WEBVTT - David Stern, A 76ers Remembrance Podcast 0:00:02.000 --> 0:00:06.200 David Stern was a giant, a person whose impact on 0:00:06.240 --> 0:00:11.720 the NBA was ubiquitous, transformative, far reaching. I think him 0:00:11.720 --> 0:00:14.040 and doctor James Naismith is two of the most important 0:00:14.040 --> 0:00:16.880 people for the game of basketball. Obviously doctor Naysmith because 0:00:16.920 --> 0:00:19.680 he created the game, then David his vision to make 0:00:19.720 --> 0:00:25.160 this game global. On New Year's Day, Stern passed away 0:00:25.320 --> 0:00:28.240 at the age of seventy seven, and since then there 0:00:28.280 --> 0:00:30.920 have been plenty of stories shared across the league about 0:00:30.960 --> 0:00:34.400 the former commissioner's remarkable run, and we've got a few 0:00:34.400 --> 0:00:38.280 of our own. Innovator thought leader for Alliant, a leader 0:00:38.520 --> 0:00:41.519 of leaders, he was a force. He's a father figure, 0:00:41.680 --> 0:00:45.600 this legend in his prime. On this episode of the broadcast, 0:00:45.840 --> 0:00:48.720 members of the seventy six Ers family reflect on David 0:00:48.720 --> 0:01:03.960 Stern's life, career, and legacy. How are you doing out there, 0:01:03.960 --> 0:01:07.200 seventy six Ers pod people. I hope you are great 0:01:07.680 --> 0:01:12.480 and enjoyable holiday and your two twenty is off to 0:01:12.480 --> 0:01:16.240 a nice start. I'm Brian Seltzer, and before we get going, 0:01:16.240 --> 0:01:17.800 I want to take a moment to remind you that 0:01:18.280 --> 0:01:20.640 to subscribe to our podcast, which you hope you do, 0:01:21.319 --> 0:01:24.800 you can go to just about anywhere you get your pods, 0:01:25.240 --> 0:01:29.080 type in seventy six ers podcast or sixers Podcast Network, 0:01:29.360 --> 0:01:31.360 and that will take you to our feed, whether it's 0:01:31.400 --> 0:01:39.440 on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Pandora, Desktop and mobile, Stitcher, SoundCloud, 0:01:39.480 --> 0:01:42.360 tune in. All those places are where you can find 0:01:42.360 --> 0:01:44.959 our pod and then some and we hope again you 0:01:45.080 --> 0:01:52.960 do subscribe. Former NBA Commissioner David Stern died Wednesday at 0:01:52.960 --> 0:01:55.840 the age of seventy seven. He suffered a brain hemorrhage 0:01:55.840 --> 0:01:58.520 several weeks ago and had been in serious condition after 0:01:58.600 --> 0:02:03.640 undergoing emergency. Stern was the NBA's longest tenured commissioner. He 0:02:03.640 --> 0:02:06.800 held the league's top post for thirty years. From all over, 0:02:07.320 --> 0:02:11.320 from an NBA icon to a former president, tributes have 0:02:11.480 --> 0:02:15.320 poured in and the sentiment is unanimous. With the passing 0:02:15.320 --> 0:02:18.720 of David Stern, the sports world and the world in 0:02:18.760 --> 0:02:24.880 general lost to Titan Hi. I'm Kreiman Abdul Jabara, and 0:02:25.120 --> 0:02:28.079 like everyone else, I'm setting by the loss of the 0:02:28.160 --> 0:02:31.600 former commissioner of the NBA, mister David Stern. He was 0:02:31.680 --> 0:02:34.320 a giant as far as the game was concerned. What 0:02:34.480 --> 0:02:37.560 was your reaction to the news of David's turning For 0:02:37.680 --> 0:02:40.079 me personally, it was a dream come true to step 0:02:40.160 --> 0:02:42.679 up on that stage and shaking David's hand. Dan just 0:02:42.800 --> 0:02:45.440 gaining the relationship over the course of my career with him, 0:02:45.680 --> 0:02:49.400 my prayers and condulescens ghost was family. Personally, He's met 0:02:49.480 --> 0:02:51.600 a great deal because when I was younger, I did 0:02:51.639 --> 0:02:54.359 a lot of stupid things, and it's terrifying to go 0:02:54.480 --> 0:02:57.000 in his office. He ran a tight chip when he 0:02:57.080 --> 0:02:59.160 got you in there, but at the meeting he would 0:02:59.200 --> 0:03:01.359 always tell you, hey, you got to learn from this, 0:03:01.520 --> 0:03:04.280 grow and mature. Even when he was given it to me, 0:03:04.520 --> 0:03:06.760 he did it like a father figure. So I got 0:03:06.880 --> 0:03:13.079 number love and respect for David and bless him. In 0:03:13.240 --> 0:03:16.400 learning more about Stern's life for this podcast, it became 0:03:16.480 --> 0:03:19.639 clear that there are many layers to his legacy. He 0:03:19.760 --> 0:03:25.360 could be both compassionate and brutally tough, curious and combative. 