The beginning of 2020 got off to an emotional start with the passing of longtime former NBA commissioner David Stern. Stern died at age 77 on January 1, 2020 from a brain hemorrhage. He was the NBA commissioner for 30 years, which was the longest term by an NBA commissioner in history and he tied former NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle for the longest term by a commissioner in NBA, NFL, NHL, or Major League Baseball history. Stern was a major reason for the success of the NBA for those three decades including the transition from the Bird and Magic rivalry of the Celtics and Lakers, to the Jordan era, Shaq and Kobe, and the LeBron James phenomenon. He had the challenge of making a predominantly black league appealing to white audiences despite racist and subtle stereotypes of black athletes at the time that even persist today.