Speaker 1: David Stern was a giant, a person whose impact on
Speaker 1: the NBA was ubiquitous, transformative, far reaching. I think him
Speaker 1: and doctor James Naismith is two of the most important
Speaker 1: people for the game of basketball. Obviously doctor Naysmith because
Speaker 1: he created the game, then David his vision to make
Speaker 1: this game global. On New Year's Day, Stern passed away
Speaker 1: at the age of seventy seven, and since then there
Speaker 1: have been plenty of stories shared across the league about
Speaker 1: the former commissioner's remarkable run, and we've got a few
Speaker 1: of our own. Innovator thought leader for Alliant, a leader
Speaker 1: of leaders, he was a force. He's a father figure,
Speaker 1: this legend in his prime. On this episode of the broadcast,
Speaker 1: members of the seventy six Ers family reflect on David
Speaker 1: Stern's life, career, and legacy. How are you doing out there,
Speaker 1: seventy six Ers pod people. I hope you are great
Speaker 1: and enjoyable holiday and your two twenty is off to
Speaker 1: a nice start. I'm Brian Seltzer, and before we get going,
Speaker 1: I want to take a moment to remind you that
Speaker 1: to subscribe to our podcast, which you hope you do,
Speaker 1: you can go to just about anywhere you get your pods,
Speaker 1: type in seventy six ers podcast or sixers Podcast Network,
Speaker 1: and that will take you to our feed, whether it's
Speaker 1: on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Pandora, Desktop and mobile, Stitcher, SoundCloud,
Speaker 1: tune in. All those places are where you can find
Speaker 1: our pod and then some and we hope again you
Speaker 1: do subscribe. Former NBA Commissioner David Stern died Wednesday at
Speaker 1: the age of seventy seven. He suffered a brain hemorrhage
Speaker 1: several weeks ago and had been in serious condition after
Speaker 1: undergoing emergency. Stern was the NBA's longest tenured commissioner. He
Speaker 1: held the league's top post for thirty years. From all over,
Speaker 1: from an NBA icon to a former president, tributes have
Speaker 1: poured in and the sentiment is unanimous. With the passing
Speaker 1: of David Stern, the sports world and the world in
Speaker 1: general lost to Titan Hi. I'm Kreiman Abdul Jabara, and
Speaker 1: like everyone else, I'm setting by the loss of the
Speaker 1: former commissioner of the NBA, mister David Stern. He was
Speaker 1: a giant as far as the game was concerned. What
Speaker 1: was your reaction to the news of David's turning For
Speaker 1: me personally, it was a dream come true to step
Speaker 1: up on that stage and shaking David's hand. Dan just
Speaker 1: gaining the relationship over the course of my career with him,
Speaker 1: my prayers and condulescens ghost was family. Personally, He's met
Speaker 1: a great deal because when I was younger, I did
Speaker 1: a lot of stupid things, and it's terrifying to go
Speaker 1: in his office. He ran a tight chip when he
Speaker 1: got you in there, but at the meeting he would
Speaker 1: always tell you, hey, you got to learn from this,
Speaker 1: grow and mature. Even when he was given it to me,
Speaker 1: he did it like a father figure. So I got
Speaker 1: number love and respect for David and bless him. In
Speaker 1: learning more about Stern's life for this podcast, it became
Speaker 1: clear that there are many layers to his legacy. He
Speaker 1: could be both compassionate and brutally tough, curious and combative.
Speaker 1: When it came to matters of basketball and beyond. There
Speaker 1: seemed to be no stone he wouldn't or couldn't overturn.
Speaker 1: A native of New York, Stern began his professional career
Speaker 1: as a lawyer, a vocation that ultimately paved his path
Speaker 1: to the National Basketball Association, which he joined on a
Speaker 1: part time basis in the late nineteen sixties. On February first,
Speaker 1: nineteen eighty four, after serving as Larry O'Brien's right hand man,
Speaker 1: Stern was named commissioner on a full time basis. He
Speaker 1: held the post for thirty years until January thirty first,
Speaker 1: twenty fourteen. Under Stern's watch, the NBA emerged from a
Speaker 1: particularly sketchy period to become a force. Individual superstars were
Speaker 1: born as the league tapped into a global marketplace, and
Speaker 1: all of this growth was underscored by an air of
Speaker 1: social responsibility and progressiveness that distinguished the NBA from its peers.
Speaker 1: Think about the tone Sterns said following Magic johnson stunning
Speaker 1: public HIV announcement. When Magic understood that he was HIV positive,
Speaker 1: they asked for the support of his teammates, the Lakers
Speaker 1: in the league. Everybody said, this is a very courageous,
Speaker 1: heroic person on a heroic act, and way all pledge
Speaker 1: now support and the creation of the w NBA. Kennice
Speaker 1: Parker a star in that league. What does that meant
Speaker 1: to your life? It means everything. I went from shooting
Speaker 1: in the driveway trying to be like Michael Jordan to
Speaker 1: trying to be like Cynthia Cooper and Tina Thompson. We
Speaker 1: are so thankful for what he's done, you know, for
Speaker 1: the w BA. Yes, the boom of basketball towards the
Speaker 1: end of the twentieth century was largely David Stern's doing.
Speaker 1: He of course, had help along the way, and trusted
Speaker 1: deputy commissioners, to staffers at the league office, to owners
Speaker 1: and the players themselves. Over the past couple of days,
Speaker 1: I spent time talking to several members of the seventy
Speaker 1: six ers family about their experiences with Stern, his influence
Speaker 1: on them, and the impact he had not just on
Speaker 1: hoops but the world. Why don't we start with a
Speaker 1: kid fresh out of college and a couple months on
Speaker 1: the job in the Basketball Operations department of the NBA
Speaker 1: League Office. At the time, basketball ops at the League
Speaker 1: office was a smaller outfit and down the hall from
Speaker 1: the commissioner. Some of the interactions were by design. Others,
Speaker 1: we're impromptu. This is Nid Collen, currently assistant general manager
Speaker 1: for the seventy six ers. I found out quickly that
Speaker 1: it was important to be prepared for any potential interaction
Speaker 1: with David prior to joining the organization in twenty sixteen.
