David Stern Dies at 77

6x NBA Champions

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Grizzled
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It’s hard to put into perspective the impact Stern had on not only the NBA but every sports league. By the end of the ‘70s, the NBA finals were shown on tape delay. By the end of his tenure, the league had boomed internationally, NBA stars were among the biggest stars in any entertainment field, basketball was well on its way to supplanting baseball in popularity among sports fans in the U.S. A lot of it was done by Stern pretty much having Michael put the league on his shoulders and taking it to the stratosphere. The effects of his business acumen still lift basketball today. R.I.P.
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A human being lost their life and that needs to be respected.

That being said, Stern was the commissioner during the heyday of:

Michael Jordan and the Bulls dynasty
Magic Johnson and the Lakers dynasty
Larry Bird and the Celtics dynasty
Patrick Ewing and competitive Knicks teams
The Detroit Pistons Bad Boys
The Olympic Dream Team (Now perhaps he had a very strong hand in that which would be a huge win for him.)
and many many other assorted personalities: Barkley, Shaq, and I'm sure I'm leaving out many others accidentally.

League rules, which I'm sure he had a hand in and should be credited with, also allowed for a truly competitive style of play. It isn't the unwatchable flop-a-rama that players like LeBron have benefited from.

He was the commissioner during a Golden Age where a lot of things outside of his control just went right.
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Grizzled
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He pushed for pros being allowed to play Olympic basketball, leading to the Dream Team concept.
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