The NBA Draft is an annual event in which the thirty teams from the National Basketball Association (NBA) can draft players who are eligible and wish to join the league. These players are usually amateur U.S. college basketball players, but international players are also eligible to be drafted. College players who have finished their four-year college eligibility are automatically eligible for selection, while the underclassmen have to declare their eligibility and give up their remaining college eligibility. International players who are at least 22 years old are automatically eligible for selection, while the players younger than 22 have to declare their eligibility. Players who are not automatically eligible but have declared their eligibility are often called "early-entrants" or "early-entry candidates". The Draft usually takes place at the end of June, during the NBA off-season. The Draft consists of two rounds with a total of sixty players to be selected.

In the past, high school players were also eligible to be selected. However, starting in the 2006 Draft, high school players were not eligible to enter the draft directly after graduating high school. The rules now state that high school players will gain eligibility for draft selection one year after their high school graduation and they must also be at least 19 years old as of the end of the calendar year of the draft. Contrary to popular belief, they do ''not'' necessarily have to have at least one year of college basketball (as some players have chosen to use that year to play pro in Europe for example).

NBA Draft Lottery

The NBA Draft Lottery is an annual event held by the NBA to determine the draft order. The teams who missed the playoffs in the previous season participate in a lottery process to determine the draft order. The lottery winner would get the first selection in the draft. In the current rules, 14 non-playoff teams participate in the Draft Lottery. The lottery is weighted so that the team with the worst record has the best chance of obtaining higher draft picks. The lottery process determines the first three picks of the draft. The rest of the first-round order of picks is in reverse order of the teams' win-loss record. The lottery does not determine the draft order in the second round of the draft. The term "lottery pick" denotes a draft pick whose position is determined through the lottery, while the non-playoff teams involved in the process are often called "lottery teams". The Draft Lottery system was first used in the 1985 Draft.

Draft selection process

All players must be at least 19 years of age during the calendar year of the draft, and a player who completed basketball eligibility at an American high school must also be at least one year removed from the graduation of his high school class. Restrictions exist on players signing with sports agents and on declaring for, then withdrawing, from drafts—although most of them are enforced by the NCAA rather than the NBA.

In the early years of the draft, teams would select players until they ran out of prospects. The 1960 draft went 21 rounds. By 1974, it had stabilized to 10 rounds, which held up until 1985, when the draft was shortened to seven rounds. By agreement with the National Basketball Players Association, the drafts from 1989 onward have been limited to two rounds, which gives undrafted players the chance to try out for any team.

Globalization of the draft

The NBA draft has been dominated by collegiate players since the draft was put in place in 1950. In more recent years high school seniors have also had a large impact on the draft. These include players like Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Kevin Garnett, Dwight Howard, and Amar'e Stoudemire. However, because of the new age requirement put in place in 2005, high school seniors are no longer eligible for the draft. During the same stretch that high school players were making a large impact on the draft, another group of players started to make their presence felt in the draft.

Selecting foreign players

Foreign players have made a large impact on how teams are now drafting. When the draft began, foreign players were not selected. As the years progressed, things began to change and a few international players were selected. The first foreign player, in the sense of being a national of a country other than the U.S., to be chosen first overall in the draft was Bahamian Mychal Thompson in 1978. However, Thompson's selection was not a true harbinger of the game's globalization, as he had spent much of his childhood in Florida, and had played college basketball at Minnesota. One of the first foreign players selected in the draft to play in the NBA was Manute Bol out of the Sudan in 1983 in the 5th round by the San Diego Clippers. Bol's selection was later deemed ineligible by the NBA. Two years later Bol was drafted again by the NBA this time out of Division II University of Bridgeport in 1985 as the 31st pick overall in the second round. Although Bol did not have a stellar career, he is known for being one of the tallest players ever to play the game at 7 feet and 7 inches. He holds the record for being the tallest player ever to hit a 3 point field goal. The following two years saw two players born outside the U.S. selected first overall—Nigerian Hakeem Olajuwon in 1984 and Jamaica-born American Patrick Ewing in 1985. However, like Thompson before them, both had played U.S. college basketball—Olajuwon at Houston and Ewing at Georgetown—and Ewing had also played high school basketball in the U.S.

By the 1997 Draft, the number of foreign players being drafted dramatically increased. The top pick in that draft, Tim Duncan, became the third international player picked number 1 overall—although his designation as "international" is a matter of semantics, as he is a native of the United States Virgin Islands and, like all USVI natives, is a U.S. citizen by birth. He also had played U.S. college basketball at Wake Forest. Including Duncan, 12 international players were selected in the two rounds of the draft—although half of them, including Duncan and the next two such players picked, had played college basketball. The 1998 draft saw another foreign player picked first overall, Nigerian Michael Olowokandi, but like Duncan he had played college basketball, in his case at Pacific. In 2001 the highest drafted foreign player, Pau Gasol, was selected 3rd overall by the Atlanta Hawks. That would all change the following season when Yao Ming became the first foreign player without U.S. college experience to be selected number 1 overall. Not only was the first overall pick an international player, but five more picks in the first round alone were also from overseas. In total, the 2002 draft produced 17 international players, with only three of them (all second-round picks) having U.S. college experience.

International players selected number 1 overall

As noted earlier, four international players had gone first overall before 2002, although all had played college basketball in the U.S., and one of them was in fact a U.S. citizen by birth. It was not until 2002 that an international player without college experience went first overall—Yao Ming. His selection was not only a watershed moment for the NBA, it also had a large impact in Yao's homeland of China. Hannah Beech (2003) writes "Yao has single-handedly transformed his countrymen from nameless, faceless millions into mighty men who can jam with the very best." Yao has helped the NBA grow into a worldwide product. Beech (2003) goes on to write "Ratings for NBA games broadcast on Chinese TV have never been higher than this year as the nation keeps track of its new favorite team, Yao's Houston Rockets." For his career Yao is averaging a solid 19.0 points per game, 9.2 rebounds per game, 1.89 blocks per game, and is shooting 82.6 percent from the free throw line.

2001 Draft

From the 2001 draft to the 2006 Draft there were a total of 87 foreign players selected. This trend shows how NBA teams are expanding the way they are selecting players in the draft. Players like Pau Gasol, Dirk Nowitzki, Yao Ming, Tony Parker, Hedo Türkoğlu, Nenê and Luol Deng are changing the landscape of the NBA to include a wide array of players from all over the globe.

