NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has heard all the chatter about this year’s Finals matchup, and he isn’t having it. The Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers may not headline massive media markets, but Silver believes that shouldn’t matter when it comes to great basketball.
Speaking on FS1’s “Breakfast Ball” on Wednesday, the commissioner compared the Thunder-Pacers series to a Super Bowl between two of the NFL’s most historic teams, the Green Bay Packers and the Pittsburgh Steelers, both of which reside in small TV markets themselves.
Adam Silver Pushes Back on Market Size Complaints
“If we were going into a Super Bowl and it was Packers against Steelers, you guys would be celebrating that,” Silver said. “Those would be storied franchises. People wouldn’t be talking about the fact that Pittsburgh is a small market.”
“If we were going into a Super Bowl and it was Packers vs. Steelers you guys would celebrate that. People wouldn’t talk about Pittsburgh being a small market. It’s been intentional to create a CBA that allows more teams to compete.”
— NBA Commissioner Adam Silver on Thunder vs.… pic.twitter.com/UMO3sx3IyY
— Breakfast Ball (@BrkfstBallOnFS1) June 4, 2025
It wouldn’t be the first time the Packers and Steelers have crossed paths in a Super Bowl, and it’s certainly not unheard of for either team to compete for a title. Pittsburgh is tied for the most Super Bowl wins in NFL history, and Green Bay ranks as the smallest market in the league, even smaller than Oklahoma City (No. 47 in NBA) or Indiana (No. 25).
Still, the moment Silver made the comparison, NFL fans couldn’t help but notice the timing. The Steelers are currently linked to former Packers QB Aaron Rodgers, and the two franchises remain among the league’s most followed, regardless of market size.
The NBA Is Betting on Parity and Long-Term Growth
Back in the NBA, the Finals tip off Thursday at 8:30 p.m. ET. But even before Game 1, online discourse quickly turned to concern over TV ratings, with critics suggesting that a Pacers-Thunder matchup won’t move the needle nationally.
Silver shut that narrative down.
“It’s been intentional from our standpoint to create a system, a collective bargaining agreement, that allows more teams to compete,” he said. “We’re going to have to go through a process of getting to the point where people are accustomed to tuning into the Finals because it’s the best basketball.”
And the numbers support his point. Over the past seven seasons, the league has had seven different champions. Two of those were first-timers: the Toronto Raptors in 2019 and the Denver Nuggets in 2023. The Bucks ended a 50-year drought in 2021. Now, either the Thunder or Pacers will add their name to the list.
Silver was candid about the NBA’s current place in the American sports landscape. “If I asked someone if they were going to watch the Super Bowl, they wouldn’t say ‘Who’s playing?’ It’s a national holiday. That’s nirvana,” he said.
His goal? To make the NBA Finals must-watch TV, not because of market size or legacy appeal, but because it consistently features the best basketball on the planet.
And with a revamped All-Star format on the horizon and younger rosters taking center stage, the NBA seems to be setting up for just that.
