For long-time followers of the pro scene, the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) All-Star Saturday is significant not just because of its packed on-court schedule. From the All-Star Practice to the Skills Challenge to the Three-Point Shootout to the Slam Dunk Contest, fans are kept busy, their eyes glued to the proceedings. Parenthetically, there’s a compelling reason for them to also stay plugged in away from the Staples Center hardwood. It also happens to be the day Commissioner Adam Silver schedules his annual meeting with the press and announces the league’s development plans.
In this regard, Silver did not disappoint. As has been his wont, he tackled any and all concerns that scribes brought up. He disclosed his pride for players who actively make their sentiments on social issues known, the inevitable criticisms — misguided at best and discriminatory at worst — notwithstanding. He revisited the one-and-done rule and its impact, or lack thereof, on the development of would-be pros. He talked about the seemingly deteriorating relations between ballers and arbiters, contending that positive steps are being taken to once again build trust between both sides. He touched on gambling and the NBA’s willingness to work with legislators for proper regulation, on the All-Star Selection Process and the likelihood that the draft would be televised next year, and on the expansion of the G-League and its emergence as an honest-to-goodness farm system.
Of all the items that were discussed, however, the most noteworthy happens to be that which Silver tackled without prompting. He said his office is studying the possibility of tweaking the playoff system to ensure that the two best teams meet in the Finals. Ideally, he argued, postseason positions would be determined by contenders’ win-loss skates regardless of the conference they’re in. On the flip side, he acknowledged the presence of obstacles, the biggest being cross-country travel and the wear and tear it would subject certain sets of players to.
From the outside looking in, Silver’s pronouncement speaks to his constant desire to improve the NBA’s principal product, even at the cost of tradition. It bears noting that the current setup has been in place since 1951, and measures to change it haven’t prospered despite its obvious infirmities. Still, the hope is that he and his staff manage to come up with a solution acceptable to at least 20 of the 30 franchises, the minimum number required to effect change.
Given the NBA’s steady rise (and, by contrast, the decline of other sports) in the public view, the impetus to keep innovating is naturally offset by inertia. Why fix what seems to be working? From Silver’s vantage point, however, constant transformation is not just crucial, but imperative. And he’s right. Sentiments can turn in an instant, and the line between feast and famine keeps shifting. Which is why the league is fortunate to have him at the helm, and why it figures to continually stay ahead of the curve.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is the Senior Vice-President and General Manager of Basic Energy Corp.