0:03:25.919 --> 0:03:29.160 When it came to matters of basketball and beyond. There 0:03:29.200 --> 0:03:32.920 seemed to be no stone he wouldn't or couldn't overturn. 0:03:33.639 --> 0:03:36.440 A native of New York, Stern began his professional career 0:03:36.640 --> 0:03:39.800 as a lawyer, a vocation that ultimately paved his path 0:03:40.080 --> 0:03:42.880 to the National Basketball Association, which he joined on a 0:03:42.920 --> 0:03:48.840 part time basis in the late nineteen sixties. On February first, 0:03:49.240 --> 0:03:53.080 nineteen eighty four, after serving as Larry O'Brien's right hand man, 0:03:53.600 --> 0:03:56.880 Stern was named commissioner on a full time basis. He 0:03:57.000 --> 0:04:00.280 held the post for thirty years until January thirty first, 0:04:00.560 --> 0:04:05.520 twenty fourteen. Under Stern's watch, the NBA emerged from a 0:04:05.720 --> 0:04:10.480 particularly sketchy period to become a force. Individual superstars were 0:04:10.520 --> 0:04:20.720 born as the league tapped into a global marketplace, and 0:04:20.880 --> 0:04:24.200 all of this growth was underscored by an air of 0:04:24.320 --> 0:04:28.880 social responsibility and progressiveness that distinguished the NBA from its peers. 0:04:29.800 --> 0:04:33.799 Think about the tone Sterns said following Magic johnson stunning 0:04:34.200 --> 0:04:39.400 public HIV announcement. When Magic understood that he was HIV positive, 0:04:39.440 --> 0:04:42.599 they asked for the support of his teammates, the Lakers 0:04:42.680 --> 0:04:45.960 in the league. Everybody said, this is a very courageous, 0:04:46.600 --> 0:04:50.960 heroic person on a heroic act, and way all pledge 0:04:51.040 --> 0:04:55.080 now support and the creation of the w NBA. Kennice 0:04:55.120 --> 0:04:57.479 Parker a star in that league. What does that meant 0:04:57.520 --> 0:05:00.600 to your life? It means everything. I went from shooting 0:05:00.680 --> 0:05:03.040 in the driveway trying to be like Michael Jordan to 0:05:03.160 --> 0:05:06.680 trying to be like Cynthia Cooper and Tina Thompson. We 0:05:06.760 --> 0:05:09.120 are so thankful for what he's done, you know, for 0:05:09.240 --> 0:05:14.320 the w BA. Yes, the boom of basketball towards the 0:05:14.440 --> 0:05:17.760 end of the twentieth century was largely David Stern's doing. 0:05:18.839 --> 0:05:21.760 He of course, had help along the way, and trusted 0:05:21.839 --> 0:05:26.000 deputy commissioners, to staffers at the league office, to owners 0:05:26.360 --> 0:05:30.320 and the players themselves. Over the past couple of days, 0:05:30.480 --> 0:05:32.920 I spent time talking to several members of the seventy 0:05:32.960 --> 0:05:36.760 six ers family about their experiences with Stern, his influence 0:05:36.839 --> 0:05:39.320 on them, and the impact he had not just on 0:05:39.440 --> 0:05:44.160 hoops but the world. Why don't we start with a 0:05:44.320 --> 0:05:47.360 kid fresh out of college and a couple months on 0:05:47.440 --> 0:05:50.679 the job in the Basketball Operations department of the NBA 0:05:51.040 --> 0:05:54.440 League Office. At the time, basketball ops at the League 0:05:54.480 --> 0:05:57.240 office was a smaller outfit and down the hall from 0:05:57.440 --> 0:06:02.080 the commissioner. Some of the interactions were by design. Others, 0:06:03.839 --> 0:06:07.760 we're impromptu. This is Nid Collen, currently assistant general manager 0:06:07.800 --> 0:06:10.600 for the seventy six ers. I found out quickly that 0:06:11.200 --> 0:06:14.040 it was important to be prepared for any potential interaction 0:06:14.080 --> 0:06:17.480 with David prior to joining the organization in twenty sixteen. 