Street named for Stern

More than just about anyone else, former NBA commissioner David Stern is the reason the Kings still exist in Sacramento. With his long- held beliefs that smaller markets are equally deserving of NBA franchises as the larger ones — so long as the support is there — he first persuaded the league’s owners to block a move to Anaheim, Calif., in 2011 and then helped shepherd through the arrangement by which current owner Vivek Ranadive purchased the team in 2013, staving off a move to Seattle. Three years later, the Kings are about to move into a new stadium for the 2016- 17 season. And while the franchise certainly isn’t going to name the new stadium after Stern — Golden 1 Credit Union is paying the team $ 120 million over 20 years for that honor — it hopes to do the next best thing by naming a newly created street leading up to the stadium after him. “When I learned we would have the option of naming the road, it was a no- brainer for me,” Ranadive told the Sacramento Bee on Monday. “There were no other names on my list. David took the NBA to the global level and started the WNBA, but he is about so much more than basketball. He is one of the greatest leaders in the world, and on top of that, the team would not be in Sacramento without David Stern.” The Kings need to get city approval, and Sacramento’s community development director said he couldn’t foresee any issues with what will become known as Stern Walk, calling the name “fitting.”