Appointed NBA commissioner on Feb 1, 2014

Prior to assuming the role of NBA commissioner, Silver held five positions at the NBA, all working directly for former commissioner David Stern. He served as NBA deputy commissioner and chief operating officer from July 1, 2006 to Jan 31, 2014. Before serving as the league's second-in-command, Silver spent more than eight years as president and COO, NBA Entertainment. Since joining the league in 1992, Silver also held positions of senior VP & COO, NBA Entertainment; NBA chief of staff and special assistant to the commissioner.

Silver has consistently been named one of the 100 Most Influential People in Sports by BusinessWeek, the Sporting News and the SportsBusiness Journal. He has also been recognized by Time Magazine and CNN on their list of Global Business Influentials, which features 20 of the world's leading executives.

Prior to joining the NBA, Silver was a litigation associate at the New York law firm of Cravath, Swaine & Moore, where he concentrated on media and antitrust cases. He also served as a law clerk to Federal District Court Judge Kimba Wood in New York. Silver graduated from Duke University and the University of Chicago Law School.

(China Daily 08/05/2014 page24)