In ways both ceremonial and practical, the David Stern era came to a close Saturday exactly 30 years after its genesis in 1984.

Stern—who was as polarizing in public opinion as the ice caps are in distance between each other—will no longer preside over the National Basketball Association.

Ask any Midwest-residing Oklahoman about Stern and expect effusive praise and ample volunteers for his future eulogy. But inquire about the opinion of Stern from those living in the Pacific Northwest and don’t be surprised when you receive vitriol bordering on character homicide.

Then there’s the casual fan who might only remember Stern as the dapper old guy with glasses and an endearing smile.

How does one quantify the legacy of a commissioner who helped elevate the sport of basketball to unprecedented levels of economic prosperity and global popularity? But also a former New York lawyer who had a hand in destroying championship parity and alienation of certain American fanbases for perpetuity?

Repeated use of antonymous descriptors aside, Stern was simultaneously great and controversial during his tenure.

He was an intelligent leader who facilitated the NBA’s ascension from a drug-laden reputation and viewership purgatory into the world’s second-leading sport. He was also a man who did so with exceeding levels of arrogance and condescension.

The good people of Seattle still deserve a professional franchise after theirs—in effect—forcibly relocated under Stern’s unreasonably demanding watch. At the same time, the SuperSonics-turned-Thunder now provide residents of Oklahoma City with title-contending play year in and year out.

History also doesn’t forget that predecessor Larry O’Brien and former NBA Player’s Association director Larry Fleisher set the foundation for Stern’s innovations. Neither can we.

Yet a composite look at Stern’s career reveals that he left the Association in a far better place than when he entered.

Let’s highlight the major developments of Stern’s commissionership from 1984 to 2014.

• 1984: Michael Jordan began his NBA career. Along with the legendary bi-coastal rivalry between Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, Stern had the three perfect marquee players with which to market the league. Also, the Clippers moved up the I-5 from San Diego to Los Angeles. Pretty insignificant in the history of relocations.
• 1985: The draft lottery replaced the notoriously flawed coin flip method. But controversy remained when Stern drew a noticeably bent envelope containing the New York Knicks name. They later selected Patrick Ewing No. 1 in the draft. In other news, the Kings relocated to Sacramento from Kansas City.
• 1986: Stern’s previously implemented drug policy (as then Executive VP of the NBA) led to all-stars John Drew and Micheal Ray Richard’s lifetime suspensions. These high-profile bans from positive tests lent credence to how Stern’s policy helped rectify the league’s public image.
• 1988: Expansion teams Miami Heat and Charlotte Hornets joined the Association.
• 1989: Stern resumed his expanding ways by adding the Minnesota Timberwolves and Orlando Magic.
• 1990: The pre-draft selection process changed again this year to a weighted lottery system as a means of further preventing teams from purposely tanking.
• 1991: Magic Johnson revealed to the world that he had tested positive for HIV. Stern supported his star player from the outset, including when Johnson returned for 32 games in 1995. Give the commissioner his due praise for staying on the right side of controversy amid circumstances that very much transcended the game.
• 1992: Michael Jordan powered the “Dream Team” to Olympic gold in Barcelona. It marked the establishment of basketball’s international presence. Even though Stern guided the NBA’s globalization thereafter, he initially opposed using veteran players in the Olympics.
• 1995: The era of expansion continued. Stern pushed the NBA’s reach into Canadian borders by welcoming in the Vancouver Grizzlies and Toronto Raptors.
• 1996: Stern oversaw the creation of the WNBA. The top women’s professional basketball league outlasted its competitors and remains in operation today.
• 1998: The first of two nauseatingly odious lockouts. Players suited up for only 50 games during the 1998-1999 campaign. This was a definite knock on Stern’s legacy.
• 2001: Only one Canadian team exists today, as the Grizzlies set up their new home base in Memphis. The NBA Development League also came into existence under Stern’s watch during this time.
• 2002: Charlotte lost its basketball team when the Hornets relocated to New Orleans. Stern supported publically disgraced owner George Shinn instead of a loyal fanbase in this move.
• 2004: As part of a promise made by Stern and his cronies, the city of Charlotte received another NBA franchise. Meet the Bobcats—later purchased by Michael Jordan in 2010.
• 2005: Controversy returned to the fold. Stern instituted a dress code policy that banned all informal wear (i.e. headphones, baseball caps, chains, jerseys, etc.) during official NBA-related public appearances. Some players scoffed at the new rule (see: Allen Iverson), but by and large this new mandate enhanced the league’s image for all the right reasons.
• 2006: Stern admitted that the newly implemented microfiber basketball was a failed experiment. The original leather ball returned in January of 2007. Oops.
• 2007: Former referee Tim Donaghy admitted to betting and altering the outcome of games dating back to 2002. He later served 15 months in prison. Stern dismissed any notion of widespread corruption among league officials.
• 2008: In one of Stern’s most reprehensible actions as commissioner, he endorsed the SuperSonics relocation to Oklahoma City. He prevented owner Howard Schultz from keeping Seattle’s beloved team in the Pacific Northwest. Somehow the nation’s 12th-largest market lost out to one ranking in the mid-40s (No. 45).
• 2010: Stern helped keep the Hornets in New Orleans when team owners were on the verge of selling due to increasingly waning profits. He became a de facto custodian following the sale to the NBA.
• 2011: The second lockout under Stern’s purview lasted five months and reduced the season to 66 games. A new (and mostly positive) collective bargaining agreement materialized. More money for the owners (Stern’s job), less to the players (max contracts reduced) and even less to the people (shameful byproduct).
• 2011: Well that didn’t last long. What originated as a positive development turned positively nightmarish. Stern vetoed a trade that would have sent Chris Paul to the Los Angeles Lakers, Lamar Odom to the Hornets and Pau Gasol to the Houston Rockets. Egregiously controversial conflict of interest on Stern’s part.
• 2012: The Nets set up shop in the New York borough of Brooklyn. Sorry New Jersey, but this move enhanced the marketability of the NBA. Hip hop mogul and part-owner Jay-Z helped make this possible.
• 2012: Fines to players who flop—very much a good thing, Mr. Stern.
• 2013: The Tom Benson-owned Hornets changed their name to the New Orleans Pelicans. A laughable development, but one that had little to do with Stern in his last year in charge.
• 2014: On Saturday, February 1, Stern stepped down as the NBA’s fourth commissioner.

Well, wasn’t that just a fun trip down a Stern-tastic memory lane?

Long story short, David Stern was a fantastic commissioner—easily the NBA’s best and one of the all-time greats in professional sports history.

He was a master marketer.

See: Nike, Gatorade, Coca-Cola. See: expanded exposure on national television, the end of tape-delayed Finals and televised games in 215 countries in 47 languages. See: NBA TV and NBA League Pass.

He was a financial wizard.

See: 30-fold increase in revenues. See: $5.5 billion a year (up from $165 million in 1984), $5.7 million average player salary (up from $290,000 in 1984) and $937 million television deal (up from $28.5 million in 1984).

He was socially responsible.

See: NBA Cares, NBA Green and NBA Fit.

He was simply good for the game of basketball.

See: Slam Dunk Contest, two new leagues, seven new franchises and the No. 2 overall sport in the world.

So, how should we feel about one David. J. Stern upon the conclusion of his visionary reign as NBA commissioner?

Best of luck, Adam Silver—you have a near-impossible act to follow.

Follow me on Twitter @jlevitt16