Have you ever read the book “When the Game Was Ours”?
It’s about the rise, rivalry and friendship of two of the finest players in the history of the NBA in Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, and how their love and passion for the game of basketball helped shape the NBA into what it is today.
What you also find out in the book is the role of one David Stern, who wasn’t always hated and booed at every basketball event he attended. When the game was nowhere near as popular as it is now – the word “globally” wasn’t even a consideration – it was Stern who sought to spread the greatness of this game. It was he who helped promote and commercialize big names like Bird, Johnson and Jordan (of course, their greatness allowed the possibilities).
Stern has been at the top as the NBA Commissioner for nearly three decades, and while it wasn’t always great, the game has steadily grown all around the world under his guidance. The global expansion of the NBA is undeniable, and sometimes you have to look at the big picture of one’s accomplishments.
So when he steps down on Feb. 1, 2014, hopefully the world will appreciate the amount of work this man has put into the game we love, even if our recent memory indicates otherwise.
To read more about Stern, be sure to check out the “Easy Dave” that not enough of us knew about in Chris Sheridan’s column.
On to Thursday’s noteworthy items:
- Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today shared Mark Cuban’s thoughts about David Stern via twitter:
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Basically what you find written in the book “when the game was ours” contradicts what Wojnarowski, a noted Stern hater, said in his latest article, where he took away (in ridiculous fashion) Stern’s accomplishments in growing the game outside the world..as a foreigner I can attest to what there was written in the book and that Stern really had a huge role in growing the game around these parts (I also know this because my dad works on sports television and has friends and colleagues who dealt with Stern himself when signing international tv deals and confirmed he was a great seller especially considering that, back then, they were still skeptics over the league despite the presence of guys like Magic, Larry, MJ..so yeah the players did their parts but Stern had a lot of impact on it too..Wojnarowski got that one, and not just that one for that matter, totally wrong).
I agree. Woj is a great guy and a great writer, but when he wants to write negatively… watch out because he’ll go all out even if he realizes it’s a bit much.