NBA commissioner Adam Silver found himself in damage control this week after comments he made about the league being a “highlight-based sport” went viral and drew widespread backlash from fans. Speaking at the Front Office Sports conference, Silver attempted to set the record straight, insisting his remarks were taken out of context.
“Yeah, I honestly, you probably don’t have the question with you. The end of the question was about the impact of social media. That’s what I was answering on our sport.”
“And what I was saying, in a very positive way, is that I think it’s additive to those who watch our games live and increases the likelihood that they’ll watch our games live.”
“By saying highlights-based, I meant when I watch the traditional SportsCenter, and they have the top 10 plays and five of those are NBA plays, I’m like, yeah, I’m not thinking, ‘Oh damn, more highlights are being promoted from our league.’ I mean, conventionally the reaction is like, ‘That’s really good.’”
“You know, it’s a live game full of highlights by definition. Highlights aren’t necessarily past tense. NBA games are packed with action.”
“I guess it was misconstrued, but the point I was trying to make is that there is this community of social media followers, frankly, globally estimated at roughly around two and a half billion people, who connect with the NBA in some way.”
“Any brand, any programming source would love to have those two and a half billion people. Now, I think the challenge for the league office and this is something I’ve been talking a lot about with my colleagues internally is how do we ensure that we’re converting a highlights-based fan, for example, to a live game viewer?”
“By no means do we want it to be a substitute. We’re not gonna probably have, especially because of time zone issues when you’re a global sport, people everywhere in the middle of the night stopping to watch our games.”
“But to me, it’s something, as I said, that with these incredibly exciting moments, how do we demonstrate to our fans that they don’t want to miss them live?”
The clarification came after days of fans venting frustration online. Many interpreted his earlier remarks as dismissive of live game viewing, especially amid rising costs.
With NBA broadcasts now split between ABC, ESPN, NBC, Peacock, and Prime Video, fans often need multiple subscriptions to keep up. For some, Silver’s suggestion to consume free highlights online instead of full games came off as tone-deaf.
Former Mavericks governor Mark Cuban even came to Silver’s defense, admitting the commissioner “whiffed” with his phrasing but stressing his track record of fighting for fans. Cuban pointed to Silver’s willingness to adapt from introducing the play-in tournament to overhauling League Pass pricing as proof that he does care about accessibility.
Still, the controversy underscores a larger problem. While the NBA thrives on viral moments and global stars like LeBron James, Luka Doncic, and Victor Wembanyama, many fans feel the live product is increasingly out of reach. Highlight clips can only capture so much; they don’t show the flow of a game, the adjustments, or the tension that makes basketball special.
Silver’s attempt to clarify his comments may calm some critics, but the backlash sends a clear message: fans don’t just want to scroll through TikTok. They want affordable, consistent access to live games. Until the league solves its broadcast problem, even the best highlights won’t be enough to satisfy the audience that keeps the NBA alive.