Speaker 1: He had been at the NBA for twelve years. One time,
Speaker 1: you know, as a Friday afternoon, and you know, my
Speaker 1: mind is already focused on the weekends, and you know,
Speaker 1: twenty two years old, whatever it was, and I hop
Speaker 1: on the elevator, I here hold it. David jumps on
Speaker 1: and then just proceeds to grill me on a variety
Speaker 1: of different things that I didn't perform very well that day.
Speaker 1: And from that moment forward, any time I would walk
Speaker 1: out to the elevator, I knew exactly what I'd be
Speaker 1: prepared to talk about. I was gonna say, what did
Speaker 1: your weekend end up? Being? Like a lot of wish
Speaker 1: I had done something differently, but it clearly whatever that is.
Speaker 1: Sixteen years later, that elevator ride stuck with me when
Speaker 1: it comes to Stern and how he operated not just
Speaker 1: his business but his life. Few things seemed to be
Speaker 1: left to chance. He was thorough tactical, omnipresent. As someone
Speaker 1: told me, he knew everything. These elevator encounters, or perhaps
Speaker 1: better put, interrogations like the one Cohen recalled, weren't limited
Speaker 1: to Cohen alone. In one obituary about Stern, Written by
Speaker 1: ESPN's Adrian Rojanovski. Another elevator tale was told. In this instance,
Speaker 1: during the late nineteen nineties, Stern just so happened to
Speaker 1: share a ride with a staffer whose responsibility was overseeing
Speaker 1: the league's licensing efforts. Immediately upon getting into the elevator,
Speaker 1: Stern started peppering this person about the w NBA ball
Speaker 1: that was being sold in in good stores. He wanted
Speaker 1: them removed. Nick Cohen, isn't so certain that these quote
Speaker 1: unquote random runnings were really all that random. Definitely was
Speaker 1: not an accident. At times, I think, um, you know,
Speaker 1: we all have memorable interactions like that. I think that he, uh,
Speaker 1: he took a lot of pride in having, you know,
Speaker 1: the people who worked with them motivated to do their best.
Speaker 1: You needed to be prepared, and he expected that, and
Speaker 1: his memory was incomparable. He'd ask a question of something
Speaker 1: and you would offer an answer, and, um, it may
Speaker 1: be an opinion, but um, a couple months later, you're
Speaker 1: you're saying, Okay, it didn't quite turn out like I
Speaker 1: thought it would. Um, well, he's got a lot going on.
Speaker 1: There's there's no way he's thinking about that. But sure, enough,
Speaker 1: it was in his for his recall, everything was bound
Speaker 1: in the history books, and you were you were kind
Speaker 1: of on record with him for that. Chris Heck is
Speaker 1: team president of the seventy six ers. One of his
Speaker 1: previous stops in his career was at the NBA, where
Speaker 1: he was Senior vice president of Marketing Partnerships. In one breath,
Speaker 1: Heck describe Stern like this. They say that he was
Speaker 1: the greatest commissioner ever. I almost think that's an understatement.
Speaker 1: Is this any sport you're saying, Yeah, Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 1: I worked for him for seven years in New York.
Speaker 1: I traveled the world with him. Not only was he
Speaker 1: a leader of leaders, but he was arguably the most
Speaker 1: brilliant person I've ever been around. And I mean that
Speaker 1: in every sense, from book smarts to street smarts, to
Speaker 1: toughness to vision. Then in the next breath, Heck has
Speaker 1: this sort of thing to say about his former boss. Listen,
Speaker 1: the guy was not a waf flower. I mean he's
Speaker 1: He's was an unbelievably intimidating figure because of the power
Speaker 1: he wielded, and he had world leaders thinking of him
Speaker 1: as the guy right. It was unreal to be in
Speaker 1: his presence in that sense, and being part of his entourage,
Speaker 1: so to speak. Presence. Presence is a noteworthy word in
Speaker 1: the context of Stern. What is presence anyway? How would
Speaker 1: you define it? Presence certainly isn't tangible, and it can
Speaker 1: be measured in a variety of different ways. If you've
Speaker 1: ever seen footage or photos of Stern, or maybe even
Speaker 1: spotted him at a game in the past, you know
Speaker 1: his height belies his prominence and influence. Google David Stern
Speaker 1: and height and you'll immediately be sent to his Wikipedia bio,
Speaker 1: which lists him as five foot nine. He had Cohen
Speaker 1: worked with Stern for over a decade. Size had no
Speaker 1: bearing whatsoever on Stern's presence. You know, I've seen some
Speaker 1: articles that um reference, you know, a guy five foot nine.
Speaker 1: There was no ways five nine. That was pretty pretty
Speaker 1: generous with David's height. But whatever room he was in,
Speaker 1: the attention focused on him. It could be him speaking
Speaker 1: in front of a you know, a group of all stars,
Speaker 1: it could be the head coaches, whatever it was, everyone
Speaker 1: kind of everyone's attention went to him, and kind of,
Speaker 1: you know, everyone knew who was in charge. I will
Speaker 1: tell you, you know, he was a you know Stern
Speaker 1: is not just a name, it was also his PERSONA.
Speaker 1: Scott O'Neill has been in the NBA for over twenty years,
Speaker 1: both on the team side and the league side. These days,
Speaker 1: he's the chief executive officer of harn Splitzer Sports and Entertainment,
Speaker 1: the parent company of the seventy sixers. Before the Sixers,
Speaker 1: Scott ran Madison Square Garden Sports. Before that, he was
Speaker 1: Senior vice President of Team Marketing and Business Operations for
Speaker 1: the NBA. All these years later, the four digit extension
Speaker 1: from Starns line at the league office is still ingrained
Speaker 1: in O'Neill's mind, and he's not alone when that number
Speaker 1: eighty three flash on your phone, it was not a
Speaker 1: warm and fuzzy feeling. You know he was coming with heat.
Speaker 1: It would not be surprising to see that extension eighty
Speaker 1: three hundred pop up and David's calling to check in
Speaker 1: on whatever it might be and need Cohen. It was
Speaker 1: critical that you were prepared and ready with the answers
Speaker 1: at your fingertips there, and he had a lot to
Speaker 1: cover and be responsible for, and he expected that people
Speaker 1: would be ready and that his time would be well spent.
