NBA Teams to Honor David Stern with Commemorative Black Bands on Player Jerseys

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All NBA teams will honor David Stern with commemorative black bands on player jerseys for the remainder of the 2019-20 season, according to Paul Lukas of Uni-Watch and Shams Charania of The Athletic. Officials will also wear special bands on their uniforms.

The former NBA commissioner died on Wednesday at 77 years old. He suffered a brain hemorrhage on Dec. 12 and underwent emergency surgery.

Stern served as the league's commissioner from 1984 to 2014 and helped the NBA grow to a $5 billion a year industry. Under Stern, the league's international presence skyrocketed with games played internationally and televised worldwide. Among the highlights in Stern's tenure was also the rise of superstars like Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James. Tributes from many of those players poured in on social media on Wednesday.

Stern was the commissioner when the NBA faced controversy with referee Tim Donaghy's betting on games he officiated and when Indiana Pacers players brawled with Detroit Pistons fans in 2004. He also halted a trade that would have sent All-Star guard Chris Paul to the Los Angeles Lakers from the New Orleans Hornets due to "basketball reasons." He later told Sports Illustrated that he was "protecting the then-Hornets."

Stern was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2014.