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.

聯(lián)盟副總裁亞當(dāng)·肖華將接手總裁職位，有消息稱(chēng)，這是斯特恩親自做出的選擇。作為體育史上最成功的總裁之一，斯特恩終于要交出手中的大權(quán)了。斯特恩和NBA的淵源始于1966年，從哥倫比亞大學(xué)法學(xué)院畢業(yè)，并且通過(guò)了紐約州律師資格考試后，他最初只是為聯(lián)盟進(jìn)行法律服務(wù)的律師。聯(lián)盟的每一任總裁的工作都有可以指摘的地方，斯特恩也不例外。但不可否認(rèn)的是，在斯特恩執(zhí)掌大權(quán)的這些年里，聯(lián)盟的擴(kuò)張程度、全球化程度和創(chuàng)新能力都出現(xiàn)前所未有的變革。

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.

想想這個(gè)吧，在斯特恩成為總裁那年，根據(jù)你在美國(guó)居住的地區(qū)不同，你甚至不一定能在電視上看到季后賽或總決賽的比賽直播。在“魔術(shù)師”約翰遜的湖人與拉里·伯德的凱爾特人這對(duì)幾乎為電視轉(zhuǎn)播而生的豪門(mén)宿怨的帶動(dòng)下，NBA已經(jīng)開(kāi)始了迅猛發(fā)展。但在斯特恩的執(zhí)掌下，NBA在全球范圍內(nèi)的流行度得到了爆發(fā)性增長(zhǎng)。

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.

當(dāng)然，ESPN這個(gè)全新體育新聞?lì)l道的出現(xiàn)對(duì)聯(lián)盟也是百利而無(wú)一害，它的全天候報(bào)道模式既推動(dòng)了聯(lián)盟的流行，又促進(jìn)了收視率的增長(zhǎng)。同時(shí)，大量極具天賦的球員進(jìn)入NBA也推動(dòng)了聯(lián)盟的發(fā)展，包括查爾斯·巴克利、約翰·斯托克頓、哈基姆·奧拉朱旺，還有那個(gè)你們也許聽(tīng)說(shuō)過(guò)一兩次的來(lái)自北卡的得分后衛(wèi)。

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.

雖說(shuō)當(dāng)喬丹穿著耐克球鞋踏上球場(chǎng)的那一刻（當(dāng)然他最終還會(huì)跳離地面），他就是極為強(qiáng)勢(shì)的推動(dòng)力量，但聯(lián)盟歷史上最具進(jìn)取精神的營(yíng)銷(xiāo)策略，加上夢(mèng)之隊(duì)（1992年巴塞羅那奧運(yùn)會(huì)）集合了那些史上最偉大的球員，這些都讓全球體育產(chǎn)業(yè)集團(tuán)都對(duì)斯特恩的NBA產(chǎn)生了極大興趣。

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還在美國(guó)以外的11座城市設(shè)有辦事機(jī)構(gòu)，NBA的比賽會(huì)在全球范圍內(nèi)的215個(gè)國(guó)家用43種語(yǔ)言播出，NBA同時(shí)還控制著WNBA和NBA發(fā)展聯(lián)盟，這兩個(gè)聯(lián)盟都是在斯特恩擔(dān)任總裁期間建立起來(lái)的。30年的時(shí)間無(wú)比漫長(zhǎng)，我們無(wú)需從頭到尾詳細(xì)回顧這段歷史。接下來(lái)，是斯特恩擔(dān)任總裁期間所取得的一些顯著成就、改變和富有爭(zhēng)議性事件的清單。

Expansion：

擴(kuò)張

The building of 28 new arenas league wide， 10 since the start of the 1999 season.

在全聯(lián)盟范圍內(nèi)新建了28座球館，其中從1999賽季開(kāi)始，共有10座球館是新建的。

Seven new teams， including： Charlotte/New Orleans Hornets/ Pelicans， Minnesota Timberwolves， Miami Heat， Orlando Magic， Vancouver/Memphis Grizzlies， Toronto Raptors， and Charlotte Bobcats.

