Adam Silver Says He Spoke to LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard over NBA Player Strike

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said he spoke with LeBron James and Kawhi Leonard after their teams initially voted to leave the bubble following the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

Silver discussed their thought process with Bob Costas on CNN:

"I spoke to both of those players and I think there was a lot of emotion around the initial decision to stop play.

"I think, in part, it wasn't initially a decision that had been made collectively by all the players. And I think LeBron and Kawhi, given a chance to sort of step back, think about the larger impact that they could have there, the implications of not playing—incidentally, thousands of jobs for people in the Orlando community, thousands of jobs in team cities—if we had stopped playing.

"I think, for both of those great players, I think they did take a broader view of what was happening in society and it was only a very short time where they wanted to step back. I think by the next morning, both of them were fully engaged in returning to play."

NBA players briefly went on a wildcat strike last month following Blake's shooting, with games being postponed as players sorted out their plan of action. The Lakers and Clippers were among the teams that initially chose not to play the remainder of the season in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, with James and Leonard both acting as leading voices.

LeBron slept on it before doing anything drastic, per The Athletic's Joe Vardon:

"When I went to bed, I had major reservations about playing. It wasn't what they (the Bucks) said; we heard what they said. It was, 'What the f--k are we going to do now? Are we just going to go back out there and play again, after all of this, with no plan?' Nah. What was the plan?

"I woke up Thursday morning and I came up with a plan."

James sought the counsel of President Barack Obama, who advised players to continue playing and using their platform for change. Players ultimately voted to play, as NBA governors made further commitments to social justice and societal causes. 

Blake's shooting served as a tipping point for players, many of whom had reservations about playing in the bubble amid ongoing racial unrest after the police killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. The NBA has made social justice messaging a large part of the league's return, including writing "Black Lives Matter" on the court and allowing players to put messages on the back of their uniforms.