David Stern is going away — but not quite yet.
The NBA’s board of governors announced Thursday Stern finally will step down as the league’s commissioner on Feb. 1, 2014.
Stern’s current deputy commissioner, Adam Silver, will take his place.
“I told [the board] that it’s been a great run,” Stern said at a press conference yesterday. “It will continue for another 15 months. … This gives us the opportunity to work on a very, very smooth transition across the broad array of initiatives [and] issues that we are going to be working on together. I’m very, very happy.”
By staying on for the next 15 months, Stern, who will retire 30 years to the day after he ascended to the job in 1984, will become the longest-serving commissioner in the four major sports, passing former NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle by two months.
During his tenure, the NBA has grown in a variety of ways, including the expansion from 23 teams to 30 and into Canada, as well as an enormous influx of television dollars that saw the league grow into a global brand. Stern also oversaw the establishment of both the WNBA and the NBA Development League.
“You’ll be remembered as the best of all-time,” Silver told Stern during the press conference.
Stern said he made his mind up about six months ago, after the league and the NBA Players Association resolved last year’s lockout.
“I’ve decided that things are in great shape,” Stern said. “There is an organization in place that will ultimately be led by Adam that is totally prepared to take it to the next level. I didn’t feel comfortable leaving prior to the collective bargaining agreement … and this seemed to be a great time. … I feel great. I’m enjoying my job, but I’m looking forward to doing some other things. I’m stepping down. I’m not retiring.”
Stern said Silver, his deputy commissioner for the past six years, is the perfect choice to replace him.
“I like to think that I did an adequate job, but one of the things I did best was to provide a successor that would be able to take the kinds of things that we now look at as huge growth opportunities, international, digital, television negotiations, and have somebody in place with an extraordinary organization that has worked together with him and with me, … to take us even to the next level,” Stern said. “I could not be happier sitting here to know that I’m going to be succeeded by Adam.”
Stern said one of many high points of his tenure was the formation of the Dream Team for the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, which helped spur the influx of international talent into the NBA.
He said one low point was suspending former Knick and Net Micheal Ray Richardson for life for failing multiple drug tests.
“I haven’t enjoyed having the responsibility to end careers, which I haven’t had to do recently with respect to drug use and the like many years ago,” he said.
“One of my preseason phone calls was from Micheal Ray. He’s up coaching again in Ontario, Canada. … That wasn’t a really great situation for me personally.”
Stern said he is looking forward to the next chapter, after he passes the reins.
“I’m going to enjoy watching it, not having to do with the NBA office but comfortably tucked away somewhere else,” he said, “on call to help continue the growth of this organization any way I can, particularly on the global stage.”