Silver expects normalcy soon
Commissioner optimistic next season will see ‘relatively full arenas’
There is a sense of optimism coming from Adam Silver, guarded perhaps but optimism nonetheless, as the NBA trudges along in these uncharted times.
The commissioner is buoyed by the fact the league got in 95 per cent of its games in the first half of the season, he sees no reason to think the season will end with a bubble existence as it did last year, and he can envision a return to relative normalcy next season.
But there is one harsh reality, as Silver pointed out on the eve of the league’s all-star game:
“One thing we’ve all come to understand over the last year is that the virus is firmly in charge.”
Still, Silver sees no reason to think this season won’t run its usual course and end with a post-season outside of a bubble.
In a wide-ranging video session from Atlanta, where the league will host a toned down all-star game and skills competition Sunday, Silver said he expects this season to be completed in home arenas in front of live fans, and he expects the league to resume its normal operations for the 2021-22 season.
“I’m fairly optimistic, at this point, that we will be able to start on time,” Silver said. “Roughly half our teams have fans in their arenas right now and, 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.”
It was as optimistic as Silver has sounded since the NBA became the first professional sports league to shut down operations almost a calendar year ago.
“I’d say maybe for the first time in the past year I’m fairly optimistic right now that, as we see fans returning to our arenas, as we see public health officials across the country begin to open up sporting events, theatres, restaurants, other forms of entertainment, I feel pretty good that we’re going to continue apace,” Silver said.
There have been hits, of course. No fans in many arenas, a pared down 2020-21 season and a four-month interruption to last season have crushed the bottom line for the multibillion dollar global industry.
“Last season and this season has required a significant investment on the part of the team owners,” Silver said. “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.
“League executives, team executives have all taken haircuts on their salary but I think, when we all step back, we all feel very fortunate to be working under these circumstances and my sense is the players feel the same way.”
Economics are part of the reason the NBA is hosting a onegame all-star event in Atlanta.
“I haven’t made it a secret out of the fact that economic interests are a factor,” Silver said. “I’ll add, though, to me when I say “economic interests are a factor, it’s less to do with the economics of one Sunday night on TNT in the United States. It has more to do with the larger brand value of the NBA.”
The league is making sure to sequester players, their guests and league officials in their Atlanta hotels right up until Sunday’s game. There are no outside events, no crowds or officials functions, just a game.
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“Once we got to the point where we felt we could do it safely, we felt we definitely should go forward,” the commissioner said. “We should do it for our fans and for our business.”