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With deputy commissioner Adam Silver， reportedly a hand-picked selection of Stern himself， set to replace him， Stern will ultimately turn over the reins as one of the most successful commissioners in sports history. Stern’s association with the NBA actually started in 1966， as he was utilized as outside counsel just after graduating from Columbia Law School and passing the New York State bar examination. While every commissioner has their fair share of justifiable criticisms， Stern being no exception， there is no denying the NBA’s unparalleled expansion， globalization and innovation during his tenure.
联盟副总裁亚当·肖华将接手总裁职位，有消息称，这是斯特恩亲自做出的选择。作为体育史上最成功的总裁之一，斯特恩终于要交出手中的大权了。斯特恩和NBA的渊源始于1966年，从哥伦比亚大学法学院毕业，并且通过了纽约州律师资格考试后，他最初只是为联盟进行法律服务的律师。联盟的每一任总裁的工作都有可以指摘的地方，斯特恩也不例外。但不可否认的是，在斯特恩执掌大权的这些年里，联盟的扩张程度、全球化程度和创新能力都出现前所未有的变革。
Consider this， when Stern took office， depending upon where you lived within the United States， the playoffs and Finals were not even guaranteed to be broadcasted live. The NBA， behind the strength of the made-for-TV rivalry of Magic Johnson’s Los Angeles Lakers and Larry Bird’s Boston Celtics was already booming， but the league simply exploded in worldwide popularity under the watchful eye of Stern.
想想这个吧，在斯特恩成为总裁那年，根据你在美国居住的地区不同，你甚至不一定能在电视上看到季后赛或总决赛的比赛直播。在“魔术师”约翰逊的湖人与拉里·伯德的凯尔特人这对几乎为电视转播而生的豪门宿怨的带动下，NBA已经开始了迅猛发展。但在斯特恩的执掌下，NBA在全球范围内的流行度得到了爆发性增长。
Of course， it didn’t hurt to have a fairly new round-the-clock①sports news channel in ESPN conveniently gaining in popularity and viewership at the same time. Neither did the influx of talented players such as Charles Barkley， John Stockton， Hakeem Olajuwon and this shooting guard out of North Carolina that you may have heard of once or twice before.
当然，ESPN这个全新体育新闻频道的出现对联盟也是百利而无一害，它的全天候报道模式既推动了联盟的流行，又促进了收视率的增长。同时，大量极具天赋的球员进入NBA也推动了联盟的发展，包括查尔斯·巴克利、约翰·斯托克顿、哈基姆·奥拉朱旺，还有那个你们也许听说过一两次的来自北卡的得分后卫。
Although Jordan was an absolute force as soon as his Nike’s hit（and eventually left） the ground， the combination of the most aggressive marketing strategy in league history and an iconic collection of all-time great talent in the Dream Team （1992 Barcelona Olympics） permitted Stern to open pique the interest of a global sports community.
虽说当乔丹穿着耐克球鞋踏上球场的那一刻（当然他最终还会跳离地面），他就是极为强势的推动力量，但联盟历史上最具进取精神的营销策略，加上梦之队（1992年巴塞罗那奥运会）集合了那些史上最伟大的球员，这些都让全球体育产业集团都对斯特恩的NBA产生了极大兴趣。
Additionally， the NBA now has 11 offices in cities outside the United States， is televised in 215 countries around the world in 43 languages， and operates the WNBA and the NBA Developmental League all initiated under Stern’s watch. Without going through the entire history， as 30 years is an awfully long time， here is a list of a few of the significant improvements， changes and controversial events that took place under Stern：
除此之外，NBA还在美国以外的11座城市设有办事机构，NBA的比赛会在全球范围内的215个国家用43种语言播出，NBA同时还控制着WNBA和NBA发展联盟，这两个联盟都是在斯特恩担任总裁期间建立起来的。30年的时间无比漫长，我们无需从头到尾详细回顾这段历史。接下来，是斯特恩担任总裁期间所取得的一些显著成就、改变和富有争议性事件的清单。
Expansion：
扩张
The building of 28 new arenas league wide， 10 since the start of the 1999 season.
在全联盟范围内新建了28座球馆，其中从1999赛季开始，共有10座球馆是新建的。
Seven new teams， including： Charlotte/New Orleans Hornets/ Pelicans， Minnesota Timberwolves， Miami Heat， Orlando Magic， Vancouver/Memphis Grizzlies， Toronto Raptors， and Charlotte Bobcats.
诞生了七支新球队，分别是：夏洛特/新奥尔良黄蜂/鹈鹕、明尼苏达森林狼、迈阿密热火、奥兰多魔术、温哥华/孟菲斯灰熊、多伦多猛龙和夏洛特山猫。
Six teams relocated： Los Angeles Clippers （San Diego）， Sacramento Kings （Kansas City）， Memphis Grizzlies （Vancouver）， New Orleans Pelicans （Charlotte/OKC Hornets）， Oklahoma City Thunder （Seattle Supersonics）， Brooklyn Nets （New Jersey Nets）
六支球队搬迁到新的城市：洛杉矶快船（圣迭戈），萨克拉门托国王（堪萨斯城），孟菲斯灰熊（温哥华），新奥尔良鹈鹕（夏洛特/俄克拉何马黄蜂），俄克拉何马雷霆（西雅图超音速），布鲁克林篮网（新啧啧篮网）。
Rule/Policy Changes：
规则及政策改变：
Institution of the NBA Lottery prior to the 1985 NBA Draft. The Clippers （four）， Cavaliers （three）， and Magic （three） remain as the only organizations to “win” the Draft Lottery more than twice.