2002, 2005 and 2006 Drafts

The 2002, 2005 and 2006 Drafts saw international players picked first overall. In 2002 the Houston Rockets selected Yao Ming from China first in the draft. Also in 2005, the Milwaukee Bucks picked Andrew Bogut, from Australia by way of the University of Utah, #1. The next year, the Toronto Raptors made Andrea Bargnani the second foreign player without U.S. college experience to be selected number 1 overall.

Other notable past NBA drafts

Some of the most noted NBA draft years are 1984, 1996, and 2003. Each of those is often referred to as one of, if not the, best NBA Draft ever, though the 2003 Draft was too recent to accurately compare. The 2000 NBA Draft has been regarded as the worst in history, with ''Sports Illustrated'' calling its first round "a horrible group of players." The 1986 Draft was notable for the number of solid and even outstanding players selected in later rounds, partly because of drug problems that claimed the life of second overall pick Len Bias and affected the careers of several other first-round picks.

See also

Draft bust

Expansion draft

''Haywood v. National Basketball Assn.''

Mock draft

NBA Draft Lottery

NBA first overall draft pick

NBA territorial pick

WNBA Draft

References

;General ;Specific

External links

NBA.com: NBA Draft History

Basketball-Reference.com: NBA Draft Index.

TheDraftReview.com: NBA Draft Index

* Category:Recurring sporting events established in 1947 bs:NBA draft ca:Draft de l'NBA de:NBA Draft es:Draft de la NBA fr:Draft NBA gl:NBA Draft hr:NBA draft it:Draft NBA he:דראפט ה-NBA lv:Nacionālās basketbola asociācijas drafts lt:NBA naujokų birža mk:НБА Драфт nl:NBA Draft ja:NBAドラフト no:NBA-draftet pl:NBA Draft ru:Драфт НБА simple:NBA Draft sr:НБА драфт fi:NBA:n varaustilaisuus ta:என்.பி.ஏ. தேர்தல் tr:NBA Seçmeleri zh:NBA选秀

name	Blake Griffin
height ft	6
height in	10
weight lb	251
team	Los Angeles Clippers
number	32
position	Power Forward
birth date	March 16, 1989
birth place	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
high school	Oklahoma Christian School (Edmond, Oklahoma)
college	Oklahoma
nationality	American
draft round	1
draft pick	1
draft team	Los Angeles Clippers
draft year	2009
career start	2009
years1	–present | team1 Los Angeles Clippers
highlights	NBA Rookie of the Year () NBA All-Star () NBA All-Rookie First Team () NBA Slam Dunk Contest Champion () Big 12 Player of the Year (2009) John R. Wooden Award (2009) Naismith College Player of the Year (2009) AP National Player of the Year (2009) Oscar Robertson Trophy (2009) Adolph Rupp Trophy (2009) NABC Player of the Year (2009) }}

Blake Austin Griffin (born March 16, 1989) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Griffin had a renowned high school career at Oklahoma Christian School, winning state titles each of his four years under his father who was the head coach. He played college basketball for the University of Oklahoma Sooners and was awarded numerous accolades in his second year including the Naismith College Player of the Year, Oscar Robertson Trophy and the John Wooden Award. Griffin left college after two seasons to enter the 2009 NBA Draft where he was selected first overall by the Clippers. He missed the entire 2009–10 season due to surgery on his broken left kneecap, which he injured during the final pre-season game. He made his NBA debut as a rookie the following season and was selected as an All-Star, won the 2011 NBA Slam Dunk Contest and was named the NBA Rookie of the Year.

Early years

Childhood

Griffin was born on March 16, 1989 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma to Tommy and Gail Griffin. His father was a basketball center and track standout at NAIA Northwestern Oklahoma State University. Griffin and his older brother, Taylor Griffin, were home-schooled by their mother from first grade until Taylor was in the tenth grade and Blake was in eighth. Growing up, he was good friends with Sam Bradford of the St. Louis Rams and played on the same Athletes First AAU basketball team along with Xavier Henry of the Memphis Grizzlies. Griffin’s parents owned a trophy company that Bradford’s father would use and Bradford’s father owned a gym where Griffin and his brother Taylor played basketball. Apart from basketball, he also played first baseman in baseball, and football as a wide receiver, safety and a tight end.

High school

Griffin and his brother Taylor attended Oklahoma Christian School for high school where they played under their father who was the head coach. They played together during the 2003–04 and 2004–05 high school seasons, winning two state high school basketball championships together. In his freshmen year, the Oklahoma Christian Saints posted a perfect 29–0 season and won the Class 3A boys state championship game held at the State Fair Arena against Riverside. In his sophomore year, the Saints repeated as Class 3A state champions and finished the season with a 24–2 record, while averaging 13.6 points per game in what was his final high school season with his brother. He was named to the Little All-City All-State team and his brother was named ''The Oklahoman'' Player of the Year. After the season, his brother went off to play college basketball for the University of Oklahoma. During the summer of 2005, Griffin played against Kevin Durant and Ty Lawson while playing for the Athletes First AAU team.

As a junior, he averaged 21.7 points, 12.5 rebounds, and 4.9 assists, and led the Saints to the Class 2A championship game, beating Washington High School for a third straight state championship and was named the state tournament MVP. The team finished 27–1 and Griffin was named ''The Oklahoman'' Player of the Year and to the ''Tulsa World'' Boys All-State First Team. His play attracted the attention of the new basketball head coach for the Oklahoma Sooners, Jeff Capel, who first heard of Griffin through his brother Taylor. In the spring of 2006, Capel saw Griffin play for the first time and was impressed with his combination of size, strength and athleticism. Capel recruited Griffin because he felt he was the player he needed to rebuild his tenure with the Oklahoma men's basketball program. Griffin had been considering Duke, Kansas, North Carolina and Texas, but his brother eventually sold him on joining Oklahoma when he raved about the direction of the Sooners and the chance to play together again for his home state.

Griffin committed to Oklahoma before the start of his senior season and averaged 26.8 points, 15.1 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 2.9 blocks per game as a senior while leading the team to a 26–3 record. In a game against Oklahoma City Southeast, Griffin had his best game of the season with 41 points, 28 rebounds, and 10 assists. On March 10, 2007, he played his final high school game in the state title game against Pawnee High School. He registered 22 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 blocks, as the Saints defeated Pawnee 81–50, winning their fourth straight state title. He was named the Class 2A state tournament MVP for the second consecutive year after averaging 26.6 points per game in the tournament, winning its three games by an average of 30.3 points. During his four-year run, the Oklahoma Christian Saints posted a 106–6 overall record.

