Editing David Stern (section)

===Early work===
After graduating from law school, Stern joined the law firm of Proskauer, Rose, Goetz & Mendelsohn (now [[Proskauer Rose]]), which has long represented the NBA.<ref name = NYT/> He was the lead attorney representing the firm in the case of ''[[Robertson v. National Basketball Ass'n|Robertson v. National Basketball Association]]'', the landmark lawsuit brought against the NBA by star player [[Oscar Robertson]]. Stern helped the league negotiate a settlement that allowed the [[American Basketball Association-National Basketball Association merger|NBA/ABA merger]] to proceed in return for the NBA abolishing the "option" clause in its uniform player contract and allowing players to become free agents for the first time.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thebigo.com/AboutOscarRobertson/OscarRobertsonRule.php|access-date=June 18, 2017|title=TheBigO.com: About Oscar Robertson – Player of the Century|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120104202505/http://www.thebigo.com/AboutOscarRobertson/OscarRobertsonRule.php|archive-date=January 4, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/11/16/sports/stern-named-to-succeed-o-brien.html|title=Stern Named to Succeed O'Brien|newspaper=The New York Times|date=November 16, 1983|access-date=January 2, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp/389/867/1591788/|title=Robertson v. National Basketball Association, 389 F. Supp. 867 (S.D.N.Y. 1975)|website=Justia.com|access-date=January 2, 2010}}</ref>

In 1978, Stern left Proskauer Rose to become the NBA's general counsel under [[Larry O'Brien|Commissioner Larry O'Brien]]. By 1980, O'Brien promoted Stern to be the NBA's executive vice president for business and legal affairs, which made Stern ''de facto'' in charge of marketing, television, and public relations for the league.<ref name="ringerObit">{{cite news|url=https://www.theringer.com/nba/2020/1/1/21045783/david-stern-obituary-nba-commissioner|title=The Profound Legacy of David Stern, the NBA's Most Consequential Off-Court Force|work=The Ringer}}</ref> During this time, Stern largely drove two landmark agreements with the [[National Basketball Players Association|NBA Players' Association]]: drug testing and team salary cap.<ref name=Halberstam>{{cite book | last = Halberstam | first = David | author-link = David Halberstam | title = Playing for Keeps: Michael Jordan and the World He Made | publisher = Random House | year = 1999 | page = [https://archive.org/details/playingforkeepsm00halb_0/page/120 120] | isbn = 0-7679-0444-3 | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/playingforkeepsm00halb_0/page/120}}</ref> An August 1980 report by the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' had estimated that 40 to 75 percent of NBA players used cocaine.<ref name = NYT/> The drug testing policy dealt with the perception that the NBA had a drug problem, which it admitted, and it was cleaning it up.<ref name=Halberstam/> The NBA was the first of the major sports leagues in North America to implement a drug testing policy.<ref name = NYT/> The [[NBA salary cap|salary cap]] created a revenue-sharing system where owner and player were effectively partners, with players receiving 53 percent of all revenues.<ref name=Halberstam/> Both of these agreements solidified Stern's standing inside NBA circles.<ref name=Halberstam/>