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
(The playoffs are) a road you have to follow if you want to be considered among the great ones, because it demonstrates that you're either making the players around you better or management is putting better players around you in order to showcase your talent longer into the playoffs.
I've never found NBA owners to be deferential. I never considered them to be reliant. All that I do is knock myself out to represent their interests the best way I can and sometimes tell them, as part of my job, what they don't like to hear.
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.
A substantial amount has been done for the baseball and football teams. I'm here personally to find out whether the same is being considered fairly for the NBA.
Is (pro bono work) considered in the associate's evaluation? Will it be considered in their favor? Unfortunately it is not the case. ... Most firms do not prize pro bono as a criterion for partnership. You can count them on one hand.
We think the nature of our fan would change dramatically because (inside) information becomes, you know something, you make a bet, somebody tells you something else and perhaps you even go away from the game unhappy because the home team won but they didn't cover.
I think that players play, and they compete, and it's not about incentives.
Everyone said that the NBA could not possibly make it because it had too many black players.
With every day that goes by, there will be further reductions on what's left of the season
Our officials want nothing more than to be at the top of their professional game and make the correct call. That's what they do; that's their living, that's their pride, that's their joy. They don't achieve that because they happen to be human.
Everyone knows that if you can keep on making money, everyone's happy.
Follow your dreams and make the most of every experience.
You walk into the playgrounds in Shanghai and Beijing, and you see youngsters who are shorter, shaking and baking and having attitude. And Jeremy Lin is going to inspire all of them.
You will ultimately be defined by the sum total of your responses to circumstances, situations and events that you probably couldn't anticipate and indeed probably couldn't even imagine. So just keep your eyes on the course and be ready to move in different directions depending upon the crises and opportunities with which you are faced.