Fortune released its 50 greatest leaders in the world list for 2015, and the NBA was well represented with four names on the list.
Former Rockets great Yao Ming is listed at No. 26, Cavs LeBron James is No. 31, Princeton women’s basketball coach Courtney Banghart is No. 43 and NBA commissioner Adam Silver comes in at No. 47.
Apple CEO Tim Cook topped the list.
Ming — an eight-time All-Star with the Houston Rockets — is now an animal rights activist, speaking out about China’s illegal ivory trade and the hunting of sharks for shark-fin soup.
James — a four-time NBA Most Valuable Player — returned to Cleveland this season after four years with the Heat. He is third in the league in scoring this year with 25.8 points per game.
Banghart led Princeton’s women’s basketball team to a 31-0 record this season before Tigers were beaten in the second round of the NCAA tournament by Maryland.
After taking over the NBA in February 2014 — Silver briliantly led the league through the Donald Sterling scandal and helped the league negotiate a record television rights deal with ESPN and Turner Sports, worth $2.66 billion per year starting in the 2016-17 season.
Fortune praised him for being “energetic and creative.”