Did Adam Silver play in NBA? Looking at career timeline of 5th NBA Commissioner

Not much is known about NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, either his personal or professional life before he became the commissioner. Silver has been serving as the fifth commissioner of the league since 2014, after being unanimously chosen by the NBA Board of Governors.

He is a political science graduate who worked at a law firm but has never played basketball in the NBA. Silver was appointed NBA Commissioner after David Stern, who had endorsed him in 2012, stepped down.

Silver has been working with the NBA since 1992, and since then, he has worked and helped in many areas within the league when David Stern was the commissioner of the NBA.

However, before joining the league, Silver worked as a legislative assistant to Les AuCoin, a member of the US House of Representatives, from 1984 to 1985. After graduating from the University of Chicago Law School in 1988, Silver spent a year as a law clerk for Judge Kimba Wood.

Before he took over the position of NBA commissioner, Silver was designated as the NBA's deputy commissioner and chief operating officer for eight years. Under this role, he successfully negotiated three collective bargaining agreements with the National Basketball Players Association.

He was also responsible for the development of the WNBA, a partnership with Turner Broadcasting that would end up managing the NBA’s digital assets. As deputy commissioner, Silver was also responsible for the NBA Development League and laying the foundation for NBA China.

He has also spent eight years as the president and COO of NBA Entertainment. Since 1992, his roles have also included NBA chief of staff and special assistant to the commissioner.

Away from the NBA management industry, Adam Silver has been the executive producer of the movie Michael Jordan to the Max and the documentary Whatever Happened to Michael Ray? He was also involved in the production of Like Mike and The Year of the Yao.

When did Adam Silver take over as NBA Commissioner?

Adam Silver was unanimously elected by the NBA Board of Governors after being recommended by then-league commissioner David Stern in 2012. Silver has amassed an impressive resume as the commissioner since taking over when David Stern stepped down.

Two of the recent developments are the NBA Play-In Tournament and the recent NBA In-Season Tournament. Both of the ideas that Silver introduced have been a massive hit among players and fans.

Under his position as NBA Commissioner, Silver made the hardest decision of his career within two months of being elected for the position. He banned Donald Sterling, the former owner of the LA Clippers, on April 29, 2014, after a video of his racist remarks came out.

Adam Silver has been very stern when it comes to the dignity of the NBA and what it represents. He has suspended Kyrie Irving for anti-Semitism remarks. He also suspended Ja Morant for 25 games for flashing a gun on his Instagram Live.

The introduction of new styles of play, the adoption of new regulations for fair play (flopping fouls), and the potential for league growth, possibly to another foreign soil, have been the highlights of Silver's leadership.