The NBA continues to push "towards new technology to help spread the game’s popularity," according to CNBC's Scott Wapner. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said the league encourages its players and teams "to put themselves out there from a social media standpoint." Our teams are "on all the major social media platforms," and players "understand there are rules that they have to live within." He added, "We encourage them to be multidimensional, to show all parts of their personalities: The music they listen to, the clothes they wear and to communicate directly with their fans. ... it's added a whole new dimension for our fans and a way to get closer to our players." Silver said of using new technology, "Part of what we've tried to do through digital media and social media is replicate that courtside experience. Everybody’s always said that's the best seat in all of sports, sitting courtside at an NBA game. So we’re using all those technologies to try to replicate that for fans everywhere, many of whom fans will not only will never be in an NBA arena, but most will never even be in the United States” (“Fast Money Halftime Report,” CNBC, 6/15).
LET THE GOOD TIMES RIDE: Silver said the NBA is "seeing an explosion of interest" outside the U.S., "so it’s really a good time to be an NBA fan." Silver said Warriors G Stephen Curry is "beginning to have that same sort of appeal" that Michael Jordan did during his playing career, but Curry is "still in the early stages of his career, so we’ll see just where he can take it." Curry has "all the right ingredients to be a global superstar." Meanwhile, Silver said he sees China "as our next largest market" after the U.S. in terms of revenue, but "one that is continuing to grow and one for all we know could surpass" the U.S. (CNBC.com, 6/15).
GREEN ACRES: Former NBA referee Tim Donaghy earlier this week suggested the NBA suspended Warriors F Draymond Green from Game 5 because the league wanted a longer series, and ESPN’s Sarah Spain said, “We shouldn’t totally look this aside just because who it’s coming from." Donaghy left the league after becoming involved in a gambling scandal, and Spain said, "If anything, this is a guy who knows very well just how the NBA operates.” But ESPN’s Israel Gutierrez said Donaghy “shouldn’t have any credibility whatsoever.” The N.Y. Daily News’ Frank Isola: “There are a lot of people who think the way Tim Donaghy thinks. I’m not buying it for one second" (“Around The Horn,” ESPN2, 6/15).
