Pressing Forward

Nearly five years after stepping down (he did not retire) as NBA commissioner, DAVID STERN has no time for war stories. The reticent icon is busy crafting a second act that could impact the future of the game.

- Chris Ballard

“ASK ME ANYTHING,” DAVID STERN SAYS.

It’s a Wednesday morning in August. We’re sitting in his new office, 33 floors above Fifth Avenue and five blocks from his old office. Outside, it’s so hot that the thermostat has been locked at 25ºC to conserve energy. In here, however, Stern—76 years old, shirt creased, white hair still parted as if by laser—is unperturbed. If anything, he appears to be in a great mood.

Ask him anything? Where to start? In 30 years as NBA commissioner, Stern led a floundering league to unprecedented growth. Since his departure LeBron moved back to Cleveland, the Warriors became The Warriors, Donald Sterling got the boot, and LeBron left Cleveland again. And this is not even touching on the larger cultura l shif ts; remember, a year ago, when Mark Cuban was seriously considering running for President?

Anything? How about what Stern has learned? What he misses? Why didn’t he trade CP3 to the Lakers? Is that really the Larry O’Brien trophy over there on the shelf? Did he just give me a printed itinerary for our day? Does he always eat peanut butter cookies for breakfast? Does this mean I can eat peanut butter cookies for breakfast?

Or how about the deeper stuff: about family and motivation, what drove him to work 14-hour days and demand his staff do the same, and what drives him to keep showing up at the office from 10 to seven? Can he turn that stuff on and off or is he on some workaholic autopilot, a virtue that doubles as a flaw, forever keeping him from really pondering the why of life?

Then again, maybe I’m overthinking this. Stern only said to ask anything. He didn’t say he’d answer. Because when has David Stern ever divulged anything he didn’t want to divulge?