Adam Silver has helped direct the NBA's explosive growth overseas. NBA commissioner David Stern tapped the litigator and lifelong Knicks fan as a special assistant a decade ago and in 1997 named him president of NBA Entertainment. Stern eventually moved all the league's off-court businesses to Silver's unit, which now controls the league's worldwide marketing, TV and Internet operations. Since Silver became the business czar in 2000, worldwide merchandising sales have grown 67%. "Adam has overcome his status as a lawyer to understand branding," says Stern. "He's the doer, and I get all the credit." If Stern, 61, were to step...
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