Dear Adam Silver and the NBA Owners,

You love basketball. Or at least I think you love basketball, but for some reason your preventing others from loving it. Bam Adebayo had 83 points last night and the only way to see that was to pay over $100 for your League Pass or watch it on Fanduel. Oh, I could’ve also moved to Florida.

Mr. Executives, $100 might not be a lot to someone like Mr. Silver, whose value, according to Google, is 40 million dollars. Regardless, Mr. Silver, your $10 million salary is pocket change compared to the $700 million average the owners are bringing in every year.

Bam Adebayo had 83 points. That broke Kobe’s record. Neither of those performances were on national TV. According to ESPN, up to Christmas of 2025 ESPN broadcasts averaged 2.6 million viewers. That numbers was the highest it’s been since the 2011-2012 season. So it’s been 14 years Mr. Executives, and the game that I think you love, hasn’t had more viewers than it did.

Viewership is great, but that’s not what the NBA is about. The NBA is about players who love to play basketball being able to compete at the highest level and inspire the next generation to do so. How is the next generation supposed to be inspired? How are kids who don’t have access supposed to fall in love with the game? You know that some of the best players came from nothing. Mr. Adebayo lived in a trailer with his mom raising him alone. Jimmy Butler was kicked out by his mom. I might be crazy, Mr. Executives, but I don’t think those guys were able to afford to watch non-televised games.

Mr. Executives, I know you get paid billions of dollars. I know that money is what makes you happy. However, what if seeing a poor kid watch his first NBA game made you happy? What if he watched his new small-market team for the first time? What if he gets inspired by what he sees? What if he falls in love with the game? What if he could always watch his team? What if his whole family wouldn’t have to worry about money for a few hours, and watch the incredible league that you created? Surely that’s better than money.

Mr. Executives I know that the NBA is a business and I know that the money means a lot to you. But basketball isn’t a business, it’s a game we play and watch to escape, a game we use to fall in love, a love of the grind, not because any person asked us, but because basketball asked us to. So, please Mr. Executives, please consider the idea of making the games free to watch so everyone can fall in love with the game. Because we both know that the love of basketball is worth much more than money.

Sincerely,

Levi Sussman, a kid who loves basketball

Works Cited

Thompson II, Marcus. “Can’t we just appreciate Bam Adebayo’s accomplishment for a second before all the critiques?” The New York Times. 16 March 2026.

ESPN News Services. “ESPN NBA games averaging 2.1M viewers through Christmas” ESPN.com 16 March 2026