PERSON: David Stern

National Basketball Association

Commissioner

David Joel Stern (born September 22, 1942) is the commissioner of the National Basketball Association. He started with the Association in 1966 as an outside counsel, joined the NBA in 1978 as general counsel, and became the league's executive vice president in 1980. He became commissioner in 1984 succeeding Larry O'Brien. He is credited with increasing the popularity of the NBA in the 1990s and 2000s.

Stern has served on the Rutgers University Board of Overseers and is a chairman emeritus of the Board of Trustees of Columbia University. He is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

On October 25, 2012, Stern announced that he will step down as NBA commissioner on February 1, 2014, 30 years to the day after beginning his tenure as commissioner. His deputy, Adam Silver, will be his successor.

-- Wikipedia