David Stern was, without a doubt, a powerhouse. The longest-tenured NBA Commissioner took the reins in 1984 and had a clear vision. He wanted the product to be global and executed it to perfection, albeit gradually.
In fact, one overlooked transaction during Stern's first year as the Association's top dog inspired many to take up basketball, including an Argentinian kid named Manu Ginobili . How did that happen?
Stern rolled the dice
When the lawyer took over, the league was at a crossroads. Teams were struggling financially, with some on the brink of folding or relocating. Still, Stern stuck to the plan and took a chance.
"In 1984, his first year as commissioner, Stern welcomed a South American basketball and soccer analyst named Adrian Paenza into his Manhattan office and offered his Argentina Channel 9 the rights to air weekly NBA highlights. The price: $2,000 a year. So every Sunday at midnight, there was Magic and Michael and Bird arriving in a faraway land where children had mostly dreamed of soccer stardom," Adrian Wojnarowski, then with ESPN in 2020, wrote .
Then, unbeknownst to anyone, including Stern, a young Ginobili took notice and began religiously watching the highlights like clockwork. He then began mimicking what these greats do on the court on the very next day.
"When I was a kid, I didn't even dream of playing in the NBA," Ginobili told Woj. "Nobody ever from Argentina played in the NBA when I was 10. I was watching MJ's [highlights] and thinking he was from another planet, that he was unreachable, untouchable -- the same as Magic and Larry. And then I find myself, years later, raising the same trophy as they did."
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Love him or hate him, the Commisioner did his job
Woj called the late Stern a force of nature, and the description was 100% accurate. Here is some of David's body of work:
- Helped create a form of salary cap in 1983 (implemented in 1984-85)
- Introduced the draft lottery in 1985 and televised it to garner interest
- Had the NBA broadcasted live by the '90s and not on tape delays
- Successfully marketed the Dream Team to the world
- Introduced the "no hand-checking" rule to promote a free-flowing game that audiences like
- Helped create the rookie scale contract, the max contract, and the mid-level exception
- Introduced the player dress code in 2005
- Initiated the WNBA, NBA Cares, D-League (now the G-League) and Basketball Without Borders
Stern had complicated relationships with everyone, and you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who worked closely with him and who he didn't give a piece of his mind. Even Dwyane Wade and Chris Paul had shouting matches with Daivd during the 2011 lockout. Nevertheless, the one thing that he was most proud of was growing the NBA.
"My greatest accomplishment was in hiring the now 1,200 people — that used to be 24 — that have taken the league to where it is," Stern said , per USA Today.
Love him or hate him, the NBA wouldn't be in this position without his leadership. If Stern lacked a vision, the Association might still be struggling to find its footing today.
Related: Manu Ginobili had a unique way of idolizing Michael Jordan -"I used to talk to his life-size poster"
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