DAVID STERN

Jurors began hearing testimony from additional witnesses as they weigh a potential death sentence for convicted mass murderer and ISIS sympathizer Sayfullo Saipov.

Jurors have begun hearing testimony on whether to give a death sentence to an Islamic extremist who killed eight people by driving down a New York City bike path.

The NBA named several of its awards after the game's greats, including Michael Jordan, Jerry West and Hakeem Olajuwon.

The NBA Most Valuable Player award has been renamed The Michael Jordan Trophy.

Prize-winning poet Gerald Stern has died.

The Philadelphia 76ers were up 3-0 in their series against the Toronto Raptors just a few days ago.

Nobody knows for certain where the NBA will be in 25 years, when it’ll be celebrating its 100th anniversary.

Two of the NBA’s most significant dynasties emerged in the second decade of the 2000s.

Michael Jordan gave way to LeBron James in the NBA of the 2000s, just as traditional forms of communication began to yield to the birth and growth of new media.

Federal officials have confirmed that the U.S. Department of Justice has reached a multimillion-dollar settlement with the families of most of those killed and wounded in a 2018 Florida high school massacre over the FBI’s failure to stop the gunman even though it had received information he intended to attack.

The NBA's All-Stars are sharing their stage this weekend in Cleveland.

When the 1980's began, the NBA “was in trouble.”.

It started in 1946 with 11 teams and 160 players.

When the Dream Team era started in 1992, most of the NBA players in the Olympics represented the United States.

Kobe Bryant is in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame now, along with contemporaries Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett, headliners of a group of nine who got their delayed and long-awaited enshrinement on Saturday night, more than a year after being announced as the Hall’s Class of 2020.

In this handout image provided by SportsPro, Dan Porter, Overtime speaks during the SportsPro OTT Summit USA 2020 at Turner Studios on February 19, 2020 in Atlanta, Georgia. Overtime announced on Thursday that it plans to start a basketball league for 16-to-18-year-olds allowing them to earn at least $100,000 per year. The Overtime Elite league will let players bypass traditional high school and collegiate levels while building their brand before becoming eligible for the NBA. In an interview Wednesday, Porter confirmed Overtime would pay all health insurance and allow players to earn bonuses and equity in Overtime. Since then, the company has built a massive Generation Z following from high school basketball players.

Not long after came a seismic jolt, the helicopter crash of Kobe Bryant in the fog-shrouded California hills that reverberated across sports and across continents. Deep into the year, a bookend to Bryant, Diego Maradona died from a heart attack in Argentina weeks after brain surgery, the waves of grief rippling across soccer. The losses, of course, came against a backdrop of a pandemic, its number of fatalities rolled out daily on TV screens. Niekro won 318 games and pitched until he was 48, his knuckleball dancing and mystifying batters across the decades. Kurt Thomas in 1978 became the first U.S. male gymnast to win a world title but lost an Olympic shot in 1980 because of the boycott.

File-This Jan. 28, 2020, file photo shows a remembrance board at a memorial for Kobe Bryant near Staples Center in Los Angeles. LeBron, on court, gives heartfelt shout,A declaration: “Mamba out.”Sports still reeling by Super Bowl,Where Patrick Mahomes takes control. Defying odds, even reason,Baseball makes it through its season,Leaving summer and into fall --Bob Gibson ’s time, October ball. Through it all, a truth emerges:Games go on while COVID surgesAnd records fall, that much is clear --Consider Tara VanDerveer. But we’ll toast, of course, don’t think twice --Take a deep breath and roll the dice.

The world also said goodbye to U.S. Rep. John Lewis, a lion of the civil rights movement who died in July. Other former political figures who died this year include Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak, New York Mayor David Dinkins, Arizona Gov. Here is a roll call of some influential figures who died in 2020 (cause of death cited for younger people, if available):___JANUARY___David Stern, 77. The guitarist who supplied the scratching, seething sound that fueled the highly influential British punk band Gang of Four. He fused African rhythms with funk to become one of the most influential musicians in world dance music.

"It's been our longest season in NBA history, and so much was thrown at us collectively as a league." Following the March 11 Covid-19 interruption, the NBA was able to restart its season in a bubble campus in Orlando. Noel Vasquez | GC Images | Getty ImagesThe future courtside seatFacebook continues to work behind the scenes to improve its virtual reality courtside seat offering. Facebook can use the content to better authenticate the courtside experience and integrate with its Oculus virtual reality headsets. "That has been the problem with [virtual reality] NBA games," said Burden referring to resolution issues.

From China to Disney, this was an NBA season like none other — and quite probably like none ever again. The NBA offseason has officially started, the bubble at Walt Disney World is closed and the Lakers have their 17th championship. But while a difficult season is over, the difficulties the league and players face are not. The players fight against racial inequality and their quest for social justice, which were top priorities of this NBA restart, continue. And while nobody knows when the next NBA game is, the Lakers’ LeBron James began looking forward during the trophy ceremony celebrating his fourth title.

