Sixers Minority Owner On Why The NBA Is 70% Black But Only Has One Black Owner: “I Think You Need More Diversity”

Billionaire Michael Rubin, who also owns a minority stake in the Philadelphia 76ers, says the NBA needs more black owners and more diversity in general.

4 Min Read

Credit: Kyle Terada/USA Today Sports

Basketball at the NBA level, when it comes to players, is about selecting the best of the absolute best. And as per research done in 2021, 73.9% of the league’s players are black. 

Considering that these players have helped turn the league into a multi-billion dollar entity, one might expect that there are more black team owners as well. That is not the case though, and Sixers minority owner Michael Rubin spoke about that. 

Stephen Jackson asked Michael Rubin on All The Smoke, “The NBA is 70% black. What’s your take on only having one (black) owner?”

Rubin replied, “I think you need more diversity for sure. I think diversity is so important. I mean, if I look at the way we built our company, we have a very diverse leadership team. Look, at the end of the day, we have a business that’s dependent on – and 70% to 75% of our revenue is derived from – black and brown athletes. 

“We better have a team that’s representative of that. So, I think we need to keep pushing for more. I think there’s not been enough progress made… I think it’s coming but not fast enough.”

Ownership is a tricky group to get representation in, there are hardly a handful of people that can afford to buy a majority stake in an NBA franchise. It has to make sense for them as an investment, and then it is the league’s job to ensure they can make it happen, but it’s a lot easier said than done. Michael Jordan is in the process of selling his team as well, though, so not even having one black owner could end up being a bad look for the league. 


LeBron James Seems On Track To Add To That Number

Dwyane Wade is another former player that is an active owner, although he too only knows a minority stake in the Utah Jazz. The man who seems primed to become the next black majority owner is none other than LeBron James. LeBron has actively been linked with a potential new expansion franchise in Las Vegas

He has spoken about his dream of owning a team often and it’s hard to see what would stop him from making it happen. The hope is that as players start to earn more money and gain new avenues to grow their wealth, more black owners will come in and be decision-makers within the NBA. 

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Divij Kulkarni is an NBA columnist for Fadeaway World. He has covered the NBA and the English Premier League, with 4 years of experience in creating sports content. Finding exciting and intriguing content about all things NBA is both his job and his passion. Divij loves the Dallas Mavericks and can be regularly observed getting emotional during games. Outside of basketball, he enjoys reading fantasy and sci-fi novels, consuming copious amounts of movies and TV, and spending time with his dog, Olivia. Expertise: NBA, Historical Sports ResearchFavorite Team: Dallas MavericksFeatured On HoopsHype, Sports Illustrated, Secret Base, MSNPrevious Work: Tribuna
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