0:06:17.960 --> 0:06:20.719 He had been at the NBA for twelve years. One time, 0:06:22.480 --> 0:06:26.000 you know, as a Friday afternoon, and you know, my 0:06:26.360 --> 0:06:30.160 mind is already focused on the weekends, and you know, 0:06:30.400 --> 0:06:32.520 twenty two years old, whatever it was, and I hop 0:06:32.600 --> 0:06:36.080 on the elevator, I here hold it. David jumps on 0:06:36.279 --> 0:06:40.159 and then just proceeds to grill me on a variety 0:06:40.200 --> 0:06:44.920 of different things that I didn't perform very well that day. 0:06:45.000 --> 0:06:48.600 And from that moment forward, any time I would walk 0:06:48.680 --> 0:06:52.120 out to the elevator, I knew exactly what I'd be 0:06:52.200 --> 0:06:54.600 prepared to talk about. I was gonna say, what did 0:06:54.640 --> 0:07:01.560 your weekend end up? Being? Like a lot of wish 0:07:01.600 --> 0:07:06.120 I had done something differently, but it clearly whatever that is. 0:07:06.160 --> 0:07:11.200 Sixteen years later, that elevator ride stuck with me when 0:07:11.240 --> 0:07:13.920 it comes to Stern and how he operated not just 0:07:14.080 --> 0:07:17.600 his business but his life. Few things seemed to be 0:07:17.720 --> 0:07:23.520 left to chance. He was thorough tactical, omnipresent. As someone 0:07:23.600 --> 0:07:28.960 told me, he knew everything. These elevator encounters, or perhaps 0:07:29.120 --> 0:07:33.640 better put, interrogations like the one Cohen recalled, weren't limited 0:07:33.760 --> 0:07:37.640 to Cohen alone. In one obituary about Stern, Written by 0:07:37.920 --> 0:07:43.400 ESPN's Adrian Rojanovski. Another elevator tale was told. In this instance, 0:07:43.680 --> 0:07:47.480 during the late nineteen nineties, Stern just so happened to 0:07:47.600 --> 0:07:51.480 share a ride with a staffer whose responsibility was overseeing 0:07:51.520 --> 0:07:55.360 the league's licensing efforts. Immediately upon getting into the elevator, 0:07:55.440 --> 0:07:58.920 Stern started peppering this person about the w NBA ball 0:07:58.960 --> 0:08:01.680 that was being sold in in good stores. He wanted 0:08:01.720 --> 0:08:06.120 them removed. Nick Cohen, isn't so certain that these quote 0:08:06.200 --> 0:08:10.360 unquote random runnings were really all that random. Definitely was 0:08:10.480 --> 0:08:13.800 not an accident. At times, I think, um, you know, 0:08:14.080 --> 0:08:19.720 we all have memorable interactions like that. I think that he, uh, 0:08:20.760 --> 0:08:24.880 he took a lot of pride in having, you know, 0:08:25.240 --> 0:08:28.320 the people who worked with them motivated to do their best. 0:08:29.280 --> 0:08:33.480 You needed to be prepared, and he expected that, and 0:08:35.400 --> 0:08:40.160 his memory was incomparable. He'd ask a question of something 0:08:40.320 --> 0:08:43.720 and you would offer an answer, and, um, it may 0:08:43.760 --> 0:08:47.480 be an opinion, but um, a couple months later, you're 0:08:47.840 --> 0:08:49.920 you're saying, Okay, it didn't quite turn out like I 0:08:50.040 --> 0:08:53.800 thought it would. Um, well, he's got a lot going on. 0:08:54.000 --> 0:08:57.680 There's there's no way he's thinking about that. But sure, enough, 0:08:57.880 --> 0:09:02.040 it was in his for his recall, everything was bound 0:09:02.120 --> 0:09:04.240 in the history books, and you were you were kind 0:09:04.280 --> 0:09:07.719 of on record with him for that. Chris Heck is 0:09:07.840 --> 0:09:10.880 team president of the seventy six ers. One of his 0:09:10.960 --> 0:09:13.840 previous stops in his career was at the NBA, where 0:09:14.120 --> 0:09:17.960 he was Senior vice president of Marketing Partnerships. In one breath, 0:09:18.280 --> 0:09:21.599 Heck describe Stern like this. They say that he was 0:09:21.679 --> 0:09:25.760 the greatest commissioner ever. I almost think that's an understatement. 