The ball is in the NBA’s court, so to speak.
After days of reports about the future of the NBA on TV, weeks of speculation around the potential end of TNT’s relationship with the league (plus the dissolution of its award-winning studio show), and months of negotiations with multiple media conglomerates, the NBA Finals tipped off Thursday night without a firm public timeline for when deals might be announced.
“No one likes this uncertainty,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said during a pregame press conference, pointing out in particular the awkward limbo employees at TNT parent Warner Bros. Discovery, up to and including the cast of Inside the NBA, have been dealing with as their careers potentially hang in the balance. “It’s on the league office to bring these negotiations to a head and conclude them as quickly as we can.”
As it stands, ESPN is expected to retain the top package, including NBA Finals rights, with NBC and Amazon seen as likely returning and new partners, respectively, for the league. But how Warner Bros. Discovery fits into that equation remains uncertain. One reported issue centers around the matching rights WBD could attempt to use to retain a package. Silver declined to comment on the specifics of how that language could come into play.
Of course, once the ink is dry, there’s more work to be done. Silver reaffirmed that the league plans to explore expansion possibilities as soon as its new media agreements are in place.
“I’m actually very excited about turning to that process,” Silver said of expansion. He even hinted at the possibility of adding a franchise outside the U.S.—the NBA has now played 14 regular season games in Mexico City—though he added that “this may not be the right moment to do that.” Instead, those around the league anticipate Seattle and Las Vegas being frontrunners for the 31st and 32nd NBA teams.
International play was top of mind for Silver, who mentioned in his opening remarks that the Dallas Mavericks and Boston Celtics boasted a combined Finals record 13 players born outside the U.S. If the Mavericks pull off an upset in the series, guard Luka Doncic would likely become the third internationally born NBA Finals MVP in four years, joining Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokic. (San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker was the only previous such recipient in 2007.)
“I was watching Luka yesterday … someone who grew up in Slovenia, trained in Madrid in Spain, and was doing interviews in three different languages,” Silver said. “He’s just an exemplar of the modern NBA.”
Meanwhile, institutional capital has continued working its way onto the cap tables of franchises stateside. While Silver said he does not foresee pooled investors gaining ownership control of a team, he is open to expanding the criteria for the types of funds able to invest at the team level.
“Institutional investors who don’t comply with our current policies and funds have been in to see us, [asking], ‘Would you consider adjusting some of your policies?’” Silver said. “To ease up some of the restrictions, and that’s something we are going to continue to look at.”