誕生了七支新球隊(duì)，分別是：夏洛特/新奧爾良黃蜂/鵜鶘、明尼蘇達(dá)森林狼、邁阿密熱火、奧蘭多魔術(shù)、溫哥華/孟菲斯灰熊、多倫多猛龍和夏洛特山貓。

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）

六支球隊(duì)搬遷到新的城市：洛杉磯快船（圣迭戈），薩克拉門(mén)托國(guó)王（堪薩斯城），孟菲斯灰熊（溫哥華），新奧爾良鵜鶘（夏洛特/俄克拉何馬黃蜂），俄克拉何馬雷霆（西雅圖超音速），布魯克林籃網(wǎng)（新嘖嘖籃網(wǎng)）。

Rule/Policy Changes：

規(guī)則及政策改變：

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選秀前確立了樂(lè)透簽制度?？齑?次）、騎士（3次）和魔術(shù)（3次）是聯(lián)盟里僅有的三支至少兩次在選秀中“贏得”狀元簽的球隊(duì)。

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.

從1994年開(kāi)始，從后場(chǎng)底線(xiàn)到前場(chǎng)罰球線(xiàn)區(qū)間禁止用手掌阻擋對(duì)方進(jìn)攻球員（所謂“觸手規(guī)則”）。從那之后，聯(lián)盟對(duì)這條防守規(guī)則進(jìn)行了多次調(diào)整和改進(jìn)。這條規(guī)則的目的在于增強(qiáng)比賽流暢性，提高進(jìn)攻節(jié)奏，從而增加單場(chǎng)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.

分別在1984年和2009年將總決賽獎(jiǎng)杯和總決賽MVP獎(jiǎng)杯重新命名為拉里·奧布萊恩（聯(lián)盟前總裁）杯和比爾·拉塞爾杯。

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年聯(lián)盟曾經(jīng)使用了一種超細(xì)纖維的新籃球。但在球員頻繁抱怨“手感太滑”的巨大壓力下，僅僅三個(gè)月后，聯(lián)盟就恢復(fù)只用了以前的用球。

Scandals/Controversies

丑聞/爭(zhēng)議性事件

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.

斯特恩擔(dān)任總裁期間，聯(lián)盟事實(shí)上分別在1995年、1996年、1998-99賽季和2011年出現(xiàn)過(guò)四次停擺。前兩次停擺并沒(méi)有造成常規(guī)賽停賽，但1998-99賽季和201 1-12賽季分別損失了32場(chǎng)和16場(chǎng)比賽。

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毆后，在外界的大量懷疑和批評(píng)中，斯特恩決定執(zhí)行更嚴(yán)格、更專(zhuān)業(yè)化的著裝令，以期影響或改善聯(lián)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·多納西在審判中針對(duì)兩項(xiàng)指控和FBI的調(diào)查做出認(rèn)罪答辯，他被判處15個(gè)月監(jiān)禁。案件審理過(guò)程中，多納西的律師向法庭提交的文件中聲稱(chēng)，NBA聯(lián)盟在季后賽比賽里默認(rèn)甚至故意認(rèn)同某些特殊的判罰，以改變比賽結(jié)果。盡管多納西做出了這樣的指控，但卻沒(méi)有實(shí)質(zhì)證據(jù)支持他的說(shuō)法。斯特恩言辭激烈地否認(rèn)了這些指控，而且不承認(rèn)有任何其他的裁判牽扯其中。多納西在服刑期間親筆寫(xiě)出了《個(gè)人錯(cuò)誤：從第一視角看待震動(dòng)了NBA的丑聞》這本自傳，2009年這本自傳出版后，評(píng)論界褒貶不一。

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.

在他總裁生涯里也許是最令人震驚的一個(gè)決定里，斯特恩在2011年否決了克里斯·保羅前往湖人的交易瞬間在網(wǎng)絡(luò)上引發(fā)了“病毒性”傳播，這也正是社交媒體大規(guī)模興起的結(jié)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.

很顯然，沒(méi)有哪個(gè)領(lǐng)袖或總裁能是完美的，但在體育史上，你真的很難再去找到一個(gè)更成功的聯(lián)盟管理者了。不論公眾對(duì)于斯特恩某些決定抱有什么樣的態(tài)度，僅從商業(yè)角度來(lái)說(shuō)，作為接替斯特恩的人，亞當(dāng)·肖華面臨著不小的挑戰(zhàn)。