Adam Silver: The long-term health of the league is very solid

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver  spoke with the media ahead of the 2021 NBA All-Star Game.

On the 2021-22 season.

“Frankly, I’m fairly optimistic at this point that we will be able to start on time, and that we have roughly half of our teams have fans in their arenas right now. If vaccines continue on the pace they are, and they continue to be as effective as they have been against the virus and its variants, we’re hopeful that we’ll have relatively full arenas next season as well”.

On the economic losses caused by the pandemic.

“The long-term health of the league is very solid. Between last year and this year, we’re looking at considerable losses. I generally don’t talk about that publicly because teams are largely privately held. We’re not suggesting that is anybody else’s issue but ours. Last season and this season has required a significant investment on the part of the team owners. They accept that. Players will end up taking a reduction in salary this season because they are partners with the league and teams on revenue. The executives, team executives, have all taken haircuts on their salary”

On Kyrie Irving’s proposal to change the logo.

There are no ongoing discussions right now at the league office about changing the logo. I certainly saw Kyrie Irving’s comments. Nothing’s permanently fixed. But the logo is iconic. As you know, we’re distributed globally. Even changing the logo, purely even from a legal standpoint, isn’t an easy exercise. Not that that should be the impediment. The suggestion around Kobe Bryant, of course, gives me an opportunity to remind everyone last year we named the All-Star MVP trophy after Kobe Bryant, no doubt one of the greatest ever in this

league, someone we all knew so well. So, sure, he would be on the list, no doubt, if we were thinking about changing it.

It doesn’t feel to me that this is the appropriate moment to be changing the logo”.