Employees watch a live broadcast of Game 5 of the NBA Finals at an NBA store in Beijing, Saturday, Oct. 10, 2020. The NBA is returning to Chinese state television after a one-year absence. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – The NBA is returning to Chinese state television after a one-year absence. “In the Chinese National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival that just passed, the NBA expressed holiday blessings to Chinese fans," the China Media Group, essentially the operator of CCTV, said in a statement. NBA games have been available to Chinese fans on the streaming service Tencent, another of the league’s broadcast partners.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - The National Basketball Association All-Star Game MVP Award has been permanently named for the late Kobe Bryant, league Commissioner Adam Silver said on Saturday. Feb 15, 2020; Chicago, Illinois, USA; NBA commissioner Adam Silver unveils the Kobe Bryant MVP Award at a press conference during NBA All Star Saturday Night at United Center. As the father of a child ... thats the unimaginable.The Kobe Bryant MVP Award will be presented on Sunday to the most valuable player at the end of the 2020 NBA All-Star Game. Kobe Bryant is synonymous with NBA All-Star and embodies the spirit of this global celebration of our game, Silver said in a statement. Silver said the decision to name the MVP award in honor of Bryant was made collectively by league officials and some players.

(Reuters) - Former National Basketball Association Commissioner David Stern, who oversaw the explosive growth in the popularity of the game during his 30-year tenure, died on Wednesday at the age of 77, the league said. He also had a role in many other initiatives that helped shaped the league, including a drug policy, salary-cap system and dress code. Without David Stern, the NBA would not be what it is today, former Chicago Bulls superstar and current Charlotte Hornets owner Michael Jordan said in a statement to The Athlete. FILE PHOTO: NBA Commissioner David Stern holds a news conference before Game 1 of the NBA Finals basketball playoff in Miami, Florida June 6, 2013. David Stern earned and deserved inclusion in our land of giants, the National Basketball Players Association added in a statement.

(Reuters) - Former National Basketball Association Commissioner David Stern, who oversaw the explosive growth in the popularity of the game during his 30-year tenure, died on Wednesday at the age of 77, the league said. FILE PHOTO: NBA Commissioner David Stern holds a news conference before Game 1 of the NBA Finals basketball playoff in Miami, Florida June 6, 2013. He also had a role in many other initiatives that helped shaped the league, including a drug policy, salary-cap system and dress code. David Stern earned and deserved inclusion in our land of giants, the National Basketball Players Association added in a statement. Stern also presided over four NBA lockouts, including two that resulted in shortened seasons in 1998-99 and 2011.

(Reuters) - Former National Basketball Association (NBA) Commissioner David Stern, who oversaw the explosive growth in the popularity of the game during his tenure, has died at the age of 77, the league said on Wednesday. FILE PHOTO: NBA Commissioner David Stern holds a news conference before Game 1 of the NBA Finals basketball playoff in Miami, Florida June 6, 2013. Every member of the NBA family is the beneficiary of Davids vision, generosity and inspiration, current commissioner Silver said in a statement. David Stern was the most important non-player/non-coach who ever passed through the NBA and its not really close, Bill Simmons, broadcaster and author of The Book of Basketball: The NBA said on Twitter. David took over the NBA in 1984 with the league at a crossroads, current commissioner Silver added in his statement, adding that Stern ushered in the modern global NBA.

(Reuters) - Former National Basketball Association (NBA) Commissioner David Stern, who oversaw the explosive growth in the popularity of the game during his tenure, has died at the age of 77, the league said on Wednesday. FILE PHOTO: NBA Commissioner David Stern holds a news conference before Game 1 of the NBA Finals basketball playoff in Miami, Florida June 6, 2013. Stern also presided over four NBA lockouts, including two that resulted in shortened seasons in 1998-99 and 2011. David took over the NBA in 1984 with the league at a crossroads, current NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement, adding that Stern ushered in the modern global NBA. Because of David, the NBA is a truly global brand.

David Stern, the former commissioner of the National Basketball Association died Wednesday, the NBA said. At the time of his retirement, Stern was the longest serving NBA commissioner, having held the position for exactly 30 years. "For 22 years, I had a courtside seat to watch David in action," NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. As commissioner, Stern oversaw the considerable expansion of the league, which was airing games in over 200 countries by the time he stepped down. "We are deeply saddened by the passing of NBA Commissioner Emeritus David Stern," WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert said in a statement.

Former NBA Commissioner David Stern suffered a sudden brain hemorrhage Thursday and had emergency surgery. Stern served exactly 30 years as the NBA's longest-tenured commissioner before Adam Silver replaced him on Feb. 1, 2014. Stern has remained affiliated with the league with the title of commissioner emeritus and has remained active in his other interests, such as sports technology. Stern oversaw the growth of the NBA into a league whose games were televised in more than 200 countries and territories and in more than 40 languages. Stern stayed busy after stepping down as commissioner, taking trips overseas on the league's behalf, doing public speaking and consulting.