NBA Commissioner Says League Is Moving Away From Term "Owner"

In the NBA, the term “owner” will be going the way of the hook shot.

Speaking to TMZ, league commissioner Adam Silver said “we moved away from that term years ago in the league.”

Instead of using the term “owner,” Silver said the phrases “Governor of the team “and “alternate Governor” are now used within league circles. He did admit the word does slip through on an NBA memo every once in a while, but said the rule of thumb is to no longer use the term.

Many players feel the racial connotations “owner” has for a league in which the majority of the players are black and the majority of the owners and high-level executives are white mean getting rid of the term makes sense.

“I’m sensitive to it and I think to the extent teams are moving away from the term, we’ll stick with using Governor,” Silver said. “Draymond Green has been very public about the fact that we should be moving away from the term … and I completely respect that.”

As of earlier this month, team websites for the Boston Celtics, Charlotte Hornets, Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Clippers, Miami Heat, New York Knicks, Oklahoma City Thunder, Orlando Magic, Philadelphia 76ers, Phoenix Suns, Sacramento Kings, San Antonio Spurs, Toronto Raptors and Utah Jazz all listed some variation of chairman, managing partner, chief executive officer or governor instead of owner, according to Fox News.

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