Griffin was named the Player of the Year by both the ''Tulsa World'' and ''The Oklahoman'' and named a Oklahoma Boys All-State First Team, EA Sports All-American Second Team and a ''Parade'' Third Team All-American. He was ranked as the nation's #13 high school senior by HoopScoop, #20 by scout.com and #23 by rivals.com, and as the country's third-best power forward by HoopScoop, sixth by rivals.com and the seventh by scout.com. Additionally, he was the Gatorade Oklahoma Player of the Year and was selected to the McDonald's All-American and Jordan Brand All-America teams. At the McDonald's All-American game in Louisville, Kentucky he won the Powerade Jam Fest slam dunk contest.

College career

Griffin was one of the highest rated and most decorated recruits ever at Oklahoma. As a freshman at Oklahoma, he averaged 14.7 points and 9.1 rebounds in 28.4 minutes per game and led the Sooners to a 23–12 record. He ranked ninth in scoring, fourth in rebounding and third in field goal percentage in Big 12. In a game against the Kansas Jayhawks, he suffered a sprained medial collateral ligament (MCL) in his left knee five minutes into the Sooners game. Less than two months after injuring his left knee, he injured his right knee in a home victory against Texas A&M;. The injury this time was torn cartilage, and he had arthroscopic surgery on March 2, 2008. He missed the following game, a victory over in-state rival Oklahoma State Cowboys, but was back on the court a week after the injury with 14 points and 8 rebounds in 28 minutes versus the Missouri Tigers, a win for the Sooners on their home floor. He was a first-team all-district pick by the USBWA and NABC, and was named to the Big 12 All-Rookie Team and to the first-team All-Big 12 selection by league coaches and Associated Press. He became the first Sooner to make the conference All-Rookie team since Wayman Tisdale in 1983 for the Big Eight Conference. He was expected to be a lottery pick in the 2008 NBA Draft but decided to return to college for a second season to give himself time to mature physically and make Oklahoma a contender for the NCAA championship.

In his sophomore season, the Sooners started out the season winning their first 12 games before falling to the Arkansas Razorbacks. In the third game of the season against the Davidson Wildcats, he scored 25 points and grabbed 21 rebounds, after which he scored 35 points and 21 rebounds against Gardner–Webb, becoming the first player in Big 12 history to record back-to-back games of at least 20 points and 20 rebounds. This earned him three consecutive Big 12 player of the week honor and finished the season with a record-tying six player of the week honors. In a home victory against the Texas Tech Red Raiders, he set career bests for both points and rebounds with 40 points and 23 rebounds, becoming the only player in Big 12 history and the third player in the history of the University of Oklahoma men's basketball program to score 40 points and get 20 rebounds in the same game, joining Wayman Tisdale (61 points and 22 rebounds in 1983) and Alvan Adams (43 points and 25 rebounds in 1975).

On February 21, he received a concussion in a loss to the Texas Longhorns, when he caught an inadvertent shot to the face from the open hand of Texas center Dexter Pittman. He sat out the second half during the Sooners loss with a bloody nose. It was the Sooners' first loss of their conference schedule for the season. After sitting out the next game, a loss to Kansas Jayhawks, he was cleared by the medical staff and returned a week later to get 20 points and 19 rebounds in a victory over the Texas Tech Red Raiders. Oklahoma finished second in the conference with a 13–3 record but fell short in the first game of the Big 12 Tournament to the Oklahoma State Cowboys. In the "Big Dance", Oklahoma was seeded No. 2 in the South Region with a 27-5 record. In the second-round win over the Michigan Wolverines, he scored 33 points and grabbed 17 rebounds, just the second player in the 2000s decade with at least 30 points and 15 rebounds in the NCAA tournament. However, the Sooners lost to the North Carolina Tar Heels in the South Regional final.

Griffin averaged 22.7 points, 14.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game during the regular season and earned All-American First Team honors. He led the Big 12 in scoring and rebounds, and recorded at least 20 points and 15 rebounds 15 times, which is a Big 12 record. He also set school and Big 12 single-season records for most rebounds (504), rebounding average (14.4), and double-doubles (30), and his free throw attempts (324) were the most by a Sooner in a single-season. With 30 double-doubles during the season, he was one short of the NCAA record of 31 set by David Robinson in 1986–1987. His total of 504 rebounds were the most in a season by an NCAA Division I player since Indiana State's Larry Bird had 505 in 1978–79 and his rebounding average of 14.4 was the highest since Wake Forest's Tim Duncan averaged 14.7 in 1996–97.

For his sophomore year performance, Griffin swept all six of the national player of the year awards. He was a unanimous choice by voters in all nine geographical districts for the Oscar Robertson Trophy and was named Associated Press College Basketball Player of the Year, receiving 66 of the 71 national media panel members' votes. Griffin was announced as the winner of the prestigious Naismith College Player of the Year on April 5 in Detroit. Three days after announcing that he would turn pro, he won the John Wooden Award as college basketball's top player. He became the first Oklahoma player in school history to win the Naismith Award, Oscar Robertson Trophy, Adolph Rupp Trophy, John Wooden Award and the Associated Press player of the year. He was also named Player of the Year by the Big 12, Sports Illustrated, The Sporting News and FoxSports.com. When combined with Sam Bradford's Heisman Trophy, the University of Oklahoma became the first school to have a winner in both top basketball and football individual awards in the same year.

College statistics

33 35 68

College !! Year	! GP !! GS !! MIN !! PPG !! RPG !! APG !! SPG !! BPG !! FG%!! FT%!! 3P%
Oklahoma	2007–08	33	|	28.4	14.7	9.1	1.8	1.0	.85	.568	.589	.0
Oklahoma	2008–09	35	|	33.3	22.7	14.4	2.3	1.1	1.2	.646	.590	.375
Career	68	|	31.4	18.8	11.8	2.1	1.0	1.05	.618	.589	.300

NBA career

2009–10: Injured season

On April 7, 2009, Griffin announced that he would give up his final two years of eligibility and declared for the NBA Draft after his sophomore year. A press conference announcing his decision was aired nationally on ESPNews. He was selected as the first overall pick by the Los Angeles Clippers in the 2009 NBA Draft. Griffin played for the Clippers' Summer League Team and was named Summer League MVP. In their final preseason game, he injured his kneecap as he landed after a dunk. The day before the 2009–10 season started it was confirmed that Griffin had a stress fracture in his left knee, delaying his NBA debut for seven weeks. After resting the stress fracture for several weeks, tests revealed that his knee was not recovering properly. In January 2010, Griffin had surgery on his broken left kneecap, missing the entire 2009–10 season. In the off season Griffin spent a great deal of time working out with a San Francisco-based trainer.

