject of a fair investigation.
“I’m a lawyer. I believe in due process. I believe in fairness. We will begin with a presumption of innocence, not a presumption of guilt. We will follow the facts,” Silver said.
The first time he addressed the issue, Silver said that he had not heard about Aspiration, the alleged company involved in the case. However, he clarified his statement and said that he had heard of it, just “not in the context of the accusations.”
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Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news updates on Sportskeeda. He started as a feature writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covers the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen on Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
