The NBA Tech Summit celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, marking a full-circle return to the Bay Area

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver had no idea 25 years ago that the Tech Summit would become such a major event, especially during All-Star weekend.

Back then, no one expected this to happen.

On Friday, the NBA celebrated 25 years of Tech Summits. The event started when the All-Star weekend was last held in the Bay Area in 2000. Now, 25 years later, with the weekend events happening in San Francisco, the Tech Summit is back and still growing.

The question at the first summit was simple: “What’s next?” At the time, no one had the complete answer.

“Our first Tech Summit feels like a distant memory because there has been so much innovation around media and technology over the past 25 years,” said Silver, who was president of NBA Entertainment when the summit began.

“We started the Tech Summit in San Francisco during the early days of the internet. At that time, there were skeptics, including many of the prominent leaders in sports media, who felt the ‘World Wide Web’ wouldn’t become as transformative as some predicted.”

“Of course, the internet went on to impact virtually every aspect of our lives and create major changes in every industry, with sports being no exception.”

One of the speakers at the first summit was Mark Cuban, a tech star about to take over as owner of the Dallas Mavericks. Many team owners have been involved in the summit ever since. This year, Golden State co-chairman and CEO Joe Lacob was one of the panelists.

“I give the NBA credit for having the foresight,” Cuban said in an email to The Associated Press. “And of course, back then, I said streaming would dominate.”

He was right. The first panel on Friday featured leaders from major streaming services like Netflix, Apple, Amazon, and YouTube, along with ESPN and NBC Sports. The NBA releases a schedule and list of panelists for the summit, but to encourage open discussions, all attendees agree that almost everything said during the event is off the record.

Other panelists on Friday included National Basketball Players Association executive director Andre Iguodala, All-Star players Victor Wembanyama of San Antonio and Jalen Brunson of New York, WNBA champion Sabrina Ionescu of the New York Liberty, and USA Basketball chairperson Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

At first, it was believed that the first Tech Summit would be the only one. The All-Star Game was in the Bay Area, a global tech hub, and it made sense to discuss how the world was changing quickly.

But the event was a success, so it returned and has kept coming back.

It has become a popular event, attended by NBA team owners, billionaires from other industries, media moguls, and more. Silver said he has enjoyed the one-on-one interviews on stage that have highlighted past summits, like discussions with NBA legends including Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, and Larry Bird. This year, broadcaster Bob Costas interviewed Golden State coach Steve Kerr.

“It was something we had created uniquely for that moment in time in Silicon Valley,” Silver said. “And while the event has grown over the years, we’ve also managed to keep it fairly intimate because the smaller size leads to more thoughtful and engaging conversations.”

Silver never would have guessed, back in 2000, what the discussions would be about in 2025.

And when asked about the topics at the Tech Summit in 2050, he didn’t know where to start—because no one knows what will come in the next 25 years.

“Other than the game of basketball, I really have no idea,” Silver said. “We’re featuring AI and robotics at this year’s event. Who knew?”