2010–11: Rookie of the Year

Since he missed the entire 2009–10 season, Griffin was still considered a rookie during the 2010–11 season. In his debut for the Clippers against the Portland Trail Blazers, Griffin scored 20 points and registered 14 rebounds. He set a franchise record for most consecutive double-doubles with 23 in a home game against the Golden State Warriors. His streak of consecutive double-doubles ended at 27 games on January 19 in a win against the Minnesota Timberwolves where he scored 29 points and grabbed 8 rebounds. On January 17, 2011 against the Indiana Pacers, Griffin scored a career-high and set a Clippers record for most points scored by a rookie with 47 points and grabbed 14 rebounds. He became the first rookie to have two 40+ games in his rookie season since Allen Iverson during the 1996–97 season.

Griffin was voted to the 2011 NBA All-Star Game by coaches as a reserve on the Western Conference squad, becoming the first rookie to play in the All-Star game since Yao Ming in 2003 and the first rookie voted to the game by coaches since Tim Duncan in 1998. He also participated in the 2011 Rookie Challenge and won the Sprite Slam Dunk Contest during the All-Star break. On March 23, 2011, in a double overtime win over the Washington Wizards, Griffin recorded his first career triple-double, 33 points, 17 rebounds, and 10 assists, and recorded his second triple-double with 31 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, in the final game of the season against the Memphis Grizzlies.

During the season, he captured all six of the Western Conference T-Mobile Rookie of the Month, the first time a rookie has swept an entire season of Rookie of the Month awards since Chris Paul during the 2005–06 season. He played in all 82 regular season games and became the first rookie to average at least 20 points and 10 rebounds since Elton Brand did it in the 1999–00 season. He led all rookies in points, rebounds and double-doubles, earning him the Rookie of the Year award, and was the first unanimous winner for the award since David Robinson in 1990. He was also the only unanimous selection to the All-Rookie First Team.

Player profile

Standing at , Griffin plays power forward. In his rookie year, he averaged 22.5 points, 12.1 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game. He has established himself as a difficult player to guard, especially when coming off the pick and roll. He is often able to get to the free throw line but like many power forwards and centers has a relatively low free throw percentage. Griffin has also become well known for his dunking ability, winning the 2011 Slam Dunk Contest.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

|- | style="text-align:left;"| 2010–11 | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Clippers | 82 || 82 || 38.0 || .506 || .292 || .642 || 12.1 || 3.8 || .8 || .5 || 22.5 |- | style="text-align:left;"| Career | style="text-align:left;"| | 82 || 82 || 38.0 || .506 || .292 || .642 || 12.1 || 3.8 || .8 || .5 || 22.5 |- | style="text-align:left;"| All-Star | style="text-align:left;"| | 1 || 0 || 15.0 || .667 || .000 || .000 || 5.0 || 5.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 8.0

Career Highs

Regular season

! Stat	! High	! Opponent	! Date
Points	47	vs. Indiana
Offensive Rebounds	9	vs. Portland
Defensive Rebounds	16	vs. Detroit
Total Rebounds	18	vs. Detroit
Total Rebounds	18	at Philadelphia
Total Rebounds	18	vs. Houston
Total Rebounds	18	vs. Denver
Total Rebounds	18	at Portland
Total Rebounds	18	vs. Golden State
Assists	10	vs. Washington
Assists	10	vs. Memphis

Awards and honors

NBA

NBA Rookie of the Year: 2011

NBA All-Star: 2011

NBA Slam Dunk Champion: 2011

NBA All-Rookie First Team: 2011

Western Conference Rookie of the Month: November 2010, December 2010, January 2011, February 2011, March 2011, April 2011

College

2009 Naismith College Player of the Year

2009 John Wooden Award

2009 Adolph Rupp Trophy 2009 Oscar Robertson Trophy 2009 AP All-American First Team 2009 ''Sports Illustrated'' Player of the Year

2009 AP National Player of the Year

2009 ''Sporting News'' Player of the Year Phillips 66 All-Big 12 Men's Basketball Awards

2009 Big 12 Player of the Year

2009 All-Big 12 First Team

*2008 All-Big 12 First Team

*2008 Big 12 All-Rookie Team

High school

Class 3A State Championship: 2004, 2005

Class 2A State Championship: 2006, 2007 Class 2A Tournament MVP: 2006, 2007

''The Oklahoman'' Player of the Year: 2006, 2007

2007 McDonald's All-American

2007 McDonald's All-American Slam Dunk Champion

2007 ''Parade'' All-America Third Team

2007 ''Tulsa World'' Player of the Year

2007 Oklahoma Boys All-State First Team

2006 ''Tulsa World'' Boys All-State First Team

2005 Little All-City All-State Team

Off the court

Griffin resides in Manhattan Beach, California.

Endorsements

Griffin appeared on the cover of ''NCAA Basketball 10'' video game by EA Sports, and in an advertising campaign for Subway restaurants. He has appeared in commercials for Kia automobiles and AT&T;, and appeared in ''Sports Show with Norm Macdonald'' with teammate DeAndre Jordan. In April 2011, Panini America signed Griffin to an exclusive long-term deal that will feature his autographs and memorabilia in Panini products. Panini initially signed him to a one year deal, which expired in 2010. He has also signed with Vizio to pitch digital TVs and other products. In April 2011 he appeared in a trailer for the video game ''Rage''.

Philanthropy

He started a fundraiser called Dunking for Dollars, in which he donates $100 to fight childhood obesity for every dunk he makes. The Kia sedan that Griffin jumped over to win the Slam Dunk Contest will be donated for a charity auction on AutoTrader.com with proceeds benefiting Stand Up to Cancer. The auction started May 5, 2011 and runs through May 15. Stand Up to Cancer also has a fund-raising site called Team Blake, in honor of his close friend Wilson Holloway, who died after a three-year fight with Hodgkin's lymphoma.