Speaker 1: Chris Heck, the tricky part is that he could call
Speaker 1: you and you just be like his assistant would call
Speaker 1: and say, be up there in thirty seconds. And then
Speaker 1: you feel, what, Oh, it's it's Principle's office times ten,
Speaker 1: you know, and you're just scared to death. But also
Speaker 1: know that he's calling you up there for a reason.
Speaker 1: He's not doing it for an exercise. He's doing it
Speaker 1: for efficiency and for function, and and that was a
Speaker 1: great honor to give him information and know that you
Speaker 1: actually knew what you were talking about. O'Neill used words
Speaker 1: like treacherous, intense, and high pressure to describe some of
Speaker 1: the calls he got from Stern back then. Now he
Speaker 1: reflects on Extension eighty three hundred fondly, he wanted and
Speaker 1: deserved and demanded excellence. I mean he used to talk
Speaker 1: about every meeting I was in with him, he used
Speaker 1: to talk about the relentless pursuit of perfection over and
Speaker 1: over and over again. Stern totally understood that what he
Speaker 1: was striving for wasn't actually attainable. That didn't curb his
Speaker 1: ambition one bit. He had a common refrain that were
Speaker 1: constantly on the road to perfection, knowing that we're never
Speaker 1: going to get there, but never stop trying to get there,
Speaker 1: and he relished kind of those details in an attempt
Speaker 1: to achieve perfection. I remember actually sitting with David and
Speaker 1: I think it was Detroit at one time. Yeah, it
Speaker 1: was a Pistons game in Detroit against Cleveland, and I
Speaker 1: believe it was the Eastern Conference finals when Lebron was
Speaker 1: first or second year player, and I was sitting next
Speaker 1: to him and he said, how much does that sign
Speaker 1: cost over there? And I'm like, uh, you know, stumbled
Speaker 1: a little bit, and then he just kept going. He
Speaker 1: had this unique method of making you prepare, and if
Speaker 1: you didn't prepare, you were You were not there for long.
Speaker 1: You were not there for long. I take it as
Speaker 1: a true badge of honor of being there for seven years.
Speaker 1: Nothing so about him. He was He was sarcastic, he
Speaker 1: was right, he was New York through and through. Of
Speaker 1: all Stern's qualities, there was one that stood out above
Speaker 1: the rest. His intellect was second to none. I saw
Speaker 1: a man who would wake up every day thinking he
Speaker 1: didn't know anything. This deep knowledge of everyone's business was
Speaker 1: beyond belief. His depth and breadth of knowledge inside the
Speaker 1: NBA in sport, but outside current events, a lot of
Speaker 1: things that he was passionate about outside of basketball, he
Speaker 1: immersed himself in it. He was a voracious reader and
Speaker 1: would constantly quiz employees on what they were or weren't
Speaker 1: up to speed on. He was into a lot of
Speaker 1: things like politics and had his opinions, and when he
Speaker 1: would find out that you may be on the other
Speaker 1: side of the aisle, he would go right after you,
Speaker 1: so you would have to be prepared, which I secretly
Speaker 1: enjoyed those confrontations, both with business as well as, you know,
Speaker 1: personal beliefs. He would read and study, and he was
Speaker 1: interested in politics and life sciences and business just as
Speaker 1: much as he was in sports. He read every newspaper,
Speaker 1: He read all the trades from all these different aspects
Speaker 1: of life and business and geopolitics, and I think he
Speaker 1: understood that sports has that special place in the cross
Speaker 1: section of it all, and that we provide that little
Speaker 1: slice of escapism that's so necessary in building communities and
Speaker 1: changing lives. He was NonStop and his mind was continuously
Speaker 1: running on ways that he could have an impact. Stern's
Speaker 1: influence on both the NBA and the international sporting community
Speaker 1: is the kind of thing you measure in massive milestones,
Speaker 1: and how he managed watershed moments. Through it all, Stern
Speaker 1: relied on a consistent stable of external partners to help
Speaker 1: him execute his fish. There were the teams that made
Speaker 1: up the league and the businesses that supported it, But
Speaker 1: the success of any sports league, to a certain extent,
Speaker 1: hinges on the relationship it has with the people responsible
Speaker 1: for actually providing and creating the product. In this case, yeah,
Speaker 1: that would be the players. More of this David Stern
Speaker 1: Rememberance podcast in just a moment. But here's the thing.
Speaker 1: The regular season is about to pick up. We are
Speaker 1: zooming towards the All Star Game break. There are some
Speaker 1: marquee matchups on the home schedule ahead. The problem is
Speaker 1: it is tough to get in to the center. The
Speaker 1: good news is this. You can get priority access for
Speaker 1: two twenty twenty one season tickets by signing up today
Speaker 1: for Club seventy six, the official season ticket waiting list
Speaker 1: of the Philadelphia seventy six Ers. Other benefits include exclusive
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Speaker 1: Club seven six at seventy six ers dot com or
Speaker 1: called two on five three three nine seven six seventy six.
Speaker 1: And while we are in the throws of winner right
Speaker 1: now it has recently got particularly cold, it is never
Speaker 1: too early to start making plans for the summer, especially
Speaker 1: for your kids. Yes, seventy six Ers Camps, presented by
Speaker 1: Rothmann Orthopedics empowered by EESF is now open for registration
Speaker 1: today and overnight camps are available throughout Pennsylvania, New Jersey,
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Speaker 1: For more information, visit seventy six Erscamps dot com or
Speaker 1: call six zero six six eight seven six seven six.
Speaker 1: About David Stern and the NBA players, sometimes circumstances called
Speaker 1: for Stern to stay and with the players, other times
Speaker 1: he was forced to line up opposite them, either way
Speaker 1: looking out for the best interests of the NBA and
Speaker 1: protecting the league. We're always at the root of his decisions.
Speaker 1: They see the narrative of business person tough, but then
Speaker 1: you also have the side where he related to the players.
