David Stern
David Stern
David Joel Stern is the former commissioner of the National Basketball Association. He started with the Association in 1966 as an outside counsel, joined the NBA in 1978 as General Counsel, and became the league's Executive Vice President in 1980. He became Commissioner in 1984, succeeding Larry O'Brien. He is credited with increasing the popularity of the NBA in the 1990s and 2000s...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionBusiness Executive
Date of Birth22 September 1942
CityNew York City, NY
CountryUnited States of America
He described the virtues of Oklahoma City ? what it had been through on the tragic side and how it was rebuilding and how sports had been a part of that.
He has probably traveled more on our behalf than any other ballplayer.
Our minor league has a proven track record of developing talent both on and off the court, with more than 100 players, coaches, referees, athletic trainers and front-office personnel moving to NBA teams or the league office, and we look for that trend to continue.
Because a lot of people will be copying my look,
Being neatly attired in a certain way, that's going to be our norm,
That's a road you have to follow if you want to be considered among the great ones. The campaign last year about the Finals was 'where legends are born,' and I think you could have said that for the playoffs. ... Clearly in order to write yourself large in NBA history, you've got to be in the playoffs.
That's different. We go where we go (for All-Star Weekend) with the assurance that there will be no betting on our events.
If not, that's a decision we can accept. But then we'll have to act on it ourselves.
I'm having as good a time as I've ever had. All systems are go.
The NBDL continues to attract significant interest from successful businessmen around the country, further enhancing the league's vitality.
It's not a very good lease, to say the least it's the worst in the league. The city says they're not prepared to do anything to improve it. I don't think this is a difficult choice.
If (players) are really going to have a problem, they will have to make a decision about how they want to spend their adult life in terms of playing in the NBA or not, ... quite liberal and easygoing.
I fully expect to be visiting Seattle in the relatively near future to weigh in on that subject and I'm quite on record as saying that Seattle has what is the least competitive lease in the league, which is a decided economic disadvantage. I think if that situation is not ultimately improved ... I think that the board of governors at the expiration of the lease would be inclined to listen to their partner's request for an opportunity to be in a place where there is a good lease and a good facility.
In the good old days, Chamberlain and Russell played in anonymity compared to Bird, Magic, Michael and Isiah. And even those guys played in less of a spotlight that our players today are playing in thanks to this saturated media environment.