Why is Adam Silver booed during the NBA Draft?

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver is all set to be booed at the NBA Draft on Thursday night. Why? The act stems from a long-standing tradition. The draft is scheduled to take place at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, and will start at 8 PM ET.

Why will Adam Silver be booed at NBA Draft?

While public displays of disapproval are usually reserved for famous personalities to hold them accountable for wrongful actions, this prediction against Silver appears to be due to a different reason altogether. Turns out it’s a long-standing tradition for the presiding NBA Commissioner to be booed at the draft. And this would not be the first time such a thing has happened.

David Stern, Commissioner of the NBA from 1984 to 2014, highly encouraged the tradition and has been publicly booed at Draft Night multiple times himself. He even took the jest a step further in 2013 when he said, “We have to explain to our international audience that the boo is an American sign of respect.”

Silver himself was booed back in 2022 when he took to the podium to congratulate the Golden State Warriors on their win.

The specific reason for this decision has always remained a mystery, although some reports suggest that it may be due to the crowd seeing the commissioner as the “fall guy” for everything that goes south in the association. Over time, however, it has acquired more of a fun rather than a practical taste.

Silver originally joined the NBA back in 1992 and played the roles of NBA Deputy Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer, President, and Chief Operating Officer of NBA Entertainment, NBA Chief of Staff, and Special Assistant to the Commissioner before being anointed to the top position on February 1, 2024.

Although it is unclear what Silver’s reaction will be on Thursday, one thing is sure: he is already prepared for it.

By Stuti Gupta