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Adam
Silver
Commissioner
NBA
CHANGE FROM 2013: +3
The longtime protégé has made few missteps — if any — since replacing David Stern as NBA commissioner on Feb. 1. Silver swiftly and decidedly ousted disgraced former Clippers owner Donald Sterling from the league after Sterling’s racist comments became public. In the process, he helped deliver a market-adjusting $2 billion sale of
{podcast}
SBJ Podcast:
NBA writer John Lombardo and Executive Editor Abraham Madkour discuss Adam Silver's selection as No. 1 atop our Most Influential list as well as many of the other NBA executives on the list.
the Los Angeles franchise to former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. Silver then brought his owners a new $24 billion media deal, tripling the value of the current deal. Both power plays are widely hailed throughout all of sports. It’s been certainly a difficult, but by any measure stellar, year for the new commissioner.
TOP OF THEIR GAME
SportsBusiness Journal’s selections as the most influential people in sports business
■ 2004 Paul Tagliabue
■ 2005 George Bodenheimer
■ 2006 George Bodenheimer
■ 2007 Brian Roberts
■ 2008 George Bodenheimer*
■ 2009 Jacques Rogge
■ 2010 Roger Goodell
■ 2011 Steve Burke
■ 2012 John Skipper
■ 2013 Randy Freer & Eric Shanks
■ 2014 Adam Silver
* President-elect Barack Obama was named #1(a).
