Long-time National Basketball Association commissioner David Stern has died at the age of 77.
By: Anastasia Levanskaya
“Without David Stern, the NBA would not be what it is today,” Hall of Famer Michael Jordan said. “He guided the league through turbulent times and grew the league into an international phenomenon, creating opportunities that few could have imagined before.”
“The entire basketball community is heartbroken,” the National Basketball Players Association said. “David Stern earned and deserved inclusion in our land of giants.”
Stern was born in Manhattan to Anna and William Stern, a Jewish family. He grew up in Teaneck, New Jersey, and his father ran a Jewish delicatessen in New York City. Stern grew up a New York Knicks fan, considered Carl Braun his hero, and attended games at Madison Square Garden with his father. He played basketball briefly in adulthood before sustaining a serious right knee injury during a New York Lawyers League game.
After graduating from Teaneck High School in 1959, Stern went to Rutgers University, where was a member of the Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity and graduated in 1963 with a B.A. in history. He then attended law school at Columbia University, receiving a J.D. in 1966.
Bob Johnson, the founder of Black Entertainment Television and founder and Chairman of The RLJ Companies, released a statement in which he said: “The sports world and the NBA lost a visionary business leader and a force for racial participation and opportunity at all levels of the NBA with the untimely passing of David Stern. I was honored, under David’s leadership and encouragement, to become the first African American majority owner of an NBA basketball team, the Charlotte Bobcats. David’s legacy will be that of a one-of-a-kind individual who nurtured and built a sports league that will leave an indelible and giant footprint in the global arena of sports competition and the unifying culture of sports in our lives.”
Current NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said this of Stern: “For 22 years, I had a courtside seat to watch David in action. 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.
“David took over the NBA in 1984 with the league at a crossroads. But over the course of 30 years as Commissioner, he ushered in the modern global NBA. He launched groundbreaking media and marketing partnerships, digital assets and social responsibility programs that have brought the game to billions of people around the world. Because of David, the NBA is a truly global brand – making him not only one of the greatest sports commissioners of all time but also one of the most influential business leaders of his generation.
“Every member of the NBA family is the beneficiary of David’s vision, generosity and inspiration. Our deepest condolences go out to David’s wife, Dianne, their sons, Andrew and Eric, and their extended family, and we share our grief with everyone whose life was touched by him.”
