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Friday, March 29, 2024

Former NBA Commissioner Stern dies at 77

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Former NBA Commissioner Stern dies at 77
Former NBA Commissioner Stern dies at 77

Former National Basketball Association (NBA) Commissioner David Stern, who oversaw the explosive growth in the popularity of the game during his tenure, has died at the age of 77, the league said on Wednesday.

Chris Dignam has more.

(SOUND BITE) (English) FORMER NBA COMMISSIONER DAVID STERN, SAYING: "I like to think that I did an adequate job." David Stern, who led the NBA for 30 years - the league's longest-tenured commissioner - died Wednesday at the age of 77.

A press release from the National Basketball Association said Stern passed away Wednesday afternoon as a result of a brain hemorrhage.

He had been in serious condition after undergoing emergency surgery on Dec.

12 in New York.

Current commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement: “Every member of the NBA family is the beneficiary of David’s vision, generosity and inspiration," adding, "Because of David, the NBA is a truly global brand." (SOUND BITE) (English) FORMER NBA COMMISSIONER DAVID STERN, SAYING: "We're literally just beginning.

International is the most enormous opportunity." Stern's greatest achievement as commissioner is widely considered to be the way he transformed the NBA, which at one time was largely unknown outside the United States, into a globally-televised powerhouse and a multi-billion-dollar industry.

He oversaw the NBA's extraordinary growth with seven new franchises, a more than 30-fold increase in revenue, a dramatic expansion of national TV exposure and the launch of the Women's National Basketball Association.

(SOUND BITE) (English) FORMER NBA COMMISSIONER DAVID STERN, SAYING: "We remain really very, very far apart." Stern also presided over four NBA lockouts, including two that resulted in shortened seasons in 1998 and 2011.

Silver, who replaced Stern on Feb.

1, 2014, said in his statement: "David took over the NBA in 1984 with the league at a crossroads" and "ushered in the modern global NBA," saying it made "him not only one of the greatest sports commissioners of all time but also one of the most influential business leaders of his generation."

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