0:09:26.679 --> 0:09:29.400 Is this any sport you're saying, Yeah, Yeah, for sure. 0:09:29.520 --> 0:09:31.720 I worked for him for seven years in New York. 0:09:32.960 --> 0:09:36.360 I traveled the world with him. Not only was he 0:09:36.679 --> 0:09:41.160 a leader of leaders, but he was arguably the most 0:09:41.200 --> 0:09:45.959 brilliant person I've ever been around. And I mean that 0:09:46.120 --> 0:09:50.400 in every sense, from book smarts to street smarts, to 0:09:50.679 --> 0:09:55.320 toughness to vision. Then in the next breath, Heck has 0:09:55.679 --> 0:09:58.480 this sort of thing to say about his former boss. Listen, 0:09:58.600 --> 0:10:03.000 the guy was not a waf flower. I mean he's 0:10:03.200 --> 0:10:08.640 He's was an unbelievably intimidating figure because of the power 0:10:08.760 --> 0:10:15.440 he wielded, and he had world leaders thinking of him 0:10:15.640 --> 0:10:20.599 as the guy right. It was unreal to be in 0:10:20.760 --> 0:10:26.120 his presence in that sense, and being part of his entourage, 0:10:26.160 --> 0:10:31.719 so to speak. Presence. Presence is a noteworthy word in 0:10:31.800 --> 0:10:36.000 the context of Stern. What is presence anyway? How would 0:10:36.040 --> 0:10:42.000 you define it? Presence certainly isn't tangible, and it can 0:10:42.040 --> 0:10:45.840 be measured in a variety of different ways. If you've 0:10:45.920 --> 0:10:48.480 ever seen footage or photos of Stern, or maybe even 0:10:48.520 --> 0:10:51.040 spotted him at a game in the past, you know 0:10:51.160 --> 0:10:55.880 his height belies his prominence and influence. Google David Stern 0:10:56.200 --> 0:11:00.280 and height and you'll immediately be sent to his Wikipedia bio, 0:11:00.360 --> 0:11:03.960 which lists him as five foot nine. He had Cohen 0:11:04.040 --> 0:11:07.360 worked with Stern for over a decade. Size had no 0:11:07.559 --> 0:11:11.079 bearing whatsoever on Stern's presence. You know, I've seen some 0:11:11.280 --> 0:11:16.120 articles that um reference, you know, a guy five foot nine. 0:11:16.160 --> 0:11:18.760 There was no ways five nine. That was pretty pretty 0:11:18.800 --> 0:11:23.719 generous with David's height. But whatever room he was in, 0:11:24.760 --> 0:11:28.840 the attention focused on him. It could be him speaking 0:11:28.880 --> 0:11:31.439 in front of a you know, a group of all stars, 0:11:31.520 --> 0:11:35.200 it could be the head coaches, whatever it was, everyone 0:11:35.520 --> 0:11:39.800 kind of everyone's attention went to him, and kind of, 0:11:40.120 --> 0:11:42.400 you know, everyone knew who was in charge. I will 0:11:42.440 --> 0:11:44.439 tell you, you know, he was a you know Stern 0:11:44.600 --> 0:11:47.480 is not just a name, it was also his PERSONA. 0:11:47.920 --> 0:11:50.880 Scott O'Neill has been in the NBA for over twenty years, 0:11:51.280 --> 0:11:54.600 both on the team side and the league side. These days, 0:11:54.840 --> 0:11:58.720 he's the chief executive officer of harn Splitzer Sports and Entertainment, 0:11:58.920 --> 0:12:02.559 the parent company of the seventy sixers. Before the Sixers, 0:12:03.040 --> 0:12:06.640 Scott ran Madison Square Garden Sports. Before that, he was 0:12:06.679 --> 0:12:09.959 Senior vice President of Team Marketing and Business Operations for 0:12:10.080 --> 0:12:14.360 the NBA. All these years later, the four digit extension 0:12:14.679 --> 0:12:18.000 from Starns line at the league office is still ingrained 0:12:18.160 --> 0:12:21.960 in O'Neill's mind, and he's not alone when that number 0:12:22.040 --> 0:12:25.559 eighty three flash on your phone, it was not a 0:12:25.679 --> 0:12:28.000 warm and fuzzy feeling. You know he was coming with heat. 0:12:28.240 --> 0:12:32.680 It would not be surprising to see that extension eighty 0:12:32.760 --> 0:12:35.800 three hundred pop up and David's calling to check in 0:12:36.000 --> 0:12:38.559 on whatever it might be and need Cohen. It was 0:12:38.800 --> 0:12:42.000 critical that you were prepared and ready with the answers 0:12:42.040 --> 0:12:45.679 at your fingertips there, and he had a lot to 0:12:46.160 --> 0:12:49.040 cover and be responsible for, and he expected that people 0:12:49.080 --> 0:12:52.520 would be ready and that his time would be well spent. 0:12:52.800 --> 0:12:54.880 Chris Heck, the tricky part is that he could call 0:12:54.960 --> 0:12:57.520 you and you just be like his assistant would call 0:12:57.679 --> 0:13:00.360 and say, be up there in thirty seconds. And then 0:13:00.400 --> 0:13:05.320 you feel, what, Oh, it's it's Principle's office times ten, 0:13:05.600 --> 0:13:08.280 you know, and you're just scared to death. But also 0:13:09.040 --> 0:13:11.480 know that he's calling you up there for a reason. 