Commissioner Adam Silver announced a radical 3-2-1 anti-tanking proposal on May 14, targeting team owners with new threats of draft-order manipulation and potential relegation. Days later, he formally presented the Michael Jordan Trophy to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in Oklahoma City.
On Pardon My Take, Dan Katz defended the league's recent trajectory, noting, "This is the last year that we're gonna have the, like, true tanking because they're flattening the odds and all that stuff." He praised the commissioner's track record, stating, "good job because he basically r- rewarded, outside of the Nets and the Pacers, he rewarded the worst teams."
While The Bill Simmons Podcast hosts like Chris Vernon have placed the commissioner on their "good list," others are more focused on his aesthetic presence. On Pardon My Take, Max joked that a peer looked like "a security guard for Adam Silver."
The scrutiny remains intense regarding his leadership style. On First Take, Jay Williams compared the commissioner to his predecessor, David Stern, specifically regarding leniency in disciplinary matters, noting, "He's not him and him's not him, however you put it." As the league moves toward these aggressive new anti-tanking measures, the question remains whether the commissioner can maintain his current standing with both owners and pundits.