See also

2009 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans

List of first overall NBA draft picks

List of NCAA Division I men's basketball season rebounding leaders

References

External links

Official Site

Statistics

Blake Griffin at ESPN.com

Profiles

Scout.com Profile

Rivals.com Profile

NBADraft.net Profile

DraftExpress Profile

Category:1989 births Category:Living people Category:American basketball players Category:African American basketball players Category:Basketball players from Oklahoma Category:NBA Slam Dunk Contest champions Category:Oklahoma Sooners men's basketball players Category:McDonald's High School All-Americans Category:Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Category:People from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Category:Power forwards (basketball) Category:Los Angeles Clippers draft picks Category:Los Angeles Clippers players Category:American baseball players

ca:Blake Griffin cs:Blake Griffin de:Blake Griffin es:Blake Griffin fa:بلیک گریفین fr:Blake Griffin hr:Blake Griffin it:Blake Griffin he:בלייק גריפין lv:Bleiks Grifins lt:Blake Griffin ja:ブレイク・グリフィン no:Blake Griffin pl:Blake Griffin pt:Blake Griffin ru:Гриффин, Блэйк simple:Blake Griffin sr:Блејк Грифин sh:Blake Griffin fi:Blake Griffin sv:Blake Griffin tr:Blake Griffin zh:布莱克·格里芬

Bob Ryan is an American sportswriter for The Boston Globe. He has been described as "the quintessential American sportswriter" and a basketball guru and is well known for his coverage of the sport including his famous stories covering the Boston Celtics in the 1970s. After graduating from Boston College, Ryan started as a sports intern for the ''Globe'' on the same day as Peter Gammons. He is well known for his occasionally stuttering voice and has said of it "I don't like my own voice – in fact I hate it."

Biography and career

Personal background

Born in Trenton, New Jersey, Ryan went to high school at The Lawrenceville School from 1960 to 1964. Ryan graduated from Boston College as a history major in 1968. He and his wife Elaine have a daughter Jessica, and a son Keith who died in 2008. They are grandparents of triplets. They have been married since 1969. Today Ryan lives in Hingham, Massachusetts. The dedication page in ''Forty Eight Minutes'', one of Ryan's books, says, "To Elaine Ryan: In the next life, maybe you'll get a nine-to-five man who makes seven figures." Ryan has also done humanitarian fundraisers for years to help inner-city teenagers with their educations.

Son's death

On January 28, 2008 his 37 year old son Keith, was found dead in his home in Islamabad, Pakistan. Initial reports indicated that his death was an apparent suicide, however reports in the Pakistani newspapers Dawn and The News International indicated that Ryan's death may be investigated as a murder. A State Department spokesperson would only say the death was under investigation. Bob Ryan released the following statement: "Everyone is devastated. I am well aware of these reports and we are very concerned about that. (But) we have no reason at this time to doubt the official version".

Keith had been working in Pakistan since December 2006 as an attache for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. Keith was a 1988 graduate of Hingham High School, Trinity College, the London School of Economics and Boston College Law School. He had previously worked for the U.S. Border Patrol and the Immigration and Naturalization Service, where he was assigned to the violent gang task force. Keith was married to Kate and had three children, Conor, John, and Amelia, who live in Silver Spring, Maryland.

Celtics beat writer

In the fall of 1969 a vacancy on the ''Globe'''s Celtics beat was created, and Ryan got the job. While covering the Celtics, Ryan developed a close relationship with the Celtics organization. Ryan would even go out to dinner with the team. Ryan sat at the press table 8 seats from the Celtics' bench, where colleagues referred to him as the "Commissioner", not unlike Peter Gammons's nickname. Boston Sports Media critic Bruce Allen has said, "His passion is not faked."

One night Hue Hollins, the referee, went to the press table to explain a call to Ryan during a time-out even though he was not obligated to. Another time Ryan wrote a column about the Washington Bullets' Rick Mahorn and how he played dirty under the hoop. When Mahorn was called for a foul Gene Shue, the Bullets' coach, turned around and said, "That's your fault, Bob Ryan, your fault!" Dennis Johnson was often annoyed with Ryan and would go up to the press table and say, "Hey, Bob, keep it down. We got a game going on here" when Ryan sideline coached. From Ryan's first column on Larry Bird headlined "Celtics draft Bird for oh what a future" to his last "Larry! Larry! Larry!" Ryan was always a fan of his and eventually co-authored a book with him.

In Tom (Tommy) Heinsohn's book ''Give 'em the Hook'', Heinsohn is negative towards Ryan. Ryan, who began writing for the ''Globe'' in Heinsohn's rookie season as a coach, would make friends with the players and vent their feelings towards Heinsohn, their fans, and their teammates, claims Heinsohn. Heinsohn didn't like how he didn't feel in control of his team. Heinsohn believes that Ryan started to "think of himself as another member of the family" and that he even started coaching the team through his beat stories. Heinsohn goes on to talk about Ryan's bloated ego and the fact that he was then thinking of himself as a basketball guru. Heinsohn also says while noting disapproval of Ryan that at the time anyone who lived in Boston and even remotely followed basketball read Bob Ryan. In recent years Ryan has been less critical of Celtics coaches, including Doc Rivers, of whom he said, "I'm a Doc guy."

General sports columnist

In 1982 Ryan would hand the torch of the ''Globe'' Celtics beat to then-not well known Dan Shaughnessy, and later Jackie MacMullan. He did this in order to go to WCVB for a couple of years. Ryan ended up hating it and moved back to the Celtics beat in 1984 for two more seasons before getting promoted to general sports columnist in 1989.

Ryan would cover 20 NBA finals, 20 Final Fours, 9 World Series, five Super Bowls, the last 7 Olympics and many other events. In recent times Ryan has become less basketball-oriented and more general sports-oriented. He has also written for the ''Basketball Times''. Ryan votes for the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Awards

Dick Schaap Award for Outstanding Journalism recipient in 2006.

In 1996 Ryan won the Curt Gowdy Award from the Basketball Hall of Fame.

In 2000 he was the AP National Sportswriter of the Year.

He has been named the NSSA’s National Sportswriter of the Year four times (2000, 2007, 2008, 2009).

He is also a member of the College Basketball Writers and New England Basketball Halls of Fame.

