David Stern spent nearly 30 years growing the NBA, turning a league that couldn't even get its championship series on live prime-time TV into a projected $5 billion a year industry.
Confident the NBA is in good shape and certain he has found someone who can make it even better, Stern is ready to end one of the most successful and impactful careers in sports history.
Stern will retire as commissioner Feb. 1, 2014, 30 years to the day after taking charge of the league, and be replaced by Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver.
"I decided that things are in great shape and there's an organization in place that will ultimately be led by Adam that is totally prepared to take it to the next level," Stern said Thursday during a press conference following the league's board of governors meeting.
It's hard to be any better than Stern, perhaps the model sports commissioner.
Name an important policy in the NBA - drug testing, salary cap, even a dress code - and Stern had a hand in it. A lawyer by trade, he was a fearless negotiator against players and referees, but also their biggest defender any time he felt they were unfairly criticized.
Stern told owners of his plans during their two days of meetings, and the board unanimously decided Silver would be his successor.
Owners will begin negotiations with the 50-year-old Silver in hopes of having a contract completed by their next meeting in April.
