Mr. Stankovic told N.B.A. officials about his vision of having the best players in the world participate in major FIBA events, Mr. Granik said. “We see this as our triumphant entry into the 21st century,” Mr. