Former NBA Commissioner Suffers Brain Hemorrhage, Rushed Into Emergency Surgery

Former NBA Commissioner David Stern suffered a brain hemorrhage on Thursday and the situation required emergency surgery in New York. The information was confirmed by the league.

The 77-year-old Stern was eating at the Brasserie 8.5 Restaurant in Manhattan, and suddenly collapsed as confirmed by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

The former commissioner spent nearly five decades in the NBA and worked as the commissioner of the NBA for three decades before retiring in 2014. Current NBA commissioner Adam Silver was Stern’s protege, and he was deputy commissioner from 2006 until 2014 when he took the position.

His impact on the development of the NBA has an excellent chronicle. During his tenure in the league, the NBA added seven new franchises. The Charlotte Hornets, Miami Heat, Minnesota Timberwolves, Orlando Magic, Toronto Raptors, and the Vancouver Grizzlies became part of the league. One team was brought back to Charlotte (the Bobcats) when the Hornets headed for New Orleans. 

The NBA’s global explosion will always be viewed as Stern’s most brilliant legacy. Stern scheduled games outside of the United States and ushered professional players back into the Olympics with the 1992 Dream Team. He had bigger responsibility than anyone for turning the league into the worldwide power and money machine it is these days. 

Stern became the NBA’s commissioner in February of 1984, the salary cap was lower than $4 million. In 2014 when took a step back, the cap had jumped to more than $63 million. He made a television of an unprecedented $24 billion contract prior to the 2016-17 season. The salary cap has jumped to $109 million. 

“The league’s annual revenue from its television contract increased 40 times, the average player salary jumped from $250,000 a year in 1984 to more than $5 million, and the value of franchises skyrocketed.”

In 1984, Stern inherited a league plagued with numerous problems. Several teams were borderline failing. But Stern had Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, and he used the chance to market the NBA around them and the Lakers-Celtics rivalry. Michael Jordan was young back then, and he was drafted just a few months after Stern became a commissioner.