"If I was commissioner..." MJ, Toni, Luc and Joe Kleine sound off
Anyone remember the NBA ref tax scandal?
“If you were the Commissioner of the NBA, what is the first thing you would do?”
That was the question posed at the start of the 1997-98 season to the 13 Bulls veterans. Their responses fell into six main categories, the first three of which I published at the start of this month. Those topics and responses:
Topic #1: The three-point line (Randy Brown, Steve Kerr)
Topic #2: Dennis Rodman (Jud Buechler, Dennis Rodman)
Topic #3: Player contracts (Scott Burrell, Jason Caffey, Ron Harper, Scottie Pippen, Bill Wennington)
This leaves three topics and four players: Michael Jordan, Joe Kleine, Toni Kukoc, and Luc Longley. Let’s get to it.
Topic #4: International players
Toni Kukoc: “I would create a European division of the NBA.”
Luc Longley: “I would assist the foreign players in any way I could.”
What this was all about: 1989 was the year of basketball globalization.
In April, members of the International Basketball Federation, or FIBA, voted overwhelmingly to allow NBA players to compete in the Olympics. The vote obviously changed how the U.S. men’s team was constructed — the Dream Team being the direct result — but perhaps more crucially for the NBA, the rule changed how international players viewed the NBA.
Before the rule, foreign-born players had to choose between playing for their national team in the Olympics and playing in the NBA. Germany’s Detlef Schrempf, for instance, played in the ’84 Olympics with West Germany, was drafted by the Mavericks in 1985, was ineligible for the 1988 Games, and returned to the Olympics in 1992 after the rule change1.
Other superstars, like Brazil’s Oscar Schmidt and the Soviet Union’s Arvydas Sabonis, stayed away from the NBA in part to maintain their Olympics eligibility.
All that changed with the April 1989 vote, leading to two major international players being chosen in the draft two months later. The Lakers selected Serbian center Vlade Divac in the first round, and the Celtics drafted Croatian big man Dino Radja in the second. The next year, the Bulls drafted Croatian superstar Toni Kukoc at the start of the second round. The year after that, two foreign-born players in American colleges were drafted in the first seven picks: Congo’s Dikembe Mutombo of Georgetown and Australia’s Luc Longley of New Mexico.
By 1997, with the impact of the Dream Team in Barcelona in 1992 and the continued development of international players whether from U.S. universities or not, the NBA was flourishing globally and international players were flourishing in the NBA. A story in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram in July 1997 noted that 91 players born outside of the U.S., from 41 countries, had played in the NBA since its inception, with 62 playing in the 1990s including 33 in 1997. A league record four foreign players were drafted in the first round of the 1997 draft, including future All-Stars Peja Stojakovic of Greece and Zydrunas Ilgauskas of Lithuania.
Perhaps nowhere in the NBA was the international mission stronger than in Chicago, where Jerry Krause and scouts Ivica Dukan, Clarence Gaines and Jim Stack were on the hunt for Krause’s much beloved “gems.” The second three-peat had three international players, starting in the 1994 season: Kukoc finally signed in July of 1993, Canadian Bill Wennington signed in September and Krause traded for Longley in February of 1994.
“One of the things you have to consider when you talk about this Bulls team is that all year long, they’ve been giving the fans of the basketball world a glimpse of the future, what the NBA is going to be like in the 21st century. It’s going to be an international league,” Julius Erving said on NBC during the 1996 playoffs. “And they have two of the three best American players on their team, they have the best player ever from Croatia, they have the best player ever from the country of Australia. So we’re getting a sneak preview of what it’s going to be like in the 21st century.”
Okay, let’s go back to the specific statements from Toni and Luc. First Kukoc, who said he would create a European division of the NBA.
“We might be the first league that decides to have a minor league that will move lock, stock and barrel to another continent for another season,” David Stern said just two years later, in September 1999. “An NBA developmental league, once it exists, has enormous potential for international play. … In the next couple of years we will be getting some interesting opportunities for the NBA to affiliate in some ways with the foreign operations of leagues in Europe, Latin America and Asia.”
In 2013, this expansion still had not happened, but Stern — who passed away in 2020 — remained hopeful, predicting the NBA would have teams in Europe within 20 years.
“Twenty years from now? For sure. In Europe. No place else,” he said. “In other places I think you’ll see the NBA name on leagues and other places with marketing and basketball support, but not part of the NBA as we now know it.”
Longley’s request to “assist foreign players any way I could” was more feasible, and was already growing in the fall of 1997. Tasked with leading the efforts was Kim Bohuny, who joined the NBA in 1990 to help expand the league’s reach globally. Today she is Senior Vice President of Basketball Operations-International, NBA. You can read about Bohuny here and here.
Topic #5: Preserving NBA history
Michael Jordan: “I would try to instill in the younger players a sense of respect for the great players over the years who helped the NBA become what it is today.”
What this was all about: While MJ has always frothed for competition against anyone with whom he can actually compete, he’s also been notably deferential to his predecessors, especially players he never overlapped with.
One of my favorite examples of paying tribute to those who came before him came in December 1999, when Sports Illustrated hosted an all-century award show and named MJ the basketball player of the century over fellow nominees Wilt, Oscar, Kareem, Bird and Magic. (Bill Russell was a nominee for a cross-sport impact award.)