Retirement

At 60, Ryan wants his retirement from the job to be graceful: "I’m not bitter. I enjoy my job and I still think I do it well, but they are chipping away, chipping away and they are making it far less pleasurable. I want to get out when I feel like getting out. If you stay around too long, there is no way you can dictate your terms," he said. Ryan also asked, "How do you explain to Stephen A. Smith that he has no idea of the game and how much fun it was? He thinks he knows everything, but he will never know what I know about the Celtics."

Television and radio work

Globe 10.0

On June 26, 2007 Bob Ryan's show, Globe 10.0 made its premiere on the New England Sports Network. The half hour show which airs every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, features Ryan interviewing different Boston Globe sports writers on ten issues related to New England sports.

Guest appearances

Ryan is a regular guest on radio; some of his appearances on the radio include:

The ''Bob Ryan Report'' on ''Loren and Wally'' (WROR-FM): Every Thursday morning at 7:50 a.m. he goes on to give his opinion about Boston sports.

Ryan contributes to Michael Felger's show. He used to contribute to Dennis and Callahan on WEEI.

Roundtable (featuring Ryan) on NPR's On Point to talk about the decline in basketball viewership.

Bob is a weekly contributor to the "Marty and Miller" radio program on KXNO in Des Moines, Iowa.

''The Tony Kornheiser Show''; Ryan has appeared on the first episode of most of Kornheiser's show incarnations. Kornheiser calls Ryan "the quintessential American sportswriter".

Ryan is also a frequent guest host on ESPN's ''Pardon the Interruption'' and guest on ''The Sports Reporters''.

He is a regular contributor on the show ''Around the Horn''.

In addition Bill Simmons has called him "the best basketball writer ever." Paul Silas joked on ''Cold Pizza'' while Ryan was a guest, that all Bob Ryan's success was due to him.

Controversies and mistakes

Joumana Kidd comments

In May 2003, Ryan appeared on ''Sports Final'', a local sports talk show airing on WBZ-TV. At that time, Ryan said that Joumana Kidd, then-wife of then-New Jersey Nets guard Jason Kidd needed someone to "smack" her for taking her son T.J., then 4 years old, to NBA play-off night games where they could be taunted. He accused Joumana of being an exhibitionist and using the child as a prop to get television time. The show's host, Bob Lobel, asked Ryan to retract his statement immediately:

LOBEL: You just don’t want to smack her. You don’t mean to say that.

RYAN: Alright.

LOBEL: I mean. Do you? Really, do you? Tell me you don’t.

RYAN: Why should I say anything different here than I said all last playoffs last year?

The comments struck a chord because in 2001, Joumana Kidd had been the victim of Domestic violence by her husband, Jason Kidd. Ryan returned to Boston to meet with executives at the ''Globe''. Ryan publicly apologized, but the ''Globe'' still suspended him and barred him from television for one month. "Four weeks took my breath away. But I’ll abide by it," he later said. Then Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney chastised Ryan for his comments.

Gerry Callahan of the ''Boston Herald'' defended Ryan while ''Herald'' Ombudsman Jim Baker did not. The ''Boston Phoenix'' called it a "moment of temporary insanity." Ryan later said, "I'm angry with myself forgetting in the heat of battle that the woman had been hit."

2006 Final Four column

Ryan made a mistake in 2006 when he wrote a column promoting the Final Four matchup of Louisiana State University and George Mason University, and recommending fans tune to see two of the biggest players in college basketball, LSU's Glen ''Big Baby'' Davis (now a Boston Celtic) and George Mason's Jai Lewis. However, LSU and George Mason were on different sides of the NCAA Bracket and were not scheduled to play one another. The Globe did not find this error and the inaccurate column was run in the Globe. Ryan referred to this incident on ESPN's ''Around the Horn'', when discussing a topic about making mistakes, on April 27, 2010. However, he would not reveal what the incident was, saying that any viewers who wanted to know about his March Madness error could check Wikipedia and find out for themselves.

Theo Epstein confrontation

Ryan had a run-in with Red Sox GM Theo Epstein. In November 2006 he had a small unfriendly exchange with Epstein saying "on behalf of an eager constituency, I hope the rumor (of a J. D. Drew deal) isn't true." Curt Schilling would call into Dennis and Callahan and criticize Ryan, but NBC Sports's Tom Curran sided with Ryan.

Books

''Wait Till I Make the Show: Baseball in the Minor Leagues'' (1974)

''Celtics pride: The rebuilding of Boston's world championship basketball team'' (1975)

''The Pro Game: The World of Professional Basketball'' (1975)

''Hondo: Celtic Man in Motion'' (1977) coauthored with John Havlicek

''Forty Eight Minutes'' (1987) with Terry Pluto

''Cousy on the Celtic Mystique'' (1988) coauthored with Bob Cousy

''Drive: The Story of My Life'' (1989) coauthored with Larry Bird

''Boston Celtics: The History, Legends, and Images of America's Most Celebrated Team'' (1990)

''The Four Seasons'' (1997)

''The Road to the Super Bowl'' (1997)

''A Day of Light and Shadows'' (2000) Only introduction

''When Boston Won the World Series: A Chronicle of Boston's Remarkable Victory in the First Modern World Series of 1903'' (2004) released before Red Sox victory

''The Best of Sport: Classic Writing from the Golden Era of Sports'' (2005)

References

External links

Bob Ryan's blog

Bob Ryan 2006 Red Sox profiles

TGA commencement speech

Sportspage interview

Category:Sportswriters from Massachusetts Category:People from Trenton, New Jersey Category:The Boston Globe people Category:Boston College alumni Category:Sports in Boston, Massachusetts Category:American people of Irish descent Category:1946 births Category:Living people

name	Tristan Thompson
height ft	6
height in	9
weight lbs	227
number	13
team	Cleveland Cavaliers
position	Power Forward
nationality	Canadian
birth date	March 13, 1991
birth place	Brampton, Ontario
highschool	Findlay Prep(Henderson, Nevada)
college	Texas
draft round	1
draft pick	4
draft year	2011
draft team	Cleveland Cavaliers
career end	}}

Tristan Trevor James Thompson (born March 13, 1991 in Brampton, Ontario) is a Canadian basketball player who played for the 2010–11 Texas Longhorns men's basketball team. He is 6'9" and weighs 225 pounds. Thompson played as a power forward (basketball). He was selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers 4th overall in the 2011 NBA Draft.

