Adam Silver Biography Adam Silver, the commissioner of the National Basketball Association (NBA), was born on April 25, 1962 in Rye, New York. He recently became the commissioner on February 1, 2014 replacing former commissioner David Stern. Prior to joining the NBA, Silver spent his time at Cravath, Swaine & Moore, a law firm in New York, and worked as a law clerk to Judge Kimba Wood for the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Silver was born into a Jewish family and grew up as a New York Knicks fan. He graduated from Rye High School and completed his undergraduate degree at Duke University in 1984. Silver took a year off to work as a legislative aide for U.S. Congressman Les AuCoin before earning a law degree at the University of Chicago. In 1992, just four years after completing his law degree, Silver began to work for the NBA. He held multiple positions throughout the NBA prior to becoming commissioner. Silver was special assistant to the commissioner, NBA chief of staff, senior vice president of NBA Entertainment, and president of NBA Entertainment. On the side, Silver was an executive producer of the movie Michael Jordan to the Max and the documentary Whatever Happened to Micheal Ray? He also helped produce Like Mike and Year of the Yao. On April 19, 2006, Silver became deputy commissioner of the NBA. Former NBA commissioner, David Stern, announced on October 25, 2012 that he would retire from his position and endorse Adam Silver to be commissioner of the NBA beginning on February 1, 2014. In 2003, Silver received the honor of being named to TIME Magazine and CNN’s list of Global Business Influentials. In 2014, Silver won Sports Illustrated Executive of the Year and was ranked first on Sports Business Journal’s list of the 50 Most Influential People in Sports Business. Most recently, in 2015, Silver was named Executive of the Year by Sports Business Journal, one of Time’s 100 Most Influential People and one of Fortune’s 50 Great Leaders. In his personal life, Silver is newly married to interior designer Maggie Grise. Silver is also a member on the board of the Lustgarden Pancreatic Cancer Foundation and New York Road Runners. Commissioner Adam Silver will serve as host for the annual NBA Holiday Party. .