Former NBA commissioner David Stern hospitalized after sudden brain hemorrhage

Jeff Zillgitt | USA TODAY

Former NBA commissioner David Stern "suffered a sudden brain hemorrhage earlier today for which he underwent emergency surgery," the league announced in a statement late Thursday night.

Stern reportedly collapsed at a Manhattan restaurant Thursday afternoon and was rushed to the hospital for surgery. The league's statement did not have any additional details on Stern's condition.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with David and his family," the league added.

Stern, 77, stepped down as commissioner in 2014 after a 30-year run that began in 1984 and turned over reins to his hand-picked successor Adam Silver. He didn’t consider it a retirement and has been active as an investor and remains close to Silver and the NBA.

Stern had a significant role in transforming the league into what it is today. His association with the league began in 1966 when he was an attorney at Proskauer Rose where Silver’s father worked. By 1978, Stern was the NBA’s general counsel, and by 1980, he was executive vice president of the league.

Stern loved the stories that the NBA produced, but in the early 1980s, despite decades of talent, the NBA wasn’t the mainstream success it is today. Stern was instrumental in bringing the league to a wider audience, both on TV and in print.

He also took over as commissioner during a pivotal time in the league’s history. In the early 1980s, he had the vision to understand what Magic Johnson and Larry Bird could do for the league's popularity and made those two players the faces of the NBA.

The league flourished, and since then, the it has witnessed superstar after superstar captivate audiences worldwide: Johnson, Bird, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James chief among those stars.

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Stern also helped turn the NBA into a global game. He wanted NBA players to play in the Olympics, understanding that basketball fans around the world would be interested in the product. He was right. International players have become stars in the NBA, and the league generates significant revenue from international markets.

"David Stern is the No. 1 force, the No. 1 reason why this league is where it is today," Miami Heat president Pat Riley said. "That's not disrespectful to any one great player in any one era or any owner. This has to do with the leadership of one man.

"Over that span of time, things don't change because they're coincidences. They don't. There's somebody at the top who is going to eliminate what is bad and market what is good. He was a very forceful, very pragmatic visionary."

The league is close to an $8 billion business today. Some players make more than $40 million a season, and the New York Knicks were valued at $4 billion by Forbes in February. When the next Forbes valuation comes out, it is expected that the average franchise value will be at least $2 billion. That’s a long way from when Stern took control of the NBA at a time when the league didn’t have a solid TV deal and was marred by off-the-court issues.

Stern is one of the best commissioners in the history of pro sports.

"David is one of the top business leaders of his generation," Silver told USA TODAY Sports in 2014. "His legacy will be that he brought modern business practices to sports leagues. He was a CEO/commissioner who while focused on growing a major business also preached that there's nothing more important than the game.

"He was always concerned about the health and welfare of every club and recognized how important it was to create a partnership with our players and their union. He also realized that as stewards of the game, we're ultimately responsible for ensuring that it prospers and that it keeps pace with modern technology."

Follow Jeff Zillgitt on Twitter @JeffZillgitt.