Adam Silver Details Critical Conversation with LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard After Players’ Strike

The 2020 NBA playoffs started a few months later than expected due to the coronavirus pandemic. Players entered the NBA bubble in Orlando to finish the regular season and then move on to the playoffs. The shooting of Jacob Blake put playoff games on hold as most basketball players wanted to shut down the postseason. Frustration and helplessness were all over the place. Players came to Orlando to use the playoff stage as a platform in order to deliver a message. Latest shootings got people mad. They wanted justice and boycotting the playoffs seemed like the only possible option.  NBA Commissioner Adam Silver talked to LeBron James and Kawhi Leonard to discuss the situation.

Silver’s conversation with the NBA superstars was the first step towards finding a compromise.

“I spoke to both of those players and I think there was a lot of emotion around the initial decision to stop play,” Silver said.

“I think, in part, it wasn’t initially a decision that had been made collectively by all the players. And I think LeBron and Kawhi, given a chance to sort of step back, think about the larger impact that they could have there, the implications of not playing—incidentally, thousands of jobs for people in the Orlando community, thousands of jobs in team cities—if we had stopped playing.”

Adam Silver made a good move with LeBron and Kawhi

The NBA suspended the regular season in March due to COVID-19 concerns. The second “suspension” took place a day after Blake’s shooting. Milwaukee Bucks were the first to boycott their game against the Orlando Magic. Los Angeles Lakers followed through, and the rest is history.

NBA players didn’t want to continue the season. LeBron and his teammates voted the season to be canceled. Kawhi and his teammates did the same thing.

Adam’s convo with the superstars had a huge impact on the situation. LeBron’s word is heard and Kawhi has his group of people. These two command a lot of respect from the NBA world. The playoffs continued, and Kawhi’s team is out. LeBron and his Lakers are on to Denver, trying to win the Western Conference Finals.