Ode to a Villain

I will never like David Stern for obvious reasons. Being from Seattle, this shouldn't come as a shocking revelation. Once Stern steps down as commissioner the lasting image I will have is this press conference, but particularly what he said not 5 seconds into this particular presser. This is Stern at his Sterniest; the NBA's lovable villain.

I'm willing to bet that Stern is the smartest person in whichever room he walks into. He is meticulous in choosing exactly the right words to convey what he wants to. If you're to slow on the uptake you will completely miss the words behind his words. That's why that statement in that presser cuts pretty deep. The funny thing is that this is exactly why people will miss him when he is gone. 

Stern understands that no matter what he does there will be a segment of people that dislike him no matter what; such is the life of a figure head. So Stern, in all his wisdom, decided to own that disdain and relish in it. he wanted to, Stern could probably stay commissioner for another 30 years, surviving off of draft night boos alone. The way he owns his title of villain is actually what makes him lovable; in a sick kind of way. Its almost as if he's been cast in the role of the villain and has been nailing it for the past three decades. Its impressive really. But there is some serious substance behind that villainous mask.

If you take Stern's total tenure as commissioner it's impossible to say that he didn't do his job. According to forbes, league revenues have increased from $118 million when he first entered office to $4.6 billion, with a B. People can point to Stern as the primary reason why the league has grown in popularity beyond North America. As an aspiring marketer, it's hard not to admire what Stern has built the league into. I'm 100% sure that we will be getting a completely new style of commissioner-ing when Adam Silver takes over and thats ok. Not everyone can wear the villain hat as well as Stern.