Earlier today, David Stern completed his last preseason Board of Governors (BOG) meeting in New York. Somewhat poetically, the owners voted to change the Finals format that Stern originally altered back in his second year in the league. To commeorate Stern’s 30 years at the helm of the NBA, the owners gave him, what else, a bobblehead doll.
We have to thank the terrific reddit NBA community for this one. Username: MontaHaveItAll posted a pic of the Stern bobblehead from the meeting, and it’s glorious. As an indication of Stern’s historic run as the longest tenured commissioner American sports history, the reddit comments about the Stern bobblehead doll were typically wide-ranging.
One user said simply, “The eater of souls,” while another said “i want one #Sternisoursavior.”
During the BOG meetings, Stern’s last, he was toasted by the assembled owners on Tuesday night. Stern told the Associated Press there was a video with Bill Russell, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Tim Duncan, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James issuing tributes to the acclaimed commish.
Along with the video tribute, Stern said there was “some speechifying” and “a series of totally embarrassing photos of me over the last 36 years.”
“I got the opportunity to thank my colleagues at the NBA for their incredible work and saying how pleased I was that the league was in such good hands under those colleagues and Adam [Silver]’s stewardship,” he said.
[…]
“It’s been a great opportunity,” Stern said. “Believe it or not, even including my interaction with the media and the burns that come from being a lightning rod, it’s been a great run, and I’m grateful to the owners for giving me the opportunity.”
Cavs owner Dan Gilbert joked that while most bobblehead dolls have heads that go up-and-down, Stern’s only went side-to-side like Stern’s pervasive “no.”
God bless David Stern.
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