Conventional wisdom dictates that professional athletes as a group, with a few exceptions, are overwhelmingly apolitical. Look at political giving records and you'll find that, monetarily speaking, that's largely true. Many NBA team owners, on the other hand, are major political donors, as is the commissioner himself.
Before reading too much into the politics of these contributors, we should keep in mind why a lot of wealthy people contribute to political campaigns. More times than not, it's not an expression of ideology so much as not wanting to say no to the person who's asking. That person might be a peer who recently, upon your request, gave money to your big charity, so now he comes to you for a contribution to a candidate he's bundling checks for. An owner, by his very nature, is probably going to be active and social in his community. If he's a Bostonian, chances are he's had dealings with Mitt Romney and probably has a social relationship with him irrespective of whether he agrees with Romney politically on anything. A lot of giving can be attributed to what my sister refers to as F.O.M.O -- the fear of missing out. For a max contribution along with a handsome check to the party committee, a mucky-muck can buy stock early in a candidate. If and when that candidate ascends the rungs of power, said mucky-muck -- especially if he's a team owner -- might be able to score a round of golf with the candidate or, at the very least, can call the candidate a friend.
Some owners legitimately have political issues they care about, but I would guess that the majority of these donations were made because it was easier to say yes than no.
Some NBA notables and their contributions:
NBA Commissioner David Stern continues to be a major contributor to the Democratic Party and Democratic candidates for federal office, including an annual $25,000 contribution to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee each of the past several years.
As is true to form, precious few NBA players have FEC giving histories. For the current presidential campaign, Alonzo Mourning has made a $1,000 contribution to Hillary Clinton's campaign. Shane Battier has contributed $2,300 to Barack Obama's campaign. Battier also made a $1,000 gift to Obama's 2004 Senate campaign in Illinois. Baron Davis has made a gift to Obama's presidential campaign, as he did to John Edwards in 2004. Davis also made a $2,100 contribution to the unsuccessful 2006 Senate campaign of Harold Ford Jr. (D-TN).
Though there isn't a record of any players giving yet to John Edwards' 2008 campaign, former NBA players Travis Best and Charles Barkley each made a contribution to Edwards' '04 campaign.
Along with Davis, the most active political giver among recent NBA players is Evan Eschmeyer. He wrote a $2,000 check to Howard Dean's 2004 campaign, and contributed to Barack Obama's 2004 Senate campaign in Illinois, as well as a few other congressional races in Illinois and Ohio.
Boston Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck and his wife, Corinne, have made contributions to the campaigns of both Mitt Romney and Barack Obama. Danny and Michelle Ainge have each made a $2,300 contribution to Mitt Romney's presidential campaign. Rockets GM, Daryl Morey, who used to work for the C's, has also made contributions to Romney.
Though the Phoenix Suns ownership (both the Colangelos and Sarvers) has traditionally been stalwart Republicans, Coach Mike D'Antoni and his wife, Laurel, give exclusively to Democrats, including John Edwards' 2004 presidential campaign and a couple of federal House candidates in Arizona. Robert Sarver has contributed to John McCain's campaign, and made several contributions to Republican Senate candidates during the 2006 cycle.
Philadelphia 76ers GM Billy King made a contribution to Hillary Clinton's Senate campaign in 2006, and has maxed out to Obama's presidential campaign. He also supported Bob Casey Jr.'s successful campaign to take down Rick Santorum.
Orlando Magic owner Richard DeVos is the most generous Republican donor among NBA owners. He's written checks to the presidential campaigns of both Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney, as well as dozens of Senate and House candidates across the nation. DeVos' son, Dick, ran unsuccessfully for Governor of Michigan in 2006.
Hillary Clinton has the support of several NBA owners, including James Dolan, Paul Allen, the Maloofs, Jerry Reinsdorf, and the Simons.
UPDATE: Add Stephon Marbury to the list of players contributing to Obama's presidential campaign ($2,300 on June 14). Sources inside the campaign say that Marbury will be coordinating the Tuscan precincts for the Illinois Democrat.
Finally, William Wesley contributed to Harold Ford Jr.'s 2006 Senate campaign.
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