When the NBA returns to play next month in Orlando, it may be more than a championship that is on the line. According to SI's Rohan Nadkarni, Adam Silver's legacy could be at stake when professional basketball does resume. Rohan joined Sports Illustrated host Robin Lundberg to discuss his thoughts on the league's response to coronavirus.

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Robin Lundberg: Not only will an NBA championship be on the line when the season resumes, but according to our Rohan Nadkarni, so will Adam Silver's legacy. Obviously, Rohan, you say that in regards to the plan and to return in the midst of the coronavirus.

Rohan Nadkarni: Without a doubt, Robin. And I don't mean legacy in the way, you know, we like to use it we talk about athletes and players like LeBron James. I'm talking about, you know, we're living in a moment in America where people are demanding from their institutions, not just words, they're demanding actions. And I think the actions Adam Silver decides to take as the league prepares to play again are going to define the kind of person he is and the kind of commissioner he's remembered at. I think it's no secret that the NBA's biggest motivation to return right now, are finances, its money. And how high is his risk tolerance willing to go in the face of a league that, you know, it wants to make money during a virus, during a pandemic rather.

Robin Lundberg: Let me offer the other perspective for a second because one of the problems I think you're facing here is not knowing what the treatments will be, not knowing when a vaccine comes. So if you were to, say, canceled this season to be extra safe, what's to say you wouldn't have to cancel next season as well.

Rohan Nadkarni: I don't disagree with you Robin and I do wonder if maybe the league should be more seriously considering going down that route. I think what this pandemic. I mean, we can get into kind of all the consequences of it from a federal government level to all the kind of lives that it's touch. But, you know, I don't think the NBA is unique compared to other Americans who are able to work right now in terms of having to assess the risks of a comeback like this and sending hundreds of people to one city in a state that's having trouble with its virus curve. So I do honestly wonder if the NBA should seriously considering canceling the season and maybe waiting. But I do think that what this comeback is going to show, depending on what bumps in the road the NBA hits, once this kind of campus-style play resumes, the decisions they make then are also going to be really important.

Robin Lundberg: Yeah, you know. Actually, Adam Silver, I think, agrees with you, Rohan. He says he's not proud of the decision to shut down and many of us gave them credit for leading in that way. So perhaps, you know, if it does work out well, we might wind up giving them credit in that regard as well.

Rohan Nadkarni:  It is interesting that that was an interesting quote, Robin because I do think it was courageous for them to shut down. I mean, I think at the time, a lot of people were hailing the NBA as kind of the institution, the organization that made a lot of people start taking this seriously. I think it took a lot of guts to shut down. I think it would be courageous for the NBA need to shut down again because things went wrong in Orlando, I think. You know what I'm the point I was trying to get across in my story is, you know, are they prepared to make those decisions? You know, in the face of the financial realities of canceling a season or suspending the season, again, that is going to be, I think, a bigger test than any other one Adam Silver faces as commissioner.

Robin Lundberg: And we will see how it unfolds when the NBA does resume next month. Rohan, appreciate your time as always.