Category | Contributor Date of Birth | 22.09.1942 Date of Death | 01.01.2020 Country | USA
Highlights
Graduated from Rutgers University (NJ) and Columbia Law School (NY)
Joined the NBA as an outside counsel from Proskauer Rose (1967)
NBA’s General Counsel (1978)
NBA’s Executive Vice President (1980)
NBA Commissioner (1984-2014)
Introduced the salary cap system (1984)
Began international club tournament with FIBA (1987)
Added seven NBA franchises (Miami Heat, Charlotte Hornets, Orlando Magic, Minnesota Timberwolves, Toronto Raptors, Vancouver Grizzlies and Charlotte Bobcats)
Orchestrated with FIBA the admission of NBA players into the Olympics in Barcelona (1992)
Launched the Women National Basketball Association (WNBA) (1996)
Oversaw the launch of NBA’s digital assets (NBA.com, WNBA.com, NBADLeague.com, social media platforms, NBA League Pass, NBA TV and mobile applications)
Launched the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) (2001)
Collaborated with FIBA on the Basketball Without Borders program (2001)
Launched NBA Cares (2005)
Distinctions & Recognitions
Inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame (1998)
Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Rutgers University (2004)
Received the W.E.B. Du Bois Medal from Harvard University in recognition of contributions to African and African-American culture (2013)
NBA Commissioner Emeritus (2014)
Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (2014)
Inducted into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame (2014)
Received the Botwinick Prize in Business Ethics from Columbia University Business School (2014)