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David Stern, who passed away on Wednesday at the age of 77, was best known as commissioner of the NBA from 1984 to 2014. He was also a skilled sports attorney whose superior legal skills positioned him to transform the NBA from a league where the Finals were broadcast on tape delay as late as 1986 to one that, 28 years later, would sign TV contracts worth $24 billion.
Here are 11 ways in which Stern’s legal background played a pivotal role in his nearly 50 years of affiliation with the NBA and in the major controversies that surfaced along the way.