Speaker 1: He related to us. Elton Brand played in the NBA
Speaker 1: for parts of seventeen seasons. David Stern was the league's
Speaker 1: commissioner for one thousand and two of Brand's one thousand
Speaker 1: and ninety six career games. Very personable, charismatic person and
Speaker 1: it was genuine like this is business, this is who
Speaker 1: I am. You know, we can talk and we can
Speaker 1: be friends, but if we have a deal, we need
Speaker 1: to get the best deal from both sides and make
Speaker 1: sure that we can grow this business and grow this
Speaker 1: pie of the NBA, which he did for the players. Brand,
Speaker 1: of course, is in the midst of his second season
Speaker 1: as the seventy six ers general manager. Over the course
Speaker 1: of his All Star career and as he continues to
Speaker 1: do now in his role as an executive, Brand took
Speaker 1: advantage of opportunities to try abroad in an effort to
Speaker 1: grow the game. That was one of Stern's top initiatives
Speaker 1: and biggest accomplishments. Basketball, NBA sports breaks a lot of
Speaker 1: barries around the world. So when we went to Asia
Speaker 1: with the NBA, I went to Russia with the NBA,
Speaker 1: went to Mexico with the NBA and to see the fans,
Speaker 1: just to see the smiles in their faces they knew
Speaker 1: the players. You know, that's there's like Elan Brand twenty
Speaker 1: and ten. You know, it's just like wow, like, how
Speaker 1: do you know who I am? How do you know
Speaker 1: about the NBA? How do you follow this like they did?
Speaker 1: And just growing the business of it and also relating
Speaker 1: to different cultures. You can go to my laptop. I'm
Speaker 1: gonna pull up some archive photos. I think this was
Speaker 1: from two thousand and six from a European tour that
Speaker 1: you were part of. I see Tim Duncan in there,
Speaker 1: Andre Gadalashawan, Maryon, Tony Parker, Steve Nash, David Stern When
Speaker 1: he would accompany you guys on trips like this. How
Speaker 1: close was the interactions with players? Were there certain things
Speaker 1: that he spoke to about as far as the league's
Speaker 1: responsibility to promoting the game overseas and abroad. Absolutely, absolutely
Speaker 1: to just be him and us. It wouldn't be a
Speaker 1: lot of you know, other staff or employees. He just
Speaker 1: want to relate to us, you know, as a group
Speaker 1: and as a leader, and get our thoughts and what
Speaker 1: we didn't like, what we felt we can do better,
Speaker 1: or what the league could do better, and really caring
Speaker 1: as what we felt. We felt that he really cared
Speaker 1: about us and he wanted to care about the business
Speaker 1: but he cared about us as humans. The most prominent
Speaker 1: and powerful example of Stearn's capacity to empathize with players
Speaker 1: to rally around them was arguably his full fledged, proactive
Speaker 1: support of Magic Johnson in the aftermath of the Hall
Speaker 1: of Famers Shocking HIV press conference. It was nineteen ninety one,
Speaker 1: and at that time, fear and confusion surrounding HIV AIDS
Speaker 1: was at its peak once again, Ned Cohen, if you
Speaker 1: asked David what his major achievements were during his time, um,
Speaker 1: you know, he'll cite things like the changing in the
Speaker 1: worldview regarding HIV and AIDS after Magic Johnson, Uh, you
Speaker 1: know in ninety one, and uh, you know, elements that
Speaker 1: relate to societal progress. He took great pride in the
Speaker 1: platform and the support for NBA players to have impacts
Speaker 1: in their communities and with their voices, and so I
Speaker 1: think that's another area that he deserves a tremendous amount
Speaker 1: of credit for. Elton Brand was twelve years old when
Speaker 1: Magic made his announcement. He remembers what the national dialogue
Speaker 1: surrounding HIV AIDS was like in the early nineteen nineties.
Speaker 1: He was young. Then. Time has given Brand an even
Speaker 1: greater appreciation for the steadfast support the league through behind
Speaker 1: Johnson and his desire to use his diagnosis as a
Speaker 1: platform to promote public awareness. It's great symbolism, it's great support,
Speaker 1: and it was needed, you know, just from an educational standpoint.
Speaker 1: I was a kid. I'm thinking you can get HIV
Speaker 1: from someone shaking your hand from sweat, and I'm just like, oh,
Speaker 1: they're gonna play against them. Other players may have came
Speaker 1: out and says some things at the time, and it's
Speaker 1: like for him to stand up, you know, in hindsight
Speaker 1: and kind of create create a barrier from that stigma
Speaker 1: and this is not true. You can play, you can
Speaker 1: you know, have a life, you can live with HIV,
Speaker 1: and we're going to support one of ours that's dealing
Speaker 1: with this issue. It was a great statement. Another one
Speaker 1: of Stearn's great success stories working in partnership with the players,
Speaker 1: came less than a year later, in the summer of
Speaker 1: nineteen ninety two. I think there's a pretty decent chance
Speaker 1: that a couple of you out there probably weren't even
Speaker 1: a thought on the great great hour of life at
Speaker 1: that point in the time. Me I was just on
Speaker 1: the cost of entering the prime of my sports craving youth.
Speaker 1: Elk Brand was too following a Dream Team. As I said,
Speaker 1: is this amazing example of you know, the greatness of
Speaker 1: the NBA players, the visibility of the NBA players. The
Speaker 1: Dream Team was incredible. I was captivated by during the
Speaker 1: Olympics in Barcelona, the best American basketball players all in
Speaker 1: a single squad, absolutely destroying the competition. Charles Barkley led
Speaker 1: the team scoring, and the United States scored over one
Speaker 1: hundred points in each of its six games, winning them
Speaker 1: all by no fewer than thirty eight points. That's how
Speaker 1: good this group was. And David Stern was largely credited
Speaker 1: and rightfully credited for convincing owners to let their players
Speaker 1: compete on a larger, more significant scale than the Americans
Speaker 1: winning the gold medal that year. Was that the Dream
Speaker 1: Team's run only made basketball that much more popular and accessible,
Speaker 1: both at home and around the world. They were rock stars,
Speaker 1: you know, everywhere they went there was crowds and Michael
Speaker 1: Jordan and you know, Scottie Pippen and Barkley and the
Speaker 1: Magic Bird, like they're just rock stars around the world.
