David Stern: Longtime NBA Commissioner Who Globalized the League Dies at

David Stern was an American lawyer and sports executive who served as commissioner of the National Basketball Association for 30 years and helped turn it into a global brand. Born on September 22, 1942, in Manhattan, New York City, he grew up in Teaneck, New Jersey, and was a lifelong Knicks fan.

Stern joined the NBA as general counsel in 1978 and became commissioner in 1984. Under his leadership the league made salary-cap and drug-testing agreements, supported the 1992 "Dream Team," expanded into Canada with the Raptors and Grizzlies, and helped found the WNBA and the NBA G League. He retired in February 2014 as the longest-tenured commissioner in major North American sports at the time.

Stern earned his undergraduate degree at Rutgers and his law degree at Columbia. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2014 and the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2016. He married Dianne Bock in 1963, and they had two sons. He suffered a brain hemorrhage on December 12, 2019, and died in New York City on January 1, 2020, at age 77.

Achievements: NBA commissioner (1984-2014), helped found the WNBA and NBA G League, awarded the Olympic Order (2012), inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (2014).

Birth: September 22, 1942 - Manhattan, New York City.

Profession: Lawyer and sports executive.

Interesting Facts: He began his legal career at Proskauer Rose, the law firm that represented the NBA. He expanded the league's reach in China in the 1980s by sending game tapes to state television.