NBA Commissioner Adam Silver to Receive 2026 Edison Achievement Award

Silver to be honored for visionary leadership driving unprecedented growth across the NBA's global ecosystem

NEW YORK, Oct. 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Edison Awards, the world's most renowned innovation award, announced today that National Basketball Association (NBA) Commissioner Adam Silver will be honored with the 2026 Edison Achievement Award. Silver is being recognized for his remarkable leadership in driving the unprecedented growth, innovation, and sustainability of the leagues under his purview, which include the NBA, WNBA, NBA G League, NBA 2K League, and the Basketball Africa League.

The prestigious Edison Achievement Award is presented annually to distinguished leaders who have made a significant and lasting contribution to innovation and human-centered design throughout their careers. Past recipients include visionary leaders such as Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, Jensen Huang, and Ginni Rometty.

"Adam Silver has not only upheld the NBA's legacy as a premier global sports league but has boldly reinvented it for the 21st century," said Frank Bonafilia, CEO of the Edison Awards. "Edison's inventing the lightbulb was not the true root of his legacy; rather it was his brilliant connection of all the players to create a whole ecosystem that made electric light practical and available to all. Similarly, Adam performed a remarkable feat of uniting the players, team owners, broadcasters, cities, global fans, sponsors, and the NBA staff to join in a common mission to inspire and connect people everywhere through the power of basketball."

Innovation and Growth Under Silver's Leadership
Since becoming Commissioner in 2014, Silver has overseen a period of extraordinary expansion and innovation across the NBA's portfolio of leagues.

Key achievements include:

• Global Expansion: Launched a professional basketball league in Africa (Basketball Africa League) and drove the continued global growth of the game, including in markets such as Asia, Europe and Latin America, solidifying basketball as the number two sport in the world and the fastest-growing sport. Today, a record 30% of NBA players were born outside of the United States, including the last seven MVP award winners.
• New Groundbreaking Media Rights Deals: Oversaw negotiations on landmark, 11-year media rights agreements with Disney, NBCUniversal and Amazon.
• Increased On-Court Competition: Launched the SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament and the Emirates NBA Cup in-season tournament, driving increased competition in the NBA.
• WNBA Expansion and Growth: The WNBA entered its largest growth phase in league history – adding new franchises like the Golden State Valkyries (2025) and announcing plans to expand to 18 teams by 2030. In 2025, the WNBA set a new all-time attendance record, had its most-watched season in 27 years, and saw franchise values nearly triple, according to Sportico.
• Creation of the NBA 2K League: Created the NBA 2K League – the first official esports league operated by a U.S. professional sports league – in partnership with Take-Two Interactive.
• Enhanced Fan Experience: Implemented groundbreaking technology to engage fans, including a reimagined NBA App featuring entirely new personalization features and unprecedented behind-the-scenes access to NBA players and teams. Subscribers of NBA League Pass, the league's out-of-market live game service, also have access to customized viewing experiences with additional camera angles, betting-focused content, influencer and analytics-driven options, and feeds in multiple languages, among other options.
• A Commitment to Sustainability: Through NBA Cares, the league positioned itself as a global leader in environmental sustainability, making meaningful commitments to reduce its ecological footprint. The NBA is a member of the UN Sports for Climate Action Framework, with ambitious goals to halve its carbon emissions by 2030 and achieve net-zero emissions by 2040. Notable sustainability initiatives include:
  • Carbon Reduction: Adjusting team travel schedules to minimize cross-country flights and working to offset unavoidable carbon emissions.
  • Arena Initiatives: Encouraging arenas to adopt greener practices, including the use of renewable energy for events like the NBA All-Star Game and implementing food waste and recycling programs.
  • Sustainable Partnerships: Partnering with suppliers to explore and source sustainable materials for merchandise like jerseys and footwear.

About the NBA 
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a global sports and media organization with the mission to inspire and connect people everywhere through the power of basketball.  Built around five professional sports leagues: the NBA, WNBA, NBA G League, NBA 2K League and Basketball Africa League, the NBA has established a major international presence with games and programming available in 214 countries and territories in 60 languages, and merchandise for sale in more than 200 countries and territories on all seven continents.  NBA rosters at the start of the 2024-25 season featured a record-tying 125 international players from a record-tying 43 countries. The NBA's digital assets include NBA TV, NBA.com, the NBA App and NBA League Pass. The NBA has created one of the largest social media communities in the world, with more than 2.5 billion likes and followers globally across all leagues, team and player platforms. NBA Cares, the NBA's global social responsibility platform, partners with renowned community-based organizations around the world to address important social issues in the areas of education, inclusion, youth and family development, and health and wellness.

About the Edison Awards
Established in 1987, the Edison Best New Product Awards™ honor excellence in innovation, celebrating the products, services, and leaders transforming how we live and work. Inspired by Thomas Edison's legacy, the program recognizes game-changing solutions across industries worldwide, offering global recognition, credibility, and connections that drive growth. The 2026 Edison Awards will be held April 15–16 in Fort Myers, Florida. Learn more or submit a nomination for a 2026 Edison Best New Product Award™ now through November 14th at www.edisonawards.com.

Media Contacts:
Edison Awards
Rachel Reed
Director of Marketing
[email protected] 

NBA
Mike Bass
EVP, Communications at NBA
[email protected]

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