0:13:11.679 --> 0:13:15.160 He's not doing it for an exercise. He's doing it 0:13:15.280 --> 0:13:20.000 for efficiency and for function, and and that was a 0:13:20.080 --> 0:13:24.319 great honor to give him information and know that you 0:13:24.440 --> 0:13:27.360 actually knew what you were talking about. O'Neill used words 0:13:27.440 --> 0:13:32.480 like treacherous, intense, and high pressure to describe some of 0:13:32.520 --> 0:13:36.480 the calls he got from Stern back then. Now he 0:13:36.600 --> 0:13:40.360 reflects on Extension eighty three hundred fondly, he wanted and 0:13:40.960 --> 0:13:44.640 deserved and demanded excellence. I mean he used to talk 0:13:44.679 --> 0:13:46.520 about every meeting I was in with him, he used 0:13:46.559 --> 0:13:50.199 to talk about the relentless pursuit of perfection over and 0:13:50.440 --> 0:13:54.839 over and over again. Stern totally understood that what he 0:13:54.920 --> 0:13:59.280 was striving for wasn't actually attainable. That didn't curb his 0:13:59.320 --> 0:14:03.520 ambition one bit. He had a common refrain that were 0:14:03.679 --> 0:14:06.920 constantly on the road to perfection, knowing that we're never 0:14:06.960 --> 0:14:10.040 going to get there, but never stop trying to get there, 0:14:10.320 --> 0:14:15.679 and he relished kind of those details in an attempt 0:14:15.720 --> 0:14:19.680 to achieve perfection. I remember actually sitting with David and 0:14:20.160 --> 0:14:22.000 I think it was Detroit at one time. Yeah, it 0:14:22.080 --> 0:14:25.640 was a Pistons game in Detroit against Cleveland, and I 0:14:25.720 --> 0:14:28.560 believe it was the Eastern Conference finals when Lebron was 0:14:29.080 --> 0:14:32.120 first or second year player, and I was sitting next 0:14:32.160 --> 0:14:34.800 to him and he said, how much does that sign 0:14:34.880 --> 0:14:39.440 cost over there? And I'm like, uh, you know, stumbled 0:14:39.440 --> 0:14:42.840 a little bit, and then he just kept going. He 0:14:43.720 --> 0:14:49.200 had this unique method of making you prepare, and if 0:14:49.240 --> 0:14:51.720 you didn't prepare, you were You were not there for long. 0:14:52.360 --> 0:14:54.320 You were not there for long. I take it as 0:14:54.680 --> 0:14:57.400 a true badge of honor of being there for seven years. 0:14:57.760 --> 0:15:01.120 Nothing so about him. He was He was sarcastic, he 0:15:01.280 --> 0:15:05.360 was right, he was New York through and through. Of 0:15:05.480 --> 0:15:08.920 all Stern's qualities, there was one that stood out above 0:15:08.960 --> 0:15:12.080 the rest. His intellect was second to none. I saw 0:15:12.560 --> 0:15:14.720 a man who would wake up every day thinking he 0:15:14.800 --> 0:15:19.960 didn't know anything. This deep knowledge of everyone's business was 0:15:20.120 --> 0:15:24.200 beyond belief. His depth and breadth of knowledge inside the 0:15:24.360 --> 0:15:27.760 NBA in sport, but outside current events, a lot of 0:15:27.840 --> 0:15:30.920 things that he was passionate about outside of basketball, he 0:15:31.600 --> 0:15:35.040 immersed himself in it. He was a voracious reader and 0:15:35.560 --> 0:15:40.080 would constantly quiz employees on what they were or weren't 0:15:40.280 --> 0:15:42.360 up to speed on. He was into a lot of 0:15:42.480 --> 0:15:46.440 things like politics and had his opinions, and when he 0:15:46.480 --> 0:15:48.320 would find out that you may be on the other 0:15:48.400 --> 0:15:51.000 side of the aisle, he would go right after you, 0:15:51.200 --> 0:15:55.880 so you would have to be prepared, which I secretly 0:15:56.000 --> 0:16:04.240 enjoyed those confrontations, both with business as well as, you know, 0:16:04.520 --> 0:16:07.040 personal beliefs. He would read and study, and he was 0:16:07.160 --> 0:16:11.720 interested in politics and life sciences and business just as 0:16:11.800 --> 0:16:15.000 much as he was in sports. He read every newspaper, 0:16:16.040 --> 0:16:19.360 He read all the trades from all these different aspects 0:16:19.400 --> 0:16:22.000 of life and business and geopolitics, and I think he 0:16:22.160 --> 0:16:26.360 understood that sports has that special place in the cross 0:16:26.400 --> 0:16:29.520 section of it all, and that we provide that little 0:16:29.600 --> 0:16:33.640 slice of escapism that's so necessary in building communities and 0:16:33.920 --> 0:16:39.080 changing lives. He was NonStop and his mind was continuously 0:16:39.240 --> 0:16:43.760 running on ways that he could have an impact. Stern's 0:16:43.760 --> 0:16:47.480 influence on both the NBA and the international sporting community 0:16:48.040 --> 0:16:50.800 is the kind of thing you measure in massive milestones, 0:16:51.200 --> 0:16:55.600 and how he managed watershed moments. Through it all, Stern 0:16:55.720 --> 0:16:59.040 relied on a consistent stable of external partners to help 0:16:59.120 --> 0:17:02.000 him execute his fish. There were the teams that made 0:17:02.040 --> 0:17:05.639 up the league and the businesses that supported it, But 0:17:05.800 --> 0:17:08.280 the success of any sports league, to a certain extent, 0:17:08.800 --> 0:17:11.639 hinges on the relationship it has with the people responsible 0:17:11.720 --> 0:17:17.040 for actually providing and creating the product. In this case, yeah, 0:17:17.720 --> 0:17:22.520 that would be the players. More of this David Stern 0:17:22.760 --> 0:17:26.800 Rememberance podcast in just a moment. But here's the thing. 0:17:27.880 --> 0:17:30.639 The regular season is about to pick up. We are 0:17:30.920 --> 0:17:33.320 zooming towards the All Star Game break. There are some 0:17:33.520 --> 0:17:37.159 marquee matchups on the home schedule ahead. The problem is 0:17:37.320 --> 0:17:40.560 it is tough to get in to the center. The 0:17:40.680 --> 0:17:44.399 good news is this. You can get priority access for 0:17:44.560 --> 0:17:48.359 two twenty twenty one season tickets by signing up today 0:17:48.520 --> 0:17:51.760 for Club seventy six, the official season ticket waiting list 0:17:51.840 --> 0:17:55.600 of the Philadelphia seventy six Ers. Other benefits include exclusive 0:17:55.640 --> 0:17:58.920 seventy Sixers gear and access to special ticket offers and 0:17:59.000 --> 0:18:02.959 events all year long. For more information, go to Sixers 0:18:03.000 --> 0:18:06.280 dot com slash join Club seven six. You can email 0:18:06.359 --> 0:18:09.480 Club seven six at seventy six ers dot com or 0:18:09.640 --> 0:18:13.400 called two on five three three nine seven six seventy six. 0:18:15.440 --> 0:18:17.800 And while we are in the throws of winner right 0:18:17.880 --> 0:18:22.480 now it has recently got particularly cold, it is never 0:18:22.720 --> 0:18:25.960 too early to start making plans for the summer, especially 0:18:26.400 --> 0:18:30.359 for your kids. Yes, seventy six Ers Camps, presented by 0:18:30.480 --> 0:18:34.679 Rothmann Orthopedics empowered by EESF is now open for registration 0:18:34.760 --> 0:18:38.240 today and overnight camps are available throughout Pennsylvania, New Jersey, 0:18:38.240 --> 0:18:41.360 and Delaware for boys and girls ages five to seventeen. 0:18:41.960 --> 0:18:44.879 For more information, visit seventy six Erscamps dot com or 0:18:45.280 --> 0:18:48.960 call six zero six six eight seven six seven six. 0:18:52.960 --> 0:18:58.880 About David Stern and the NBA players, sometimes circumstances called 0:18:58.920 --> 0:19:02.040 for Stern to stay and with the players, other times 0:19:02.359 --> 0:19:06.080 he was forced to line up opposite them, either way 0:19:06.359 --> 0:19:09.280 looking out for the best interests of the NBA and 0:19:09.440 --> 0:19:12.640 protecting the league. We're always at the root of his decisions. 0:19:12.880 --> 0:19:16.359 They see the narrative of business person tough, but then 0:19:16.359 --> 0:19:18.600 you also have the side where he related to the players. 