David Stern passes away

[MMC]

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[Taro Tsujimoto]

R.I.P.

 

[Unholy Diver]

He grew the game a tremendous amount, the NBA wouldn't be what they are today without him

 

[SJSharksfan39]

That's not a good way to get the year going. He was an amazing commissioner, and I always enjoyed his intros at the NBA Draft.

RIP Commissioner.

 

[EpochLink]

Rest In Peace sir, great commissioner.
Thank you for all the memories.

 

[Voight]

Ruled with an iron fist but completely transformed the league.

The marketing of MJ is what really propelled the NBA (and the game of basketball in general) in to a global league/presence.

Silver pales in comparison to him (IMO one of Silvers problems is he tries to be buddies with the players instead of their boss the way Stern was)

 

[Terry Yake]

the NBA wouldn't be what it is today if it wasn't for him

 

[Blackhawkswincup]

Stern deserves major credit for rise of NBA alongside MJ

Both were what NBA needed at time to transform league into worldwide force

Only blemish on Stern resume to me is how he handled Seattle situation

 

[John Price]

RIP Mr. Stern

 

[Hockeyholic]

One of the best sports commissioner ever.

 

[BostonBob]

He grew the game a tremendous amount, the NBA wouldn't be what they are today without him

the NBA wouldn't be what it is today if it wasn't for him

Stern, Magic and Bird saved the league during some dark days. Remember when CBS used to show the Finals on tape delay !!!!

 

[Fantomas]

What's so good about the NBA? The rich people are getting richer, while the tickets are barely affordable.

 

[Club]

Damn.. sad start to the new year. RIP

 

[Blackhawkswincup]

Best sports commissioner ever. And by a mile too. RIP.

False

 

[Hockeyholic]

False

Who is? And why?

 

[CupofOil]

Stern deserves major credit for rise of NBA alongside MJ

Both were what NBA needed at time to transform league into worldwide force

Only blemish on Stern resume to me is how he handled Seattle situation

I would say that Bird and Magic saved the NBA then Jordan brought it to another stratosphere.
Stern deserves full credit for his ability to market the product and growing the game internationally which really fueled the growth of the league. Best commissioner in sports in the modern era.

 

[Voight]

Who is? And why?

Kenesaw Mountain Landis & Pete Rozelle are two options.

 

[Hockeyholic]

Kenesaw Mountain Landis & Pete Rozelle are two options.

Pete Rozelle I give you. The merger. Lifting blackòuts in 73. Much more. But your going to suggest a guy whose been dead for nearly 80 years? Lol..

 

[Voight]

Pete Rozelle I give you. The merger. Lifting blackòuts in 73. Much more. But your going to suggest a guy whose been dead for nearly 80 years? Lol..

Just because hes been dead a long time does not diminish what he did while commissioner.

 

[Hasbro]

Just because hes been dead a long time does not diminish what he did while commissioner.

Fighting integration alone makes him ineligible.

 

[Tecumseh]

Just because hes been dead a long time does not diminish what he did while commissioner.

How he handled the Black Sox scandal was literally the only good thing he did as commissioner. And I give more credit to the emergence of Babe Ruth as what saved baseball in the years following the scandal than what Landis did. If you want to point out a great baseball commissioner, the top candidates would be Happy Chandler and Bowie Kuhn.

 

[BKIslandersFan]

Fighting integration alone makes him ineligible.

Not only was it morally reprehensible, it HARMED THE GAME OF BASEBALL.

 

[Power Man]

the NBA wouldn't be what it is today if it wasn't for him

Partially

Let's not forget he came at the right time

If it wasn't for Magic and Bird on a national level, and the Dream Team (not MJ) on the global level he would have done jack and shit

And don't get me started on the long list of games fixing that happened during his tenure

BUT I do appreciate the fact that he was against sponsors/ads on jerseys and I liked his trolling during the NBA draft - at least he had a personality unlike Silver

 

[Hasbro]

Not only was it morally reprehensible, it HARMED THE GAME OF BASEBALL.

He was a horrible jurist too. A union buster, violated rights of free assembly and free speech and in particular fought opposition to WWI.

 

[Vamos Rafa]

What's so good about the NBA? The rich people are getting richer, while the tickets are barely affordable.

You can say the same about the NHL tickets. Yet the NHL isn't nearly as rich as the NBA.