Stern has no problem with teams miking players

On other issues, Stern said the NBA is continuing to look at options for how to increase its international presence, but that any decision on placing a team in Europe is still years away. Stern, who is stepping down next year, said his successor, Adam Silver, will have to find a way to "deal with success" when it comes to satisfying the international interest in the game.

"The international horizon is huge," Stern said. "The only question is, does it have to be a team (in Europe) or not? There are so many ways to capture the success that that's just something that is going to be left to Adam and his group to decide."

This is the second time the NBA has staged a regular-season game in London, and Silver said the potential for global growth is still "huge."

"I know it's increasingly something that our owners are very focused on," Silver said. "It's a complex issue as to whether the NBA should expand, whether we should relocate franchises, ultimately how much fan support there is."

Stern said the NBA will have more preseason games abroad than ever before this year, but that the locations for those games have to be decided.

Silver said there's "a good chance" that there will be a regular-season game in Europe next year as well.

"It's difficult the way our schedule is currently configured," Silver said. "But I think over time it's something we'd like to do more of."