Early life

Thompson was born in Brampton, Ontario, and is also the eldest of four sons of Trevor and Andrea Thompson. His brother Dishawn Thompson currently plays high school basketball in Canada where he is a highly rated prospect. He is also the cousin of former Virginia State University Trojan football standout, and current Canadian Football League Defensive Tackle Jemal Thompson of the Toronto Argonauts.

High school career

Thompson started his high-school career playing basketball at St. Marguerite d'Youville Secondary School in Brampton. After driving from Brampton twice to visit a prep school in the United States, he decided to attend Saint Benedict's Preparatory School in Newark, New Jersey for his sophomore year along with fellow University of Texas at Austin commit Myck Kabongo. He cited the increase in exposure and skill level as his reason for transferring schools.

Thompson spent his sophomore and half his junior year at St. Benedict's, making an immediate impact and showing flashes of brilliance throughout the way. In his short time at St. Benedict's, he shot through the ranks to super-stardom, becoming the top recruit in the nation entering his junior season. The top basketball programs in the nation heavily sought Thompson, who made the first verbal commitment of the class of 2010 to Rick Barnes and the Texas Longhorns.

21 games into his junior year, the relationship between Thompson and then-St. Benedict's coach-Dan Hurley hit a rough patch. Hurley's in-your-face, no holds barred coaching style took a toll on the young star. During a game against then-top-ranked Mater Dei, Hurley confronted Thompson during a time out. A heated debate ensued, and Thompson was sent off the court and later removed from the team. Over the next few days he made it known that he was planning to leave, resulting in a barrage of calls from the top prep schools throughout North America, all trying to acquire the top recruit's services. The next week he transferred to Findlay Prep with his friend, AAU teammate and future Texas Longhorn Cory Joseph.

Thompson joined Findlay on the back end of their schedule, making an immediate impact on the team and thriving under Findlay Coach Michael Peck's system and coaching style. Thompson solidified his top recruit status and helped lead Findlay to their first National Championship. He continued to round and polish his skills his senior year in preparation for college and continued to hold fast to his commitment to the University of Texas, officially signing his letter of intent on November 11, 2009. Thompson then led his team to another National Championship at the ESPN National Championship Invitational. After their senior year, Thompson and Joseph were the third and fourth Canadians to be named McDonald's All-Americans, and Thompson also was named a Jordan Brand Classic All-American.

College career

2011 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans: Associated Press Honorable Mention

2011 United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) All-District VII Team.

2011 Wayman Tisdale Award (USBWA National Freshman of the Year)

2011 USBWA Freshman All-America Team

2011 All-Big 12 Second Team

2011 Big 12 All-Defensive Team

2011 Big 12 Freshman of the Year

2011 Big 12 All-Rookie Team

Drafted 4th overall in the 2011 NBA Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Sources:

College statistics

|- | align="left" | 2010–11 | align="left" | Texas | 36 || 34 || 30.9 || .546 || .000 || .487 || 7.8 || 1.3 || 0.9 || 2.4 || 13.1 |- | align="left" | Career | align="left" | | 36 || 34 || 30.9 || .546 || .000 || .487 || 7.8 || 1.3 || 0.9 || 2.4 || 13.1

International career

}} Thompson represented his country and Canada Basketball at the FIBA Americas U18 Championship in 2008 where Canada won the bronze medal placing behind Argentina and the United States. Thompson once again competed for Canada, this time at the 2009 FIBA Under-19 World Championship in Auckland, New Zealand along side his good friend, high school teammate and Texas commit Cory Joseph.

Professional career

On June 23, 2011, Thompson was drafted 4th overall in the 2011 NBA Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers, making him the highest drafted Canadian born and bred player in NBA history. He continued to make history drafted along side his former teammate and roommate since high school Cory Joseph who went 29th pick overall to the San Antonio Spurs making it the first time two Canadians were drafted in the first round of the same draft, as well as the first time three Texas Longhorn basketball players went in the first round of a draft when his former collegiate teammate Jordan Hamilton went 26th overall to Dallas Mavericks.

See also

Texas Longhorns men's basketball

References

External links

Official Texas Longhorns profile

Category:1991 births Category:Living people Category:Basketball people from Ontario Category:Black Canadian basketball players Category:Canadian basketball players Category:Canadian expatriate basketball people in the United States Category:Cleveland Cavaliers draft picks Category:Jordan Brand Classic All-American Game Category:McDonald's High School All-Americans Category:Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Category:People from Brampton Category:Texas Longhorns men's basketball players

de:Tristan Thompson es:Tristan Thompson fr:Tristan Thompson gl:Tristan Thompson it:Tristan Thompson ja:トリスタン・トンプソン

Name	David Stern
Birth name	David Joel Stern
Birth date	September 22, 1942
Birth place	New York City, New York U.S.
Occupation	NBA Commissioner
Spouse	}}

David Joel Stern (born September 22, 1942) is the commissioner of the National Basketball Association. He began his relationship with The Association in 1966 as outside counsel, joined the NBA in 1978 as General Counsel, and became the league's Executive Vice President in 1980. He became Commissioner in 1984 succeeding Larry O'Brien. He is credited with increasing the popularity of the NBA in the 1990s and 2000s. Stern has served on the Rutgers University Board of Overseers and currently serves as Chair of the Board of Trustees of Columbia University. He is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Early life

David Stern was born on September 22, 1942 in New York City, New York. He grew up in Teaneck, New Jersey in a Jewish family, and is a graduate of Teaneck High School. Stern attended Rutgers University, where in 1960 he pledged to the Sigma Delta Chapter of Sigma Alpha Mu Fraternity. He graduated as B- dean's-list history student in 1963 and graduated from Columbia Law School in 1966, and was admitted to the bar in New York later that year after passing the state's bar examination.

National Basketball Association

His first association with the NBA in 1966 was as an outside counsel at Proskauer Rose. In 1978, Stern became the NBA's General Counsel under Larry O'Brien. By 1980, he was Executive Vice President of the NBA. During this time two landmark decisions were reached with the NBA Players' Association: drug testing and team salary cap. The drug testing dealt with the perception that most basketball players used drugs, that the NBA admitted it had a problem, and it was cleaning it up. The salary cap created a revenue-sharing system where owner and player were effectively partners. Both of these agreements solidified Stern's standing inside NBA circles.

