David Stern, former NBA commissioner, has died at age 77

CBS News ^ | 01/02/2019

[SeekAndFind]

David Stern, the former commissioner of the National Basketball Association died Wednesday, the NBA said. He was 77.

Stern died from a brain hemorrhage he suffered several weeks ago, according to the NBA. Stern suffered the brain hemorrhage December 12 while dining in a Manhattan restaurant. Stern is survived by his wife, Dianne, and their two sons, Eric and Andrew.

Stern became the fourth commissioner of the NBA on February 1, 1984. He previously served as the NBA's general counsel from 1978 until 1980, and then as Executive Vice President of the NBA from 1980 until 1984. In 2012, Stern announced he would step down in February 2014, and tapped Adam Silver as his replacement.

At the time of his retirement, Stern was the longest serving NBA commissioner, having held the position for exactly 30 years. After stepping down, Stern remained affiliated with the league with the title of commissioner emeritus, and has remained active in his other interests, such as sports technology.

"For 22 years, I had a courtside seat to watch David in action," NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. "He was a mentor and one of my dearest friends. We spent countless hours in the office, at arenas and on planes wherever the game would take us. Like every NBA legend, David had extraordinary talents, but with him it was always about the fundamentals – preparation, attention to detail, and hard work."

[SeekAndFind]

[Rummyfan]

Love or hate the NBA (I’m in the indifferent category), he took it from a third-rate sport which didn’t even get live TV coverage of its final round championship series (and suffering from rampant drug abuse among its players), into the worldwide 7x24x365 media monster it is today.

[HighSierra5]

Who cares?

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

Probably the greatest sports commissioner of all time, even better than Pete Rozelle because in the 60s & 70s the NBA was essentially what the WNBA is now.

[Borges]

You cared enough to post about it. What a waste of your time that was.

[dfwgator]

I remember when they showed the NBA finals on Tape Delay.

[Dilbert San Diego]

So what did he do? Marketing the NBA overseas and got TV contracts?

[Rummyfan]

Marketing the NBA overseas and got TV contracts?

And expansion. And cleaned up the drug problem. He also benefited greatly from the emergence of Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, and then - ta da! - Michael Jordan.

[HighSierra5]

It only cost 2 cents.

[Borges]

Two cents you’ll never get back. You may wind up two cents short some day.

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

He did much more than that. He aggressively marketed the game to inner-cities, and saving dozens of black kids from a lifetime in gangs or prison, or even ending up dead. He made sneakers almost as much of a prized commodity as a three-piece suit itself.

I grew up in the 70s, and let me tell you, even the PBA (Professional Bowling Association) was more enjoyable than the NBA at the time.

[HighSierra5]

I’ll give you a penny for your thoughts.

[who_would_fardels_bear]

"He made sneakers almost as much of a prized commodity as a three-piece suit itself."

How many kids were killed for their prized sneakers? More or fewer than the number of kids saved from the inner city by going into the NBA?

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

Hey, nobody said capitalism was perfect.

[Right Wing Assault]

I thought it was David Steinberg. I don't follow the NBA.