“I would be remiss not to thank all the other recipients tonight, all the nominees. It’s truly a privilege to be here. But when you see Michael Jordan, I’m a product of modern basketball, modern technology. But all the great achievements come from Oscar Robertson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamblerlain, Bill Russell, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Bob Cousy — all the basketball players who came way before Michael Jordan. I just got the fruit of their labor, I guess.
I learn so much from these guys, watching them. I’ve kind of gained more of the publicity and more of the notoriety because of me learning from them way before me, and I want to give them the proper respect and a thank you for allowing me to do my job.”
Another famous one came 10 years later at MJ’s Hall of Fame speech. When a person is inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, they select a previous inductee to present them. Phil Jackson (class of 2007) chose Bill Bradley (class of 1983), Scottie Pippen (2010) chose Michael Jordan (2009), Dennis Rodman (2011) chose Phil Jackson, and so on2.
Jordan could have chosen Phil, or James Worthy (2003), or Dr. J (1993), or Dean Smith (1983), or Jerry West (1980), but he decided to shine a spotlight on another legend who, though a Hall of Famer, never quite reached the heights of Doc, West, MJ or others, and had subsequently been overlooked historically: David Thompson, class of 1996.
“I’ve had a lot of questions over the last four weeks, everybody saying: ‘Why did you pick David Thompson?’ I know why. And David knows why. And maybe you guys don’t know why. But when I grew up in North Carolina, I was 11 years old, 1974, I think, when (looks at Thompson) you guys won the championship. And I was an anti-Carolina guy. Hated UNC. And here I ended up at UNC.
But I was in love with David Thompson. Not just for the game of basketball but in terms of what he represented. We all — as Vivian3 say, or said, we go through our trials and tribulations. And he did. And I was inspired by him. And when I called him and asked him to stand up for me, I know I shocked the shit out of him. I know I did. But he was very kind and said, ‘Yeah, I’ll do it.’ And that wasn’t any disrespect to any of my Carolina guys. They all know that I’m a true-blue Carolina guy to the heart. Coach Smith, Larry Brown, Sam Perkins, James Worthy. All of those guys.”
While Jordan has not led any specific initiatives to instill that knowledge of history, he talks about his predecessors regularly, and in high-visibility situations. In 2013, he sat for an interview to promote the video game NBA 2K14, in which he stated the players he would love to have been able to play one-on-one, looking at both those who came before him and those who came after.
“That list is very long. Start off with Jerry West. Elgin Baylor. Kobe Bryant in his prime. LeBron in his prime. D-Wade in his prime. Melo. that’s a good start. I don’t think I’d lose. Other than Kobe Bryant because he steals all my moves.”
Last year, MJ sat to discuss another one of his mentors and inspirations: George Gervin.
Topic #6: NBA referee tax scandal
Joe Kleine: “I would take care of the officials who were involved in the tax problem.”
What this was all about: Joe Kleine joined the Bulls September 3, 1997, and the season started October 31, which means that Kleine’s response came as federal indictments were rolling out against a slew of NBA referees for tax fraud.
The scam: refs received first-class airfare from the NBA for their travel, downgraded the tickets to coach, and pocketed the difference without declaring it as income.
Acting on a tip from the soon-to-be ex-wife of a referee during their divorce, the IRS began its investigation, Operation Slam Dunk, in 1994. The Boston Globe broke the story in October of 1996, with the IRS telling the NBA that 12-15 refs could face indictment. In February of 1997, a pair of U.S. District Court grand juries indicted referees Hank Armstrong and George Toliver. Two officials with higher profiles, Jess Kersey and Mike Mathis were indicted in October, with Armstrong, Kersey and Toliver all pleading guilty prior to the start of the season.
Questions remained, though, as to what consequences the league office would hand down to these and other officials. Kersey and Toliver resigned September 5, two days after Kleine joined the Bulls, while the NBA at that point had suspended Armstrong and Kersey as they awaited trial. Though all four missed the 1998 season, David Stern reinstated them4 along with three others:5 Joey Crawford, Joe Forte and Don Vaden.
The infamous Crawford caught a huge break of timing, pleading guilty on July 1, 1998, in federal court in Philadelphia, to one count of tax fraud. He resigned from the NBA, but July 1 was the first day of the NBA lockout, and because Stern reinstated the indicted refs once the lockout ended, Crawford did not actually miss any games.
An interesting footnote of the ref tax scandal: the absence of the indicted refs in 1998 led to the NBA’s first female referees: Dee Kanter and Violet Palmer.
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Thanks as always for reading! For the free subscribers, upgrade to paid for my interview with longtime head of Bulls marketing Steve Schanwald, linked below.
And one personal anniversary: 10 years ago today, with “NBA Mt. Rushmore” the topic du jour, I published my own NBA Mt. Rushmore based on matching the mindset of the president selections (telling the story of the country) to my NBA choices. My Abraham Lincoln: Michael Jeffrey Jordan.
Have a great weekend!
Best,
Jack
Adapted from my piece from the summer of 2016 on Carmelo Anthony’s impact on USA Basketball.
Legendary Rutgers University coach C. Vivian Stringer, a fellow 2009 Naismith inductee who had spoken earlier in the ceremony.
Armstrong and Mathis remained in the NBA through 2001, Toliver stayed until 2004, Kersey until 2007.
Of the 10 refs busted before the 1999 season, Steve Javie was the only one to win in court, acquitted in January 1999, just before the lockout ended. I haven’t found a complete list of indicted refs, though later reporting puts the total count at 12.