0:19:18.680 --> 0:19:21.160 He related to us. Elton Brand played in the NBA 0:19:21.280 --> 0:19:24.720 for parts of seventeen seasons. David Stern was the league's 0:19:24.720 --> 0:19:27.800 commissioner for one thousand and two of Brand's one thousand 0:19:27.800 --> 0:19:32.000 and ninety six career games. Very personable, charismatic person and 0:19:32.280 --> 0:19:34.960 it was genuine like this is business, this is who 0:19:34.960 --> 0:19:37.239 I am. You know, we can talk and we can 0:19:37.520 --> 0:19:39.239 be friends, but if we have a deal, we need 0:19:39.320 --> 0:19:41.239 to get the best deal from both sides and make 0:19:41.280 --> 0:19:43.119 sure that we can grow this business and grow this 0:19:43.280 --> 0:19:46.720 pie of the NBA, which he did for the players. Brand, 0:19:46.760 --> 0:19:49.080 of course, is in the midst of his second season 0:19:49.480 --> 0:19:52.800 as the seventy six ers general manager. Over the course 0:19:52.840 --> 0:19:55.399 of his All Star career and as he continues to 0:19:55.440 --> 0:19:58.400 do now in his role as an executive, Brand took 0:19:58.400 --> 0:20:01.240 advantage of opportunities to try abroad in an effort to 0:20:01.320 --> 0:20:04.320 grow the game. That was one of Stern's top initiatives 0:20:04.560 --> 0:20:09.240 and biggest accomplishments. Basketball, NBA sports breaks a lot of 0:20:09.280 --> 0:20:11.959 barries around the world. So when we went to Asia 0:20:12.640 --> 0:20:14.680 with the NBA, I went to Russia with the NBA, 0:20:14.800 --> 0:20:18.439 went to Mexico with the NBA and to see the fans, 0:20:19.200 --> 0:20:21.560 just to see the smiles in their faces they knew 0:20:21.600 --> 0:20:24.639 the players. You know, that's there's like Elan Brand twenty 0:20:24.680 --> 0:20:27.560 and ten. You know, it's just like wow, like, how 0:20:27.600 --> 0:20:28.840 do you know who I am? How do you know 0:20:28.880 --> 0:20:31.200 about the NBA? How do you follow this like they did? 0:20:32.200 --> 0:20:34.399 And just growing the business of it and also relating 0:20:34.440 --> 0:20:37.720 to different cultures. You can go to my laptop. I'm 0:20:37.760 --> 0:20:41.720 gonna pull up some archive photos. I think this was 0:20:41.960 --> 0:20:45.720 from two thousand and six from a European tour that 0:20:45.800 --> 0:20:47.720 you were part of. I see Tim Duncan in there, 0:20:47.840 --> 0:20:53.040 Andre Gadalashawan, Maryon, Tony Parker, Steve Nash, David Stern When 0:20:53.200 --> 0:20:56.520 he would accompany you guys on trips like this. How 0:20:56.600 --> 0:20:59.720 close was the interactions with players? Were there certain things 0:20:59.760 --> 0:21:01.840 that he spoke to about as far as the league's 0:21:01.840 --> 0:21:05.960 responsibility to promoting the game overseas and abroad. Absolutely, absolutely 0:21:06.040 --> 0:21:07.720 to just be him and us. It wouldn't be a 0:21:07.760 --> 0:21:10.720 lot of you know, other staff or employees. He just 0:21:10.840 --> 0:21:13.280 want to relate to us, you know, as a group 0:21:13.400 --> 0:21:16.440 and as a leader, and get our thoughts and what 0:21:16.640 --> 0:21:19.160 we didn't like, what we felt we can do better, 0:21:19.280 --> 0:21:22.439 or what the league could do better, and really caring 0:21:22.720 --> 0:21:24.800 as what we felt. We felt that he really cared 0:21:24.800 --> 0:21:27.560 about us and he wanted to care about the business 0:21:27.600 --> 0:21:30.520 but he cared about us as humans. The most prominent 0:21:30.880 --> 0:21:35.040 and powerful example of Stearn's capacity to empathize with players 0:21:35.440 --> 0:21:39.720 to rally around them was arguably his full fledged, proactive 0:21:39.760 --> 0:21:43.000 support of Magic Johnson in the aftermath of the Hall 0:21:43.040 --> 0:21:47.320 of Famers Shocking HIV press conference. It was nineteen ninety one, 0:21:47.520 --> 0:21:52.119 and at that time, fear and confusion surrounding HIV AIDS 0:21:52.520 --> 0:21:55.960 was at its peak once again, Ned Cohen, if you 0:21:56.000 --> 0:22:00.199 asked David what his major achievements were during his time, um, 0:22:00.840 --> 0:22:04.240 you know, he'll cite things like the changing in the 0:22:04.280 --> 0:22:11.560 worldview regarding HIV and AIDS after Magic Johnson, Uh, you 0:22:11.640 --> 0:22:17.760 know in ninety one, and uh, you know, elements that 0:22:17.920 --> 0:22:24.480 relate to societal progress. He took great pride in the 0:22:24.640 --> 0:22:31.160 platform and the support for NBA players to have impacts 0:22:31.480 --> 0:22:34.760 in their communities and with their voices, and so I 0:22:34.840 --> 0:22:38.480 think that's another area that he deserves a tremendous amount 0:22:38.480 --> 0:22:41.840 of credit for. Elton Brand was twelve years old when 0:22:41.920 --> 0:22:45.600 Magic made his announcement. He remembers what the national dialogue 0:22:45.680 --> 0:22:48.800 surrounding HIV AIDS was like in the early nineteen nineties. 