The NBA All-Star Game is an annual gathering of some of the most gifted people on the planet — where some of the biggest and brightest among us shine.
But so often in years past at All-Star Weekend, the event that carried the most weight — that was most anticipated by insiders — was the annual “state of the league” address delivered to a rapt gathering of journalists by long-time league commissioner David Stern.
Stern grew up in New Jersey, the son of a Manhattan delicatessen owner and New York Knicks fan, and stood perhaps five-foot-seven inches tall.
But he commanded the room and the sport, became one of basketball’s biggest stars, and was eventually recognized as perhaps the greatest commissioner in all of North American sports.
Stern’s addresses at All-Star Weekend consistently provided a framework for the future of the league he ran with a broad imagination and fierce discipline. The same was true of sessions he held at the NBA Finals or the NBA draft or Summer League.
When Stern spoke, people listened.
And there was a lot to talk about.
Over Stern’s unprecedented 30-year run leading the NBA, he presided over an enterprise that expanded from 23 teams to 30; that went from having NBA Finals games broadcast on a tape-delayed basis to eventually becoming a broadcast property worth $24 billion. He saw the NBA go from being a league followed mainly in the United States and featuring almost exclusively American players to a global sport with 108 international players drawn from 38 countries to start the 2019–20 season.
His relationship with the NBA began when he was hired by the powerhouse New York law firm Proskauer Rose – the league’s outside counsel – following law school in 1966. The NBA in its current form as an international cultural and taste-making force was unrecognizable.
“The league was in survival mode most of my early years in the NBA,” said Wayne Embry, the Toronto Raptors senior basketball advisor, whose association with the NBA began in 1958 as a player and continued as an executive from 1972 until today. “Attendance wasn’t great and a lot of owners weren’t doing very well.”
Stern joined the NBA as general counsel in 1978 and was promoted to executive vice president with a large role in league operations in 1980 before taking over from Larry O’Brien as commissioner in 1984.
The league’s trajectory has been almost exclusively upwards ever since, bolstered by the arrival of superstar talent such as Michael Jordan and a growing platform that help them turn into crossover icons.
“He was an innovator. He thought ahead. He thought big,” said Embry. “Marketing was very key to him. The league office brought more people in with that concept and each team did, too. He took the product and made it what it is today.
“He was just a terrific commissioner.”
Among his first major policy initiatives — even before taking the top job — were implementing drug testing for players after a number of early-1980s scandals had tarnished the league’s image and helping draft the first Collective Bargaining Agreement that included a cap on overall player salaries, bringing some cost certainty to a then-fragile league economy.
Most importantly, he helped develop a partnership between the players and owners based on a revenue-sharing model that set the standard for other leagues to eventually follow.
“He learned how to bring the players association and the owners together for a common cause. That was big,” says Embry. “The owners were very protective [of their revenues], but it can’t be one way. The players play the game.”
Stern poses with Kyrie Irving at the NBA draft on June 23, 2011. (Mel Evans/AP)
With a structure in place, Stern set out to make the NBA the most telegenic league possible. He recognized the power of stardom — that the immediacy of the NBA game was unparalleled in sports, and that targeting a younger audience with better in-arena presentation, lighting and music could be a point of differentiation.
For decades, sports had been about selling tickets and opening the doors, expecting that would be enough. Under Stern, the NBA became about using the league’s stars and the quality of its competition to build brands and create an entertainment option that reached outside of the average sports fan and into Hollywood, music and fashion.
He also was early to recognize the potential of growing the NBA brand outside of the U.S. In the mid-1980s Stern himself would get on the phone to negotiate international television deals. When FIBA wanted to throw the Olympics open to U.S. professionals, Stern in turn threw his weight behind it, ushering in the Dream Team era for the 1992 Games in Barcelona. He was the commissioner who oversaw the league’s expansion into Canada, opened league offices overseas, and made NBA tours throughout Europe and Asia an annual occurrence.
And as cable, video and digital became ubiquitous under Stern’s watch, he recognized the benefits of having the league be seen by more eyes in more formats. The NBA was at the forefront of having games and highlights available on phones and tablets. The league has enjoyed a massive social-media presence because from the beginning the NBA allowed highlights from their games to be shared freely.
“David Stern is the No. 1 force, the No. 1 reason why this league is where it is today,” Miami Heat President Pat Riley told USA Today when Stern retired in February 2014. “That’s not disrespectful to any one great player in any one era or any owner. This has to do with the leadership of one man.
“Over that span of time, things don’t change because they’re coincidences. They don’t. There’s somebody at the top who is going to eliminate what is bad and market what is good. He was a very forceful, very pragmatic visionary.”
Stern could be charming and witty in public, but was known for being almost tyrannical at times in private. He knew what he wanted and was unafraid to forgo compromise. Question him at a Board of Governors meeting and prepare to be challenged.
“His management style was anyone who questions him would get a chance to experience his wrath, and I did a few times,” said Embry, whose tenure as general manager of the Cleveland Cavaliers from 1986 to 1999 paralleled Stern’s rise. “I’d rather not say why because he and I mended our differences, but he was pretty headstrong in his beliefs.
“He had compassion for people, too, but if he believed something should be one way, he stepped to it and he wasn’t afraid to let you know it. I never questioned him [personally], but I would ask him generalized questions and I think I upset him a couple of times, but it was all for the common good of the league.”
Stern was able to run such a tight ship in part because he helped make so much money for everyone — players and owners alike. When Jerry Reinsdorf bought the Chicago Bulls in 1985, he paid $16 million. According to Forbes, the franchise is worth $2.9 billion today.