Speaker 1: That was my first time, you know, really understanding that
Speaker 1: it was bigger than the US. The NBA was an
Speaker 1: actual global game, and Davids third played a pivotal part
Speaker 1: in allowing NBA players to represent their countries in the Olympics.
Speaker 1: And I further represented the USA and in many competitions.
Speaker 1: But we're talking about opening doors. That's another door he
Speaker 1: opened up. He was a driver for the Dream Team
Speaker 1: coming into you know, into effect in ninety two. The
Speaker 1: US team was miles ahead of the game across the world.
Speaker 1: And you look at it now where I think it
Speaker 1: was one hundred and eight international players part of the
Speaker 1: NBA at the start of this season, so you know,
Speaker 1: nearly a fourth of the league. So not only the
Speaker 1: presence of those international players, but the impact and the
Speaker 1: style of play that that has influenced over time. During
Speaker 1: Stern's watch, the NBA held its first regular season games
Speaker 1: in Japan, Mexico, and England. Preseason games were played in Italy,
Speaker 1: the Bahamas, Puerto Rico, France, Germany, Spain, China, and Brazil.
Speaker 1: You heard the telling stat that Ned Cohen rattled off
Speaker 1: that roughly a quarter of the league's players now were
Speaker 1: born outside the United States. On the seventy six ers
Speaker 1: roster alone this year, eight of their seventeen players have
Speaker 1: foreign citizenship. Players worked with Stern to grow the game
Speaker 1: across the world, and in turn, he helped them become
Speaker 1: on balance, more recognizable than any of their peers from
Speaker 1: the other American professional sports Chris Hack. What the NBA
Speaker 1: is now are these global superstars that are also icons,
Speaker 1: and you know, particularly with social media today and how
Speaker 1: the world has become smaller um their superstars off the
Speaker 1: court too, and I think that he recognized that before
Speaker 1: anyone else. Elton Brand praised David Stern for creating an
Speaker 1: environment in the NBA in which players could be themselves.
Speaker 1: You could actually say what you wanted to say, have
Speaker 1: an opinion, and it wasn't about just catering to what
Speaker 1: the NBA needed and what their messaging was. You can
Speaker 1: be free. You felt free being within the NBA under
Speaker 1: his leadership, for sure, and he's left the you know,
Speaker 1: great legacy that we continue to pave that path for
Speaker 1: future generations. But again he started with that. He pushed
Speaker 1: the superstars and you know, the Michael Jordan's of the world,
Speaker 1: and just how that blew the NBA up to just
Speaker 1: the level that it is now. The relationship between Stern
Speaker 1: and one of his most vital external partners, the NBA players,
Speaker 1: wasn't always harmonious. Now, be getting the threat of or
Speaker 1: resolving work stoppages comes hand in hand with any commissioner's job.
Speaker 1: Stern helped guide the league through lockouts in nineteen ninety
Speaker 1: eight and two thousan eleven, both of which cost the
Speaker 1: NBA games. In between, there was the infamous Sad Game
Speaker 1: between the Detroit Pistons and the Indiana Pacers in November
Speaker 1: of two thousand and four. That was a brawl that
Speaker 1: spilled over into the stands, and it was at a
Speaker 1: time when the NBA was, you know, in players and
Speaker 1: the superstars were not very well regarded. We're not here
Speaker 1: to rehash one of the more disappointing events in the
Speaker 1: history of a proud league, but the punishments that Stern
Speaker 1: handed down to the players involved were swift, steep, and historic.
Speaker 1: In the room, there were a thousand reasons why he couldn't, shouldn't,
Speaker 1: and wouldn't do what he purported to do, which was
Speaker 1: suspend a lot of players, you know, but he did it,
Speaker 1: and I just saw it close and personally, I'm not
Speaker 1: sure how to explain it without giving up the confidence
Speaker 1: in the room other than to say that, you know,
Speaker 1: I saw true leadership and stewardship and willingness to make
Speaker 1: the tough decision, the tough call and do what needed
Speaker 1: to be done at a time when the basketball fans
Speaker 1: around the world needed to see it done. Another ripple
Speaker 1: effect resulting from the Fight of the Palace was the
Speaker 1: dress code change that Stern implemented. Initially, there was some resistance.
Speaker 1: I remember when the whole dress code thing went down.
Speaker 1: I would remember discussing it for with him for hours
Speaker 1: on a plane, and he was just like, I think
Speaker 1: it'll be nice. It'll be we'll shake it up a
Speaker 1: little bit, and it was ended up being this brilliant
Speaker 1: maneuver to highlight players off the court, as opposed to
Speaker 1: in the beginning was like no ripped jeans and wear
Speaker 1: a collared shirt. Now everybody wearing some unique fashion statement.
Speaker 1: I dare you to find me a team's Instagram or
Speaker 1: Twitter feed that doesn't have a pregame drip carousel post.
Speaker 1: It's consistently, at least for us at at six Ers,
Speaker 1: one of our most engaging pieces of game day content.
Speaker 1: Players might not have always agreed with Stern, but in
Speaker 1: the end they did respect him. He made sure they
Speaker 1: knew where he stood, like it or not, and that
Speaker 1: it was clear that he was doing what in his
Speaker 1: mind was right for the game. He followed like, I
Speaker 1: was on the board, I was on the committees, and
Speaker 1: you know I represented the team, you know in some
Speaker 1: of those meetings, and it's he was quite honest. It's
Speaker 1: like we need to clean us up consumers television. You know,
Speaker 1: he explained it in a way that he said, Okay,
Speaker 1: this is bigger than me at this point. Fair unfair
Speaker 1: for me to not where a throwback jersey or do
Speaker 1: something on the bench, you know, want to look professional.
Speaker 1: We understand or the CB what I'd say, disagreements like
Speaker 1: figure out where we're going to meet at. It's like again,
Speaker 1: it's it was all cordial. You know, we saw how
Speaker 1: some of the messaging was. He was tough, but it
Speaker 1: was never you know, to the bitter end, like we
Speaker 1: can't grow our business and figure this out. Let's figure
Speaker 1: this out was the message. Scott O'Neill, who was at
Speaker 1: the NBA for nearly a decade, said he's never seen
Speaker 1: anyone leading crisis like David Stern. There's so many things
Speaker 1: that David Stern is, and one thing is just an
Speaker 1: incredible leader. And part of being a leader is this
Speaker 1: incredible charisma he had and presence, and he could certainly
Speaker 1: walk into any room and command attention. But I think
Speaker 1: was more impactful to me was how he made you feel.
Speaker 1: You know, he had this special way, in the toughest
Speaker 1: of times, in full crisis situation, to put his hand
Speaker 1: on your shoulder or send you a note or say
Speaker 1: something that was both inspiring, challenging, and made you want
Speaker 1: to be better, work harder, and think faster. In contrast
Speaker 1: to Stern's toughness, there was also this human touch element
Speaker 1: that sounded like it was just as transcendent and felt
Speaker 1: across all levels of the NBA by the players, team employees,
Speaker 1: and at the league office. Growing up Peaks Gun, New York,
Speaker 1: it's like, ah, you know, no one ever made it
Speaker 1: to the NBA from here. Why should I think I will?
Speaker 1: You know, but you see David Stern shaking the hands,
Speaker 1: you know, all the first round draft picks, and you know,
Speaker 1: when it's your opportunity, it's it's a relief, it's elation.
Speaker 1: You know, all he stood for all the NBA stood
Speaker 1: for as just an honored and privilege to play and
Speaker 1: get drafted and to shake his hand. It's like it's
Speaker 1: like a ceremony. It's like a ceremony, as is the
Speaker 1: custom for the commissioner of the NBA. Stern would shake
Speaker 1: hands on stage with each first round draft pick after
Speaker 1: he announced their names. Brand had the distinction of going
Speaker 1: number one overall in nineteen ninety nine. There was another
Speaker 1: connection that he and Stern shared that Stern would tend
Speaker 1: to bring up whenever he and Brand cross paths. He
Speaker 1: always would talk about me being from West Sester, New York. Yeah,
Speaker 1: he's a New York guy, and he's like, you know,
Speaker 1: nine one four West Sester, And it was like ant
Speaker 1: because you have, you know, the commissioner like showing you
Speaker 1: love like that and knowing about your area and things
Speaker 1: like that. So that was a special feeling. It was
Speaker 1: a sense of pride that I felt knowing he was
Speaker 1: from the area and he, you know, would talk to
Speaker 1: me about that perspective from Ned Cohen. I think at
Speaker 1: times we all feel very busy and wrapped up in
Speaker 1: what we're doing. His willingness to take time to visit
Speaker 1: with council support, people he worked with or cared about
Speaker 1: just left such a lasting impact. If you have the
Speaker 1: commissioner was willing to spend time with me, you know,
Speaker 1: when I'm twenty four and you know a coordinator, you know,
Speaker 1: it just speaks volumes to his investment and care for people.
Speaker 1: I spent a lot of time with him, and I'm
Speaker 1: very blessed and fortunate to be with him and catch
Speaker 1: him at a time in his career where I think
Speaker 1: he was very focused on mentoring. And I have friends
Speaker 1: all over the world to have the privilege and honor
Speaker 1: of working with him, and I think we all feel
Speaker 1: the same way. I mean, our lives are forever better
Speaker 1: and forever different and enriched because of our time with him.
Speaker 1: Scott O'Neil is one of many to have worked for
Speaker 1: Stern at the NBA, then later go on to assume
Speaker 1: a high ranking position in sports. There's also an NHL Commissioner,
Speaker 1: Gary Bettman, current NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, NBA president Amy Brooks,
Speaker 1: Chris Heck with the Sixers, Golden State Warriors president Rick Welts,
Speaker 1: Caroline and Panther's president Tom Click, and Chris Granger, who
Speaker 1: runs the Detroit Tiger and Red Wings. At one point
Speaker 1: O'Neill thought there was no shot Stern would ever retire
Speaker 1: from his post as commissioner, But on January thirty first,
Speaker 1: twenty fourteen, Stern passed the post along to Silver, his protegee.
Speaker 1: Later that year, in August, Stern wasn't shrined in the
Speaker 1: Naysmith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. You could certainly make
Speaker 1: the case that Stern did as much for the game
Speaker 1: as anyone aside from the guy whose name is on
Speaker 1: that building, and even that might be up for debate.
Speaker 1: Where was it that Stern celebrated success, whether his own
Speaker 1: or the league's. He just wasn't the kind to hand
Speaker 1: out compliments. O'Neill was in attendance for Stern's Hall of
Speaker 1: Fame ceremony in Springfield, Massachusetts. David was not really fond
Speaker 1: of awards or recognition, so I thought it was kind
Speaker 1: of funny. I want to ask him if he would
Speaker 1: ever have a book written, because I was always interested,
Speaker 1: like I would read the book about David Stern in
Speaker 1: his life. And he said, no, I've chosen. I chose
Speaker 1: him a long time ago that I was going to
Speaker 1: live for today. And I was not going to worry
Speaker 1: about my press clippings, he said, long after I'm gone,
Speaker 1: someone else would be the judge of how well I
Speaker 1: did or how well I didn't do. And then he added, however,
Speaker 1: if I did write a book, it would be called
Speaker 1: Micromanagement is Underrated. And I thought that was so funny,
Speaker 1: and I said wow. And he later edited that a
Speaker 1: couple of years later to episodic Micromanagement is Underrated, which
Speaker 1: he was famous for. So a deep dish thinks were
Speaker 1: going wrong? And I said, well, what I said, what
Speaker 1: would the sequel be? He said, management by fear and
Speaker 1: intimidation and I literally burst out laughing. I don't know
Speaker 1: if he was joking. I didn't know if he was serious,
Speaker 1: but I laughed out loud. These are the types of
Speaker 1: stories you hear when you start talking to people about Stern,
Speaker 1: those who knew him best, who worked with him closely. Yes,
Speaker 1: he was absolutely relentless, but he was also totally revered.
