A debt to David Stern

NBA Commisioner David Stern has announced that he will be stepping down from running league operations on Feb. 1, 2014 or 30 years to the day after taking the job. He leaves the world’s most popular basketball league in great shape, and also at a crossroads.

To his credit, Stern was able to rein in even the team owners and get most of them to think league first. He handled expansions into middle-sized markets well, and ran what has been considered along with NASCAR as the best business model for professional sports. Comparatively, the NBA has had far fewer controversies than other professional sports leagues in the US.

Stern also had a lot going for him. He learned the ropes as part of the league’s legal team. Beyond that, he was among the second-generation New York lawyers of European descent who took on the toughest cases and mastered hostile takeovers decades before they became the business norm. Once considered the dirtiest job in the legal profession, the hostile takeover became the forte of European immigrant (often Jewish) lawyers. So he was well-suited to his job.

In the late 1970’s and early 1980’s, the NBA had major image problems, rumors of drug use, and was not a TV ratings bonanza. But Stern wisely built upon the talents and rivalry of players like Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, and saw the marketing potential of superstars like Michael Jordan. The emergence of cable television and new media became his tool for transforming the league from a tape-delayed afterthought to a billion-dollar product.

The exploration into China, beginning with tentative visits by the Mike Fratello-era Atlanta Hawks and culminating with the first NBA China Games in Shanghai and Beijing in 2004 were another Stern brainchild. The first NBA China Games took two years to plan and involved over 300 people traveling on two chartered jets. It has since become a regular league fare.

Of course, there have also been major challenges. Some players aren’t able to handle success and get into trouble. But very few of those misadventures get into the spotlight of mainstream media, and that is no accident. The league has a powerful legal team built to protect its own.

Also, an abundance of foreign talent has found its way into the NBA, with close to a hundred non-Americans suiting up for league play last season. The game has evolved, but the quality has not suffered. Stern has a crusade against trends and habits that dilute the beauty of the game. His latest pet peeve: flopping.

The NBA has many things going for it, including a strong name that always goes above even the biggest sponsor’s. To its credit, the players’ participation in amateur play in the Olympics helped the league’s credibility, even when their performances were less than perfect. Other countries no longer fear the NBA All-Stars, but that’s also because they have NBA All-Stars of their own. The league has grown so much that it now literally competes with itself in that regard.

Stern has also put his foot down in those thorny collective bargaining agreements. He designed the original one that propelled the NBA to prosperity. But when the players got too demanding, he told them to accept the offer on the table, or the next one would be even smaller. That’s one reason why last season finally got off the ground.

The NBA has many challenges, more globalization among them. They are also looking at putting advertising on jerseys for the first time in 2013-2014. New products are being rolled out each season. The possibility of having more teams based overseas is under study. But one thing is for certain, the league would never have reached this level if not for David Stern.