“When Saudis invest in sports, it gets a lot of attention,” said the commissioner. “Now, I don’t want to complain about that because we want to get a lot of attention. On the other hand, anyone can go further down the list there. They’re investors in some of our biggest American companies. Some of the most well-known brands have investments in them.”
“And I also think it’s a double-edged sword. I hear the comments about sports. … I think people are learning about these countries, learning about what’s going on in the world in ways they wouldn’t otherwise. So I think the media is doing its job.”
Check out Thursday’s episode of Patrick’s podcast to see the full interview with Silver:
Earlier this year, reports surfaced about how the NBA was changing the rulebook to allow international wealth funds to buy a minority stake in the league’s franchises, including Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. However, Silver and company will only allow a maximum of 20% ownership.
Not only have the Middle East been interested in professional golf, but more importantly they have made their way into European football. Not too long ago, they purchased Premier League team Newcastle United, and now they are associated with WWE.
The NBA expects to continue building its relationship in the Middle East with more pre-season games
Let’s not forget that the NBA has been in expansion mode since they moved back to Europe a decade ago, and in recent years they’ve been traveling to the UAE to promote the NBA with pre-season matches. Not only were two of these matches shown last year, there are already matches expected ahead of the next campaign.
Despite all the negative attention these friendly contests attract, NBA commissioner Adam Silver has shown a brave face to critics who oppose these overtures.
“We still think the use of sports and basketball,” Silver told the press last year. “We can improve people’s lives through sport, and as Nelson Mandela said, sport can change the world. I believe we bring our games around the world.”
The next two matches in a row for Abu Dhabi next season will be between the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Dallas Mavericks.
“I mean, part of the reason we choose certain markets is of course the economics,” he continued. “There’s no doubt about it. Bringing teams around the world is very expensive and resource-intensive. We also want to try to take our games to places we’ve never been to, and the Middle East is one of those markets.”