0:22:49.440 --> 0:22:52.800 He was young. Then. Time has given Brand an even 0:22:52.880 --> 0:22:56.400 greater appreciation for the steadfast support the league through behind 0:22:56.480 --> 0:22:59.560 Johnson and his desire to use his diagnosis as a 0:22:59.560 --> 0:23:04.080 platform to promote public awareness. It's great symbolism, it's great support, 0:23:04.280 --> 0:23:07.320 and it was needed, you know, just from an educational standpoint. 0:23:07.400 --> 0:23:10.639 I was a kid. I'm thinking you can get HIV 0:23:10.920 --> 0:23:13.959 from someone shaking your hand from sweat, and I'm just like, oh, 0:23:14.040 --> 0:23:16.840 they're gonna play against them. Other players may have came 0:23:16.840 --> 0:23:19.200 out and says some things at the time, and it's 0:23:19.280 --> 0:23:23.400 like for him to stand up, you know, in hindsight 0:23:24.080 --> 0:23:28.000 and kind of create create a barrier from that stigma 0:23:28.600 --> 0:23:30.879 and this is not true. You can play, you can 0:23:31.359 --> 0:23:33.679 you know, have a life, you can live with HIV, 0:23:34.960 --> 0:23:37.040 and we're going to support one of ours that's dealing 0:23:37.080 --> 0:23:39.919 with this issue. It was a great statement. Another one 0:23:39.960 --> 0:23:43.879 of Stearn's great success stories working in partnership with the players, 0:23:44.400 --> 0:23:46.560 came less than a year later, in the summer of 0:23:46.760 --> 0:23:50.400 nineteen ninety two. I think there's a pretty decent chance 0:23:50.480 --> 0:23:53.040 that a couple of you out there probably weren't even 0:23:53.080 --> 0:23:56.000 a thought on the great great hour of life at 0:23:56.080 --> 0:23:59.840 that point in the time. Me I was just on 0:23:59.880 --> 0:24:03.360 the cost of entering the prime of my sports craving youth. 0:24:04.160 --> 0:24:06.680 Elk Brand was too following a Dream Team. As I said, 0:24:08.160 --> 0:24:11.960 is this amazing example of you know, the greatness of 0:24:12.119 --> 0:24:15.520 the NBA players, the visibility of the NBA players. The 0:24:15.600 --> 0:24:19.879 Dream Team was incredible. I was captivated by during the 0:24:19.920 --> 0:24:24.480 Olympics in Barcelona, the best American basketball players all in 0:24:24.560 --> 0:24:30.280 a single squad, absolutely destroying the competition. Charles Barkley led 0:24:30.320 --> 0:24:33.520 the team scoring, and the United States scored over one 0:24:33.600 --> 0:24:36.840 hundred points in each of its six games, winning them 0:24:36.840 --> 0:24:40.639 all by no fewer than thirty eight points. That's how 0:24:40.720 --> 0:24:44.240 good this group was. And David Stern was largely credited 0:24:44.280 --> 0:24:47.760 and rightfully credited for convincing owners to let their players 0:24:47.840 --> 0:24:52.919 compete on a larger, more significant scale than the Americans 0:24:53.160 --> 0:24:56.480 winning the gold medal that year. Was that the Dream 0:24:56.520 --> 0:25:01.560 Team's run only made basketball that much more popular and accessible, 0:25:02.119 --> 0:25:05.960 both at home and around the world. They were rock stars, 0:25:06.200 --> 0:25:09.320 you know, everywhere they went there was crowds and Michael 0:25:09.400 --> 0:25:12.639 Jordan and you know, Scottie Pippen and Barkley and the 0:25:12.800 --> 0:25:15.680 Magic Bird, like they're just rock stars around the world. 0:25:15.760 --> 0:25:18.040 That was my first time, you know, really understanding that 0:25:18.320 --> 0:25:21.479 it was bigger than the US. The NBA was an 0:25:21.560 --> 0:25:25.040 actual global game, and Davids third played a pivotal part 0:25:25.119 --> 0:25:30.240 in allowing NBA players to represent their countries in the Olympics. 0:25:30.359 --> 0:25:33.920