NBA Commissioner David Stern will retire on February 1, 2014, 30 years after he took charge of the league. He will be replaced by Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver.The announcement came at an NBA Board of Governors meeting on Thursday.Stern told owners during their two days of meetings of his plans, and the board unanimously decided Silver would be his successor.“I decided that things are in great shape and there’s an organisation in place that will ultimately be led by Adam that is totally prepared to take it to the next level,” Stern said.Stern, who turned 70 last month, became commissioner on February 1, 1984. He has been the NBA’s longest-serving commissioner, establishing the league’s brand around the world, presiding over team expansion and overseeing the establishment of the WNBA and the NBA Development League.Stern said he decided on his plans about six months ago, having guided the league through a lockout that ended nearly a year ago. He said the league is in great shape and he’s confident in Silver, who has been the league’s No 2 since 2006.Stern is the one who got it there, taking over what was a second-rate league with little-to-no TV presence and making basketball one of the world’s most popular sports.He cited the success of the 1992 Dream Team, which helped spark the league’s international explosion, but said everything “just keeps getting better than that.”Stern was the league’s outside counsel from 1966-78, then its general counsel before becoming executive vice-president of business and legal affairs from 1980-84. He replaced Larry O’Brien to become the league’s fourth commissioner.The NBA has added seven franchises during his tenure.Minnesota Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor, the outgoing chairman of the Board of Governors, said the average player salary had grown from $250,000 when Stern took over to $5 million.The league has reported huge increases in ticket and merchandise sales, and TV ratings are at an all-time high.Taylor and Spurs owner Peter Holt, who is replacing him as board chairman, said the owners will work to have a contract with Silver by April. Silver came to the NBA 20 years ago and served a variety of positions before becoming the deputy commissioner in 2006.