Speaker 1: As Commissioner Emeritus of the NBA, there was no slowing
Speaker 1: Stern down. He definitely did not use the word retirement,
Speaker 1: nor would it have been fitting ned Cone. Again, you know,
Speaker 1: the the passion and nature of his his appetite to
Speaker 1: learn just stands out in such an amazing way. Um So,
Speaker 1: when I was in New York, um with the League office,
Speaker 1: as you know, as he made that transition, every couple
Speaker 1: of months, I'd go a couple of blocks uptown to
Speaker 1: his h his office, and we'd we'd sit around. He'd
Speaker 1: you know, ask a lot about kind of what was
Speaker 1: going on with me, uh in such a thoughtful sort
Speaker 1: of way. But he'd also tell me everything that he
Speaker 1: had going on. And you know, being on the cutting
Speaker 1: edge of in the sports tech space and advising number
Speaker 1: of companies, and he was a non stop a little
Speaker 1: more than two years ago. The four primary voices you've
Speaker 1: heard in this piece, Scott O'Neill, Elton Brand, Chris Heck
Speaker 1: and Ned Cohen all had the opportunity as seventy six
Speaker 1: ers employees to reconnect with a man who had given
Speaker 1: them so much. At the team's training complex in Camden,
Speaker 1: where Stern was visiting to serve as the marquee speaker
Speaker 1: for a sports science summit hosted by Harris Splitzer Sports
Speaker 1: and Entertainment. His mind was sharp, still thinking about the future,
Speaker 1: stood thinking about brands, still thinking about growing companies, still
Speaker 1: cares a lot about the NBA and still talked about Westchester.
Speaker 1: Chris Heck's final in person interaction with David Stern was
Speaker 1: just days before his brain hemorrhage. I saw him the
Speaker 1: first week of December. He looks, he looks good, he
Speaker 1: looked healthy. The one thing about David was that I'm
Speaker 1: glad for his sake and that he um, it was
Speaker 1: strong till the end, right, and so strong minded and enable.
Speaker 1: And he died at a relatively younger age at seventy seven,
Speaker 1: but what he squeezed into that seventy seven years is
Speaker 1: probably one hundred and fifty years. And uh, and that's
Speaker 1: that's something special. The last time I corresponded but with
Speaker 1: David was in mid October DC, right after the birth
Speaker 1: of my daughter, firstborn, and you know, corresponded by email
Speaker 1: and you know, fitting in that um. You know, the
Speaker 1: last time was about something you know, personal and important
Speaker 1: and you know, life changing for me because he was
Speaker 1: always there for me and and those other experiences since
Speaker 1: we got to know each other. So just really memorable
Speaker 1: for his support there as well. Scott O'Neill last saw
Speaker 1: Stern about two months ago at a luncheon for the
Speaker 1: March of times. We got to spend about about ten
Speaker 1: minutes together. In typical David fashion, he gave me a
Speaker 1: hard time about our team and our performance and our business,
Speaker 1: and then whispered two or three things about a potential
Speaker 1: investment that I should be looking at, one that he
Speaker 1: was already invested in, which I always got to kick
Speaker 1: out of. He hadn't slowed down, though. He was as
Speaker 1: busy as ever, as sharp as attack, astute, connected and
Speaker 1: just a I don't know. He's one of the kind.
Speaker 1: They'll never ever be anybody like David Stern, whether it's
Speaker 1: with a written obituary, a video tribute, or a remembrance.
Speaker 1: Podcasts like this, it really is a challenge to try
Speaker 1: and put a life like David Starns in the proper
Speaker 1: context or to do with justice. We appreciate Scott O'Neill,
Speaker 1: Elton Brand, Chris Heck and Ed Cohen for helping us
Speaker 1: try and we hope you enjoyed the listen. Big thanks
Speaker 1: to Alex Nolan, Ryan McDonald and Lauren Rosen for their
Speaker 1: help in producing this episode of the broadcast. And as
Speaker 1: a reminder, you can search seventy six ers podcast or
Speaker 1: Sixers podcast network wherever you get your pods to follow
Speaker 1: or subscribe to our feeds. I hope you do. I'm
Speaker 1: Brian Seltzer. Talk to you next time see it. Oh hey,
Speaker 1: you're still there. Great, well if you're still listening. There
Speaker 1: were a couple of stories that I'd hope to include
Speaker 1: in the podcast that did not make the final cut,
Speaker 1: but they were really good anecdotes about David Stern and
Speaker 1: his relationships and interactions with some of the guys who
Speaker 1: were interviewed for the podcast. So I wanted to include
Speaker 1: them somewhere somehow. We're going to do it here in
Speaker 1: their raw, unedited form, and we will begin with Ned Cohen,
Speaker 1: who is the Sixers assistant general manager and he used
Speaker 1: to work at the NBA office. He did so for
Speaker 1: twelve years. Ten of them with Stern talking about the
Speaker 1: basketball fan that was inside David Stern and that for
Speaker 1: everything else that was said about Stern, one of the
Speaker 1: things that perhaps has gone overlooked is just how passionate
Speaker 1: he was for the game. He was responsible for Stewart.
Speaker 1: I was going to ask you, maybe just like you know,
Speaker 1: for someone to do a job to the extent that
Speaker 1: David did it, and how relentlessly. It seemed like he
Speaker 1: did it. There had to be a basketball fan in
Speaker 1: there somewhere, right, So why don't you give us a
Speaker 1: little bit more on that? I mean, just how much
Speaker 1: was he passionate about the game? Yeah? He loved the
Speaker 1: game immensely, So you know the type of person who
Speaker 1: you know, certainly watching it with different lenses in mind,
Speaker 1: all of the things that the league office was responsible for,
Speaker 1: whether it be kind of administration of the game, officiating,
Speaker 1: so on and so forth. But he's watching every night
Speaker 1: because also because he loved the game and love the
Speaker 1: transcendent talents that a number of players, UM over time had,
Speaker 1: the you know, the style and capabilities of those players
Speaker 1: and teams as a collective, UM and UM you know
Speaker 1: a few other elements. You know. He he always had
Speaker 1: his finger on the pulse and whenever, whenever trades occurred,
Speaker 1: he wanted to not in role, you know, in any
Speaker 1: sort of UM management or oversight role, but just for
Speaker 1: his understanding. He want he had such an appetite to
Speaker 1: understand what was going on. So you'd pick up you'd
Speaker 1: pick up the phone, he'd be on the other end,
Speaker 1: one wondering why both teams did a particular trade. What
Speaker 1: were they trying to accomplish? And you know, how did
Speaker 1: that work? And so he uh, you know, he was watching,
Speaker 1: you know, constantly after you know, after know when he
Speaker 1: transitioned from commissioner to you know, commissioner meritus because because
Speaker 1: he loved the game. Nedko talking about the fan inside
Speaker 1: David Stern and will play one more story that did
Speaker 1: not make the podcast, and this one comes from Scott O'Neill,
Speaker 1: the CEO of Harris Splitter Sports and Entertainment. He was
Speaker 1: the top man on the business side for the seventy
Speaker 1: six ers. Before that, worked in the NBA office for
Speaker 1: a long time with David Stern in the Team Bow division.
