NBA commissioner Adam Silver says moving away from the term "owner" makes sense -- telling TMZ Sports, "We moved away from that term years ago."
We broke the story ... multiple NBA teams (including the Clippers and 76ers) have stopped using the title owner because they feel it's racially insensitive in a league where the majority of the players are black.
When we saw Silver out in NYC, we asked if he supported the decision and how the league office is handling the issue.
"I don't want to overreact to the term because, as I said earlier, people end up twisting themselves into knots avoiding the use of the word owner," Silver said .