Profiles in Sport Leadership

Roger Goodell, elected NFL commissioner in 2006, embodies the sports league equivalent of working one’s way up from the mailroom.

David Stern became the fourth commissioner of the NBA in 1984, a golden age for the league with its “Showtime” Lakers, led by Magic Johnson; archrivals Larry Bird and the Boston Celtics; and star rookies Charles Barkley, John Stockton, Hakeem Olajuwon, and Michael Jordan.