Article Written By: Damian Gonzalez
As everyone knows, NBA Commissioner David Stern has stepped down from his duties. Stern was loved and hated by many but, in my opinion, he was a great commissioner. When Stern first started in 1978 as a General Counsel Member, he was just a Columbia Law School graduate and also from Rutgers University. In 1980, Stern then became the Executive Vice President of the league and just 4 years later in 1984, he was promoted to Commissioner of the National Basketball Association.
David Stern gave the NBA a new face and wanted to expand, and that he did. Stern added 7 teams to the NBA being the Hornets, Timberwolves, Heat, Magic, Grizzles, Raptors, and Bobcats. Stern also relocated teams like the Clippers, Kings, Grizzles, Nets, Hornets, and Sonics. Even though Stern already did so much, he was no where near done improving the NBA. On April 24, 1996 an event occurred that would defiantly give the NBA a new look. In 1996, the Women’s National Basketball Association, also known as WNBA, was created and announced in a live press conference.
In 2001, another event occurred that would probably change the NBA itself, in 2001 the NBA Development League was formed. The Development league was the NBA’s minor league and ’til this day the Development league is still going strong. Some players are now using the D-League to ease back into the game after an injury and players are called up to play for the NBA somewhat like the MLB and their minor leagues.
Stern did a lot for the NBA including expanding the NBA into different countries and providing televised games in different countries which created more revenue and stardom. One thing fans and players didn’t like about Stern was probably the 4 lockout seasons that occurred while he was commissioner in 1995, 1996, 1998-99, and 2011. He also changed the name of the NBA Finals trophy to the Larry O’Brien trophy along with changing the name of the Finals MVP to the Bill Russel MVP award. So with all this being said, Stern is a legend in my eyes. He might have retired but his LEGACY will always stay in the NBA.
