David Stern
Image by NBA
When David Stern was named commissioner of the NBA in 1984, television ratings were so low that playoff games were shown on tape delay. By 2012, Game 7 of the NBA Finals, which were part of a television deal worth $1 billion, drew more than 26 million viewers in the United States.
During his 30 years as commissioner, overseeing the eras of Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan and LeBron James, Stern, 71, has revolutionized the league. In addition to founding the Women’s National Basketball Association in 1996, he has vastly increased the NBA’s worldwide appeal. In 2012, the finals were broadcast in 215 countries, and the 2013-14 season opened with a record 92 international players, including players from Israel, the Republic of Macedonia and Turkey.
Breadth of support gave the league the resilience to survive labor stoppages. After the most recent lockout, in 2011, television ratings actually jumped when play resumed.
Stern made philanthropy key to the NBA’s outreach. He served on various boards himself, but also embraced the personal causes of his players, supporting Magic Johnson during his battle with HIV.
Stern was born in New York and spent his formative years in Teaneck, N.J. Growing up, he worked in the New York delicatessen his father owned on West 23rd Street and Eighth Avenue, Stern’s Deli. When Stern steps down on February 1, 2014, the former deli counter worker will leave a league that has become a global empire.
A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
