Silver calls All-Star weekend in Toronto 'a homecoming'

TORONTO — NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has opened All-Star weekend by paying homage to the league's history in Toronto.

Silver spoke Friday morning at the NBA All-Star Technology Summit, and began his remarks by reminding attendees that the league's enormous success globally stems in part from what happened in Toronto on Nov. 1, 1946 — when the first game in what was then called the Basketball Association of America was played.

Silver is calling this weekend "a very special one for us in the NBA, a homecoming."

It was in Toronto on that night nearly 70 years ago when the New York Knicks visited and beat the Toronto Huskies 68-66. The game was played at Maple Leaf Gardens — "which, if you're curious, is now a grocery store," Silver says