NEW YORK (AP) — NBA Commissioner Adam Silver says he “couldn’t disagree more” with comments made by Players Association executive director Michele Roberts about the league’s salary system.

Roberts told ESPN.com in an interview that the salary cap was “incredibly un-American” and that “my DNA is offended by it.”

But Silver says in a statement Thursday that a salary cap system is not unusual and has “served as a foundation for the growth of the league and has enabled NBA players to become the highest-paid professional athletes in the world.”

Roberts was elected by players in July, becoming the first woman to lead a North American sports union. Players and owners agreed to a 10-year collective bargaining agreement in 2011, and either side can opt out in 2017.

CHICAGO (AP) — The average price of an NBA ticket increased 3.4 percent this season to $53.98.

According to Team Marketing Report on Friday, the New York Knicks have the highest average at $129.38, followed by the Los Angeles Lakers at $102.25, the Chicago Bulls at $82.33 and the Miami Heat at $78.30. Among those four teams, only the Bulls raised prices.

New Orleans ($30.20) and Charlotte ($30.60) had the lowest averages. The Los Angeles Clippers had the steepest increase, 24.3 percent to $78.43. Detroit dropped its average 3.2 percent to $38.80.

The average NFL ticket price is $84.43 this season, and the NHL average is $62.18. Major League Baseball’s average was $27.93 this year.

TMR also calculated a Fan Cost Index — four average-price tickets, two small draft beers, four small soft drinks, four hot dogs, parking, two programs and two adult-size caps. The index rose 2.6 percent to $333.58 for the NBA. The Knicks were the high team at $676.42 and Charlotte the low at $212.40.

NEW YORK (AP) — NBA owners have voted down proposed changes to the league’s draft lottery system, staving off efforts to curb tanking for the time being.

The proposal was defeated 17-13 on Wednesday at the league’s board of governors meetings. It was a somewhat surprising turn of events after appearing earlier in the week that there was support for reforms that would make it more difficult for teams with the worst records to secure the top pick in the draft.

The vote means the existing system will remain in place for now. The team with the worst record will still have a 25 percent chance at getting the top pick and cannot drop lower than fourth.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver says there was some concern that implementing changes would “have unintended consequences.”

NEW YORK (AP) — The Brooklyn Nets and Boston Celtics will play a 44-minute preseason game on Sunday as the NBA experiments with a shorter game.

The contest will be four minutes shorter than the NBA’s standard 48-minute game. The league says Monday that the teams will play four 11-minute quarters, one minute shorter than normal.

There also will be only two mandatory timeouts per quarter. There are three mandatory timeouts in the second and fourth quarters of the 48-minute game.

NEW YORK (AP) — The NBA has extended its television deals with ESPN and TNT for nine years.

The league announced Monday that the new contracts will run through the 2024-25 season. The previous eight-year agreements end after the 2015-16 season.

The NBA received about $930 million annually under the old deals.

The NBA Finals remain on ABC, ESPN’s broadcast partner. ESPN/ABC and TNT will continue to split the conference finals.

ESPN and ABC are adding 10 regular-season games, bringing their total to 100. TNT will air an additional 12 games over the second half of the season on nights other than its traditional Thursday, bringing its total to 64.