When Stern became commissioner in 1984, CBS was paying $22 million for the league’s broadcast rights. Shortly after Stern retired, the league’s new broadcast deal – which encompassed cable and digital rights – was worth $2.6-billion annually. Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James will earn $36 million on the floor and several multiples of that off the floor this season while the average NBA salary 2019–20 this season has increased to $7.7 million.
“He knew what the league needed at the time it needed it, and he was not afraid to convince the owners about what he thought,” says Embry. “He was very adamant in the way he did it – and people didn’t always like it – but he gained a lot of respect because of what he accomplished.”
Stern died on Jan. 1, 2020 as a result of a brain hemorrhage. He is survived by his wife and two children.
He moved comfortably and confidently among giants and left the biggest mark of all.
The French league’s legal commission has ordered Paris Saint-Germain to pay Kylian Mbappé the 55 million euros ($61 million) in unpaid wages that he claims he’s entitled to, the league said Thursday.
The league confirmed the decision to The Associated Press without more details, a day after the France superstar rejected a mediation offer by the commission in his dispute with his former club.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Former football star Reggie Bush was at his Encino home Tuesday night when three male suspects attempted to break in, the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday.
“Everyone is safe,” Bush said in a text message to the newspaper.
The Los Angeles Police Dept. told the Times that a resident of the house reported hearing a window break and broken glass was found outside. Police said nothing was stolen and that three male suspects dressed in black were seen leaving the scene.
Bush starred at Southern California and in the NFL. The former running back was reinstated as the 2005 Heisman Trophy winner this year. He forfeited it in 2010 after USC was hit with sanctions partly related to Bush’s dealings with two aspiring sports marketers.
VANCOUVER – A fresh face has been gracing the B.C. Lions‘ highlight reels in recent weeks.
Midway through his second CFL campaign, wide receiver Ayden Eberhardt has contributed touchdowns in two consecutive games.
The 26-year-old wide receiver from Loveland, Colo., was the lone B.C. player to reel in a passing major in his team’s 37-23 victory over the league-leading Montreal Alouettes last Friday. The week before, he notched his first CFL touchdown in the Lions’ win over the Ottawa Redblacks.
“It’s been awesome. It’s been really good,” Eberhardt said of his recent play. “At the end of the day, the biggest stat to me is if we win. But who doesn’t love scoring?”
He’ll look to add to the tally Friday when the Leos (7-6) host the Toronto Argonauts.
Eberhardt signed with B.C. as a free agent in January 2023 and spent much of last season on the practice squad before cementing a role on the roster this year.
The six-foot-two, 195-pound University of Wyoming product has earned more opportunities in his second season, said Lions’ head coach and co-general manager Rick Campbell.
“He’s a super hard worker and very smart. He understands, has high football IQ, as we call it,” Campbell said.
The fact that Eberhardt can play virtually every receiving position helps.
“He could literally go into a game and we could throw him into a spot and he’d know exactly what he’s doing,” the coach said. “That allows him to play fast and earn the quarterback’s trust. And you see him making plays.”
Eberhardt credited his teammates, coaches and the rest of the Lions’ staff with helping him prepare for any situation he might face. They’ve all spent time teaching him the ins and outs of the Canadian game, or go over the playbook and run routes after practice, he said.
“I’ve played every single position on our offence in a game in the last two years, which is kind of crazy. But I love playing football,” he said. “I want to play any position that the team needs me to play.”
While B.C.’s lineup is studded with stars like running back William Stanback — who has a CFL-high 938 rushing yards — and wide receiver Justin McInnis — who leads the league in both receiving yards (1,074) and receiving TDs (seven) — versatility has been a critical part of the team’s back-to-back wins.
“I think we’ve got a lot of talented guys who deserve to get the ball and make big plays when they have the ball in their hands. So it’s really my job to get them the ball as much as possible,” said quarterback Nathan Rourke.
“I think that makes it easy when you can lean on those guys and, really, we’re in a situation where anyone can have a big game. And I think that’s a good place to be.”
Even with a talented lineup, the Lions face a tough test against an eager Argos side.
Toronto lost its second straight game Saturday when it dropped a 41-27 decision to Ottawa.
“We’ll have our hands full,” Rourke said. “We’ll have to adjust on the fly to whatever their game plan is. And no doubt, they’ll be ready to go so we’ll have to be as well.”
The two sides have already met once this season when the Argos handed the Lions a 35-27 loss in Toronto back on June 9.
A win on Friday would vault B.C. to the top of the West Division standings, over the 7-6 Winnipeg Blue Bombers who are on a bye week.
Collecting that victory isn’t assured, though, even with Toronto coming in on a two-game skid, Campbell said.
“They’ve hit a little bit of a rut, but they’re a really good team,” he said. “They’re very athletic. And you can really see (quarterback Chad Kelly’s) got zip on the ball. When you see him in there, he can make all the throws. So we’re expecting their best shot.”
TORONTO ARGONAUTS (6-6) AT B.C. LIONS (7-6)
Friday, B.C. Place
HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE: The Lions boast a 4-1 home record this season, including a 38-12 victory over the Redblacks at Royal Athletic Park in Victoria, B.C., on Aug. 31. The Argos have struggled outside of BMO Field and hold a 1-5 away record. Trips to the West Coast haven’t been easy for Toronto in recent years — since 2003, the club is 4-14 in road games against B.C.
CENTURION: B.C. defensive back Garry Peters is set to appear in his 100th consecutive game. The 32-year-old from Conyers, Ga., is a two-time CFL all-star who has amassed 381 defensive tackles, 19 special teams tackles and 16 interceptions over seven seasons. “Just being on the field with the guys every day, running around, talking trash back and forth, it keeps me young,” Peters said. “It makes me feel good, and my body doesn’t really feel it. I’ve been blessed to be able to play 100 straight.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
