Former NBA commissioner David Stern underwent emergency surgery on Thursday after a brain hemorrhage, the league announced.
Per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Stern collapsed at a restaurant in New York City and was rushed to the hospital.
The 77-year-old Stern took over as NBA commissioner in 1984 and oversaw the league’s rise from a struggling entity to an international sports powerhouse.
By the time he handed the reigns to commissioner Adam Silver in 2014, basketball as a spectator sport was an international sensation with fans across the globe. His tenure wasn’t without controversy and missteps, but any league would take the growth the NBA experienced under Stern.