PSR: On The Clock:
David Stern

David Stern has been the commissioner of the National Basketball Association since February 1984. He joined the NBA in 1978 as general counsel and became the league's executive vice president in 1980. Born in Chelsea, New York in 1942, Stern's career began in his family's New York delicatessen, Stern's Deli. He credits working behind the counter with providing him the kind of work ethic necessary to head the multimillion-dollar empire that the NBA has become under his guidance (the league's revenue has increased five-fold since he took the reigns in 1984). In Stern's two decades as commish, the NBA has opened international offices in Barcelona, Hong Kong, London, Melbourne, Mexico City, Miami, Paris, Singapore, Taiwan, Tokyo, and Toronto; launched the WNBA - recognized as one of the most successful launches in sports league history, created the National Basketball Development League; and launched NBA.com TV, a 24-hour digital network, to name only a few. PSR's Tony DeFazio spoke with Stern on the eve of the NBA 2004 Draft.

PSR: Has the game changed at all due to the influx of high school players and very young college players into the league?

Stern: The game might not be so different - I think that coaching has had to change a little. Coaches are probably teaching more now because, obviously, the experience level of their players has changed.

If I had my druthers, I would like to see the age limit increased. It's 18 now, I'd like to see it at 20. Frankly, I think that we're setting a bad example. There is too much to be gained by the experience of college and playing at that next level for the kids coming out of high school. The experience of college, in addition to the development obviously, makes them more well-rounded as players and as people. Playing more minutes at the college level, as opposed to playing 4 minutes a game in our league, would be a positive for most. Sitting on the bench when they could be playing in college keeps them unhappy and underdeveloped. Not to mention it's bad for business. Too many potential misses in the draft because teams simply don't have enough of a background on kids.

PSR: The old adage used to be that "there is no defense in the NBA." The Pistons disproved that by winning the championship, obviously. But it seems defense has been stressed more across the league. Why do you think that is?

DS: First of all I think it goes way beyond the Pistons. Certainly, they showed everyone that defense can win in the NBA, but I think defense was strong league-wide. I think there are combinations of things that can be seen as being reasons, but primarily it is the coaching. Coaches are stressing defense, and implementing systems that are difficult for offenses to penetrate and succeed against.

PSR: When a team like the Lakers are felled by the underdog, is that something that is good for the league?

DS: I just think that some years, the quote-unquote superstar-laden teams take home the trophy, and some years you have what you had this year, with the Pistons winning it all. Obviously, it takes a great team to win the title, and I think the competition is great for the fans. People enjoy watching the superstars play, whether they are rooting for them to win or lose.

PSR: A lot of talk is now focused on the Lakers, and where their players will wind up. Is it a positive for the league to have the top players possibly moving around like this?

DS: Inevitably it makes for good conversation. I'm not prepared to say whether it is a good or a bad thing at this point. The newspapers and television stations and so forth love to focus on what might happen; is Dallas going to talk to the Lakers about Shaq, what will happen in Houston - and just like baseball has it's hot-stove league in the winter - I guess this is the NBA's air-conditioner league in the summer.

PSR: The NBA had its share of positive and negative this season - a young kid like LeBron James was able to stir such positive feelings throughout the league; the Pistons were a great story. On the other side you had the murder trial of Jayson Williams and an upcoming rape trial for Kobe Bryant. How do those things impact the fan base?

DS: Well, I think our fans are very sophisticated fans, and they understand that things are going to take place on both side of the fences, as they do every day in society. People are going to get into trouble, but what happens off the court is separate from the game.

PSR: How important is a non-NBA market like Pittsburgh to the league?

DS: Very important. Understand that NBA cities and their respective television markets only make up about 50% across the United States. We need to reach into those cities for a fan base, so those cities are extremely important. We get fan interest online and in other different ways. The bigger the city, the more important, which is why we bring the Cavaliers into Pittsburgh for exhibition games.

Our game is really global now. Look at the western European, eastern European, Asian, and African influx of players into the league. This is really a global sport and a global league today.