NBA Commissioner Adam Silver Calls Henry Kissinger ‘One of the Great Global Diplomats’ While Discussing His Own Role in International Relations

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver cited former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger as an example of how to handle international relations while talking how his role in growing basketball overseas.

Silver appeared on The Pat McAfee Show on Wednesday. When the discussion transitioned into the continued expansion of the sport in other countries, McAfee asked Silver if he’d ever been asked to assist with global affairs. He was asked because, historically, sports have proven to be an effective unifier.

“I get pulled in (those conversations), though not always in a positive way,” Silver said with a laugh. “I will say I was reading a lot of those long obituaries around Henry Kissinger’s death at 100, where he was sort of an exemplar of one of the great global diplomats… I of course believe we have to have a strong military. I’m a big believer; and at the same time — call it soft power, call it diplomacy — I think through sport, through culture, through arts, it brings connectivity together with people of diverse cultures and backgrounds. Basketball is one of those sports.”

Kissinger, who died Nov. 29, was revered among certain circles for his role in foreign relations. Among others, he was heavily criticized for some of the strategic decisions he influenced, like the carpet-bombing of Cambodia during the Vietnam War that he oversaw.

Watch above via ESPN