David Stern will be enshrined Friday in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, part of a 2014 class that includes former players Alonzo Mourning and Mitch Richmond, along with NCAA championship-winning coaches Nolan Richardson and Gary Williams.
Stern ended his run as commissioner after exactly 30 years on Feb. 1 and once thought he would wait five years for induction, same as players. Officials from the NBA and Hall of Fame persuaded him otherwise, and nobody is arguing that he belongs immediately.
For Stern, it will be the first official basketball function he's attended since leaving the commissioner's office in the hands of Adam Silver.