在1985年NBA选秀前确立了乐透签制度。快船（4次）、骑士（3次）和魔术（3次）是联盟里仅有的三支至少两次在选秀中“赢得”状元签的球队。
Banned hand-checking by defenders from the end-line in the backcourt to the offense’s free throw line in 1994. The league has made several additional adjustments/amendments to defensive rules since then， with a majority of them seemingly aimed towards improving flow and pace for the offensive teams in an effort to increase scoring.
从1994年开始，从后场底线到前场罚球线区间禁止用手掌阻挡对方进攻球员（所谓“触手规则”）。从那之后，联盟对这条防守规则进行了多次调整和改进。这条规则的目的在于增强比赛流畅性，提高进攻节奏，从而增加单场比分。
Renamed the NBA Finals trophy（1984） and Finals MVP trophy （2009） to the Larry O’Brien （previous commissioner） and Bill Russell awards， respectively.
分别在1984年和2009年将总决赛奖杯和总决赛MVP奖杯重新命名为拉里·奥布莱恩（联盟前总裁）杯和比尔·拉塞尔杯。
The NBA unveiled a new microfiber composite basketball in 2006. Under extreme pressure from the players due to a “slippery feel”， the league decided to return to the original ball just three months later. 2006年联盟曾经使用了一种超细纤维的新篮球。但在球员频繁抱怨“手感太滑”的巨大压力下，仅仅三个月后，联盟就恢复只用了以前的用球。
Scandals/Controversies
丑闻/争议性事件
There were technically four total lockouts under his watch （1995， 1996， 1998-99， and 2011）. While the first two didn’t result in the loss of any regular season games， the 1998-99 and 2011-12 seasons were shortened by 32 and 16 games.
斯特恩担任总裁期间，联盟事实上分别在1995年、1996年、1998-99赛季和2011年出现过四次停摆。前两次停摆并没有造成常规赛停赛，但1998-99赛季和201 1-12赛季分别损失了32场和16场比赛。
Under a great deal of speculation and criticism following the 2004 Pistons/Pacers brawl in Detroit， Stern decided to implement a more strict and professional dress code for the players in an effort to influence/change the public image of the league.
2004年活塞和步行者在底特律斗殴后，在外界的大量怀疑和批评中，斯特恩决定执行更严格、更专业化的着装令，以期影响或改善联盟的外界形象。
Former NBA official Tim Donaghy was sentenced to 15 months in federal prison in 2008 following a guilty plea（and trial） to two charges following and FBI investigation. During the trial， Donaghy’s attorney submitted documents that alleged the NBA’s compliance and even coordination of purposely scheduling specific officials during the postseason in order to influence the outcome of games. Although the accusation was made， no tangible evidence was presented to support such a claim. Stern vehemently disputed the notion of this compliance， and denied any involvement of additional officials. During Donaghy’s prison sentence， he penned his personal memoirs ‘Personal Foul： A First-Person Account of the Scandal That Rocked The NBA’ which was published to mixed reviews in 2009.
2008年，前NBA裁判蒂姆·多纳西在审判中针对两项指控和FBI的调查做出认罪答辩，他被判处15个月监禁。案件审理过程中，多纳西的律师向法庭提交的文件中声称，NBA联盟在季后赛比赛里默认甚至故意认同某些特殊的判罚，以改变比赛结果。尽管多纳西做出了这样的指控，但却没有实质证据支持他的说法。斯特恩言辞激烈地否认了这些指控，而且不承认有任何其他的裁判牵扯其中。多纳西在服刑期间亲笔写出了《个人错误：从第一视角看待震动了NBA的丑闻》这本自传，2009年这本自传出版后，评论界褒贬不一。
In perhaps one of the more shocking moves during his reign， Stern’s 2011 vetoing of the agreed-upon Chris Paul to the Los Angeles Lakers trade went ‘viral’ instantaneously as a result of the everyincreasing popularity of social media.
在他总裁生涯里也许是最令人震惊的一个决定里，斯特恩在2011年否决了克里斯·保罗前往湖人的交易瞬间在网络上引发了“病毒性”传播，这也正是社交媒体大规模兴起的结果。
Clearly， no presidency， reign， or commissionership is going to be perfect， but you’ll be hard-pressed to find a more successful league steward in the history of sports. Regardless of the public’s opinions regarding some of the decisions Stern has made， from a business perspective， Silver will have quite the challenge of attempting to follow in his footsteps.
很显然，没有哪个领袖或总裁能是完美的，但在体育史上，你真的很难再去找到一个更成功的联盟管理者了。不论公众对于斯特恩某些决定抱有什么样的态度，仅从商业角度来说，作为接替斯特恩的人，亚当·肖华面临着不小的挑战。