Speaker 1: And this story took place in two thousand and three
Speaker 1: when Scott was getting ready to head out on a
Speaker 1: trip to Denver and Salt Lake City with Stern to
Speaker 1: do site visits with the Nuggets and the Utah Jazz.
Speaker 1: Anything else you would want to be I want to happen, Yeah, yeah,
Speaker 1: I do. I do want to tell I want to
Speaker 1: tell one quick story. Yeah, I was in um So
Speaker 1: we were about to fly out to Utah to see
Speaker 1: the Jazz and Denver to see the Nuggets. And traveling
Speaker 1: with David was always an adventure. And I'd gotten a
Speaker 1: call from his wife I AM the night before and
Speaker 1: I had never spoke in Troy on the phone. I've
Speaker 1: met her several times, and she said, hey, m Scott,
Speaker 1: I'm just calling because David has walking pneumonia and if
Speaker 1: anything happens to him, I'm holding you responsible. And I
Speaker 1: kind of chuckled to myself. I said, okay, you know,
Speaker 1: no problem, I am. Thanks for the call. I'll make
Speaker 1: sure I do the best I can. And she said
Speaker 1: that's not what I'm asking for, and I said, okay.
Speaker 1: You know, so we got on the plane and we
Speaker 1: uh he was I mean he was in bad shake.
Speaker 1: I mean he he was coughing and sick and tired,
Speaker 1: and I'd never seen him rest even before. But he
Speaker 1: wasn't bad bad shape. And so we landed in Denver,
Speaker 1: was snowing, you know, went right to the game, the
Speaker 1: pregame media, halftime media, postgame media. When I say we
Speaker 1: he you know, I was kind of a caddy advanced
Speaker 1: guy setting everything up. And we got on the plane.
Speaker 1: We landed in Salt Lake at you know, one on
Speaker 1: thirty in the morning. You know, he asked me to
Speaker 1: be in his room at six am so we could
Speaker 1: start with morning radio. And I said, okay, he's sure,
Speaker 1: you don't want to rest, And he said some things
Speaker 1: that weren't very nice, and I said okay, So he
Speaker 1: had six He gave his room number, so six am
Speaker 1: I knocked on his door. He's all full suit, suited up.
Speaker 1: We get on. We do like four or five radio
Speaker 1: interviews in Salt Lake Market, and we're driving over together
Speaker 1: in the car. He's always sat on the front seat.
Speaker 1: I was sat in the back and the driver obviously,
Speaker 1: and I had prepared notes because he was about to
Speaker 1: speak to just three hundred season take the hold of
Speaker 1: sweetholders and sponsors. Then we're gonna see Larry Miller, the
Speaker 1: man you rest in peace, the former owner of the
Speaker 1: Jazz And then we're gonna do a walk through with
Speaker 1: the with the two coaches, and then see the referees
Speaker 1: and go to the game. And and so we're driving
Speaker 1: up and I said, hey, David, you know, would you
Speaker 1: like to see the message points. He's like, I know
Speaker 1: what I'm doing. I was like, oh, okay, you know,
Speaker 1: I'm just you know, we're about to see three hundred people,
Speaker 1: and you're gonna be up there with no notes, so
Speaker 1: I just want to give you a heads up, like
Speaker 1: if you could just review these message points. He's like,
Speaker 1: leave me along, and I was like, oh boy, I've
Speaker 1: never heard this. He gets on the phone called somebody
Speaker 1: at the office and he's carrying on, and so I'm
Speaker 1: kind of waiting patiently. And we get to the dock
Speaker 1: where where you kind of right where the ramps where
Speaker 1: you go down to park, and he rips the message
Speaker 1: points out of my hands from the front seat, spends
Speaker 1: about fifteen seconds on three pages of notes and I
Speaker 1: probably spent six hours on throws them back at me
Speaker 1: they're unstable to the go all over the back, and
Speaker 1: uh walks up to the podium, walk straight to the podium,
Speaker 1: shakes a couple of hands, and hits every single message
Speaker 1: point in three pages that I prepared. And I literally
Speaker 1: when he got off and I'm like, I literally was like,
Speaker 1: do you have a photographic memory? And he just winked.
Speaker 1: He's like, it's not my first rodeo kid were on
Speaker 1: for the next meeting, and I thought, holy moley, this
Speaker 1: is just I am. I am seeing and experiencing greatness.
Speaker 1: It was awesome, He's an amazing executive and even a
Speaker 1: better man. Great stuff from Scott O'Neill. And yeah, like
Speaker 1: I kind of said in the podcast, Stern was this
Speaker 1: guy who seemed to lead with intimidation and certainly had
Speaker 1: the ability to strike fear in his employees. But like
Speaker 1: all these people who talked about Stern did so with
Speaker 1: such high reverence for the guy, so clearly a pretty
Speaker 1: special person who without question left such a huge, huge
Speaker 1: mark on a game that so many of us love follow, allow,
Speaker 1: root for, live and breathe and all that good stuff.
Speaker 1: All Right, this time I'm signing off for good. Thanks
Speaker 1: so much for listening. If you hung around this long,
Speaker 1: we'll talk next time here on the broadcast. See you