Adam Silver praises international stars and game demo enhancements

As with NBA press conferences, the setting here is exotic: the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and Yas Island in the Arabian Gulf. One of NBA Commissioner Adam Silver’s questions was about Victor Umbanyama, Slender French Teen He already looks like the most coveted No. 1 draft star since LeBron James two decades ago.

So when Silver met with international reporters on Thursday, it seemed natural that the conversation would focus on change and the future.He spoke before the Milwaukee Bucks and Atlanta Hawks played the first of their two preseason games here, the last scheduled for saturday.

“I’ve been in the NBA for 30 years now,” Silver said. “I think over the next five years we’re going to see a lot more than the last 30 years. The way sports is presented now has changed a lot.”

The Silver Stand in Abu Dhabi hosts the press conferences usually held at the NBA Finals and All-Star Game, a sign that the league has grown and improved. While this is the first game to be played in the Bay Area, NBA products have been televised for about 35 years, he said.

Players and coaches have been visiting clinics and Basketball Without Borders for 30 years, and the MENA region has produced about 25 NBA players over the years.

“For me, it’s the culmination of decades of work,” Silver said.

So he was asked what’s next in terms of game demos.

“One of the things we’re doing now is the distribution of games,” the commissioner said. “That is, the ease of use of the game. Part of the reason we’re launching this new product [NBA] This year’s application is that it is widely available. …We recognize the need to make our games easy for fans to access. Don’t search in many different places, different apps, different webs trying to find us. “

Ahead of the 2022-23 season, the league has launched a new, redesigned NBA app that serves as a one-stop destination for fans of every team.

To celebrate the new app, the league released a “This Is Happening” campaign to get fans excited about everything the NBA app has to offer. pic.twitter.com/4ImwtmPcz7

— NBA Newsletter (@NBAPR) October 6, 2022

Streaming platforms and video technology are increasingly enabling fans to customize how they watch. “Customization, personalization,” Silver calls it.

“As far as you want to focus on specific players, you want more data when watching a game, you want to chat with friends or have a broader conversation with an expert,” he said. “All of these things are starting to happen in sports now, but I feel like we’ve only scratched the surface.”

Other topics raised by reporters:

• Silver sees the “density” of the 82-game schedule as a challenge for teams to play twice rather than once when sent to overseas destinations for the regular season.This season, Miami and San Antonio will perform in Mexico City December 17th.Chicago and Detroit will go to a game in paris It’s Jane. 19.

“Even if it’s just playing one game in Europe, adjusting the time, adjusting the travel, adjusting for a little jet lag when they come back, that has had a knock-on effect on the schedule,” he said. “I know our team, because they’ve started this trip, they’re going to play two games as soon as possible.”

• Two of the league’s brightest stars, Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo and Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic — who have won the last four Kia MVP awards — – Got a high rating.

“Where do I start? I’ll start with Giannis,” Silver said. “He’s just an incredible young man. I can say seeing him in Abu Dhabi, he just enjoys connecting with the people here. He spends more time with the young people in the clinic. He’s enthusiastic. I think He is a global citizen. He represents Greece very well. Apparently his parents are from Africa and now [he is] Live in the US.

“He brings real joy to the game. You can see that in the style of his game and the relationship he has with his teammates. Of course, as a player, Giannis is a multiple-time MVP. One through injuries Someone who plays. Someone who always plays with incredible enthusiasm. Takes the game to the highest level but puts extra time in the gym to continue developing his game. He is a commissioner’s dream.”

When asked about Jokic, Silver recovered the superlatives.

“All the wonderful things I said to Giannis, so did Nikola,” he said. “Also an incredible young man. A big man, but different from Giannis in many ways. A true dribbling magician. Representing Serbia very well. I’m not going to rate his chances of winning MVP again, but for Another player who looks happy to evaluate.”

• The buzz about Vinbanyama’s 8,211-mile trip from Henderson, Nevada, to Abu Dhabi has raised questions about the tantalizing prize for the 2023 NBA draft.silver said he saw Tuesday Exhibition Clash In the new NBA app, tall, skilled youngsters between the Metropolitans 92 team and Scoot Henderson’s G League Ignite team.

“I think I could call a player who hasn’t made it to the NBA the ‘next great player,’ and that could be a prank on him,” Silver said. “But of course he has all the attributes that are really game-changing. The material means. He certainly seems to have the heart to be a great player. He’s on that big stage against Ignite.

The commissioner added: “I know a lot of our NBA teams are drooling and they might sign him through our lottery. … Unlike the older generation of players, he can play the game — that Not just watching old tapes that Ahmad Rashad made in the past. He can imitate certain players.

“So, I’m really excited to see how he develops this year.”

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Steve Aschburner has been writing about the NBA since 1980.you can email him hereLook for His profile is here and follow him on twitter.

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