LeBron James expressed his condolences on Instagram shortly after the NBA announced the passing of legendary commissioner, David Stern, on Wednesday. Stern presided over the league’s massive growth from 1984 until 2014 while helping to prepare current commissioner, Adam Silver, for the position he now holds.
After sharing those heartfelt sentiments on social media, James spoke on Stern’s vision and place in basketball history alongside Dr. James Naismith following the Lakers 117-107 win over the Phoenix Suns.
“We lost a great visionary,” LeBron said of Stern’s passing after the game. “I think him and Dr. James Naismith were two of the most important people for the game of basketball. Obviously, Dr. Naismith because he created the game and then David because of his vision to make the game global.
“I’m not sure how many people believed in him on that. Or thought it was something that couldn’t be done. But he’s made this game global. This game is watched in over 250 countries throughout the world. Look at the collective group of players. We got Giannis, the Dirk’s, the Manu’s, the Luka’s now. So on and so on. You have to give him so much credit because of that.
“He saw the game being so much greater than just in the states domestically. If you saw my IG post, for me personally the dream come true was to step on that stage and shake David’s hand knowing where I come from. Then just gaining a relationship with him throughout my career was great. So my prayers and condolences go out to his family.”
Stern completed his 30-year tenure as NBA commissioner on February 1, 2014. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 2014 and the International Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016. He was born in New York City, New York in 1942 and will be celebrated throughout the NBA community for as long as the game is played.
