What is David Stern?
{{Infobox officeholder | honorific-prefix = | name = David Stern | honorific-suffix = | image = David Stern.jpg | alt = | order = 4th | office = Commissioner of the NBA | election = | term_start = February 1, 1984 | term_end = January 31, 2014 | deputy = [[Russ Granik]] <small>(1990–2006)</small><br>[[Adam Silver]] <small>(2006–2014)</small> | predecessor = [[Larry O'Brien]] | successor = [[Adam Silver]] |birth_name=David Joel Stern | birth_date = {{Birth date|mf=yes|1942|9|22}} | birth_place = [[New York City]], U.S. | death_date = {{Death date and age|mf=y|2020|1|1|1942|9|22}} | death_place = New York City, U.S. | nationality = American | spouse = {{Marriage|Dianne Bock|1963}} | party = | relations = | children = [[Eric A. Stern]]<br>Andrew Stern | residence = | alma_mater = [[Rutgers University]]<br>[[Columbia Law School]] | occupation = | profession = | religion = | signature = | signature_alt = | website = | footnotes = }} '''David Joel Stern''' (September 22, 1942 &ndash; January 1, 2020)<ref>{{Cite news| url =http://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/david-stern/bio/231316|title= David Stern Celebrity|publisher=[[TV Guide]] |access-date = November 24, 2014}}</ref> was an American lawyer. He was the [[Commissioner of the NBA|commissioner]] of the [[National Basketball Association]] from 1984 through 2014. 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. Stern became Commissioner in 1984, replacing [[Larry O'Brien]]. He is known for increasing the popularity of the NBA in the 1990s and 2000s.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1139791/1/index.htm |title=From Corned Beef To Caviar |newspaper=Sports Illustrated |date=June 3, 1991 |