OAKLAND, Calif. — Kicking off his second championship series since replacing David Stern as the N.B.A.’s commissioner last year, Adam Silver expressed excitement over the matchup of LeBron James’s Cleveland Cavaliers and Stephen Curry’s Golden State Warriors in his annual news conference before Game 1.
“If we get just a small percentage of what we’re all talking and writing about, it’s going to be one of the most exciting finals ever,” Silver said. “So I can’t wait.”
Silver and the N.B.A.’s global fan base had waited more than a week after both conference finals ended early — Cleveland’s sweep of Atlanta and a five-game romp by the Warriors over Houston.