On February 1, 1984, Stern became the fourth Commissioner of the NBA, succeeding Larry O'Brien. It was during that same year (1984-85) that four of the NBA's biggest superstars — Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon, Charles Barkley, and John Stockton — entered the league.

The arrival of Michael Jordan, in particular, ushered in a new era of commercial bounty for the NBA. With him came his flair and talent for the game, and that brought in shoe contracts from Nike which helped to give the league even more national attention. Jordan and the two other premier basketball legends of the 1980s, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, took the game to new heights of popularity and profit. By 2004, Stern had seen the NBA expand from 10 to 30 franchises (since 1966), expand into Canada, and televise games in countries around the world.

Stern also oversaw the creation of the WNBA, a professional women's basketball league. Under Stern's watch the NBA has undergone an unprecedented internationalization. Setting up NBA training camps and exhibition games around the globe as well as the influx of international players into the league which have played a role in developing the character of the NBA in the 21st century. 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 Women's National Basketball Association and the National Basketball Development League under the guidance of Stern.

Under Stern's watch the NBA's charitable contributions have increased, and the controversial NBA dress code was introduced.

Notable events during Stern's tenure

Building of 28 new arenas (10 since 1999)

Relocation of 5 NBA franchises (Clippers, Kings, Grizzlies, Hornets and Sonics)

7 new NBA teams (Hornets, Timberwolves, Heat, Magic, Grizzlies, Raptors, and Bobcats)

Ratification of the NBA Dress Code

NBA Finals Trophy renamed to Larry O'Brien Trophy

NBA Finals MVP Trophy renamed to the Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award

Has failed to avoid Several NBA Lockouts

Controversies

Stern has been at the center of multiple controversies during his time as commissioner.

During the 1985 NBA Draft Lottery, the NBA used a system where seven envelopes representing the seven teams with the worst records were mixed in a tumbler, and then drawn by Stern one at a time to determine which of these clubs would get the 1st pick onwards up to the 7th pick. When these envelopes were added to the tumbler, two envelopes were put in forcibly, and banged against the edge, while all the rest were set in gently. When drawing the envelope for the 1st pick, Stern went for the one with a bent corner, which upon opening the envelope, it was revealed that the New York Knicks logo was inside. This fueled speculation of a draft fix, with the theory being that the NBA wanted to send the best player in the draft to New York to increase ratings in a large television market.

In the 1997 NBA playoffs, the NBA suspended five players following a brawl between the New York Knicks and Miami Heat, which affected the outcome of that series. Some of the suspensions were required by a league rule, implemented under Stern, that provides an automatic one-game suspension to any player who leaves his team's bench during a fight. In the 2007 Playoffs from the Suns-Spurs Game, several players who left the bench and were not involved in the altercation were also suspended, prompting complaints from officials on both teams.

In 2000, after it was revealed that the Minnesota Timberwolves had tampered with Joe Smith two years earlier, the NBA league office punished Minnesota severely, voiding the last year of Smith's contract, fining the franchise $3.5 million and taking the Timberwolves' next 3 1st-round NBA Draft picks. Although many believed that tampering is a common practice, Stern abided by arbitrator Kenneth Dam's ruling that the Timberwolves had signed the secret agreement, and denied that the league was making an example of the Timberwolves.

Before the 2005-06 season, the NBA announced a new dress code, which banned players from wearing headphones, chains, shorts, sleeveless shirts, indoor sunglasses, T-shirts, jerseys and headgear such as baseball caps during NBA-related public appearances. Allen Iverson criticized the policy: "They're targeting guys who dress like me, guys who dress hip-hop ... I think they went way overboard."

For the 2006-07 season the NBA introduced a new "microfiber" basketball for use in NBA games, replacing the previous style ball used since 1970. Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban agreed with the need for a new ball, claiming the old style ball was inconsistent. Many of the league's most prominent players openly expressed their dislike for the new ball, such as Shaquille O'Neal who said, "Feels like one of those cheap balls that you buy at the toy store." A study, financed by Cuban, claimed that the new ball "bounces 5 to 8% lower than typical leather balls when dropped from 4 feet...[and] the new ball bounces 30% more erratically." However, Stern initially refused to go back to the original ball despite many complaints by players about the new ball. Two months into the season Stern stated that the new ball may have been a poor choice and poorly tested and "we could've done a better job". On December 11, 2006 the NBA announced that it would in fact switch back to the leather ball starting on January 1, 2007.

In 2007 Stern injected himself in the controversy surrounding the purchase and subsequent relocation of the Seattle SuperSonics by Oklahoman Clayton Bennett and his ownership group. His support for the surprising move from the nation's 14th-largest market to the 45th was questioned by many both in the public and media. Stern also led the NBA to intervene against a 2008 legal attempt by Howard Schultz to keep the team in Seattle.

On July 19, 2007, NBA veteran referee Tim Donaghy was investigated by the FBI over allegations that included Donaghy bet on basketball games he officiated and that he made calls affecting the point spread during games. On August 15, 2007, Donaghy pleaded guilty to two federal charges related to the investigation and served 15 months in prison and was released in November, 2009. During the sentencing phase, Donaghy claimed that certain refs made calls that influenced the outcome of playoff games in 2002 and 2005. In June, 2008 NBA Commissioner Stern flatly denied Donaghy's allegations and stated that Donaghy was a convicted felon and a "singing, cooperating witness".

Personal

David Stern has contributed to many Democratic Party (US) candidates since becoming NBA commissioner. In September 2010, he donated $1,000 to support a group opposing California's Prop 23, which would delay enactment of the state's landmark environmental law.

He is married to Dianne Bock Stern, and they have two adult sons.

References

External links

Official NBA Bio

AskMen.com - David Stern

Rutgers Hall of Distinguished alumni

David Stern Bio

Jews in sports

Category:1942 births Category:National Basketball Association commissioners Category:American businesspeople Category:American Jews Category:Living people Category:Columbia Law School alumni Category:New York lawyers Category:Jewish American sportspeople Category:Rutgers University alumni Category:People from New York City Category:People from Teaneck, New Jersey Category:People from Scarsdale, New York

ar:ديفيد ستيرن ca:David Stern de:David Stern es:David Stern fr:David Stern hr:David Stern it:David Stern he:דייוויד סטרן lv:Deivids Stērns ja:デビッド・スターン pl:David Stern pt:David Stern ru:Стерн, Дэвид zh:大卫·斯特恩