IDIOT OF THE YEAR 2021: Countdown begins with Stephen A. Smith, Adam Silver, Johnny Damon, and more luminaries

Technically, Adam Silver isn’t an idiot. The dude is way too smart for that. He has degrees from Duke and the University of Chicago. However, his decisions over the past two years have been hella head-scratching. We’re still wondering why the NBA had to have an All-Star game last season without fans in the middle of a condensed schedule.

But, the reason he’s on this list is because it’s evident that the pandemic has him in a blender and he’s in over his head. After guiding the NBA between the Bubble and a season full of mandates that included no fans, or only the vaccinated ones, Silver looked like the man. Especially after he said, “As Dr. Fauci says, the virus will decide,” in October of 2020.

But that was then, and this is now. Reports have since emerged that the NBA might not have run the Bubble to the level of perfection they’d let on. And right now, the league is ground to a halt with dozens of players — and counting — have been in the health and safety protocols this season, as well as the postponement of multiple NBA and G League games. Two teams, the Bulls and Nets, combined for 20 players out in December. There are analytics teams for that stat, too. They’re called epidemiologists.

Whatcha gonna do, Adam?