It’s no question that David Stern, former NBA Commissioner, was one of the most influential people in the history of basketball. During his 30 year career from 1984 to 2014, the league reached new heights that sculpted the game to what it is today. He salvaged an NBA that was riddled with drug use, poor television ratings, and a declining revenue.

On January 1, 2020, Stern lost his life at the age of 77. He had been in the hospital in serious condition following surgery for a brain hemorrhage on December 12th. His wife, Dianne, and their family were with him during his passing.

“For 22 years, I had a courtside seat to watch David in action,” current NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. “He was a mentor and one of my dearest friends…We spent countless hours in the office, at arenas and on planes wherever the game would take us. Like every NBA legend, David had extraordinary talents, but with him it was always about the fundamentals — preparation, attention to detail, and hard work.”

While Stern’s tenure was controversial, he was able to grow the NBA to one of the most powerful sports leagues in the world. He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2014.

“The game is what brought us here,” Stern said before the start of the 2009-2010 season. “It’s always about the game and everything else we do is about making the stage or the presentation of the game even stronger, and the game itself is in the best shape that it’s ever been in.”

Stern added some of the most important rules to the game, such as drug testing and a salary cap.

“As tough an adversary as he was across the table, he never failed to recognize the value of our players, and had the vision and courage to make them the focus of our league’s marketing efforts — building the NBA into the empire it is today,” the league’s players’ association said in a statement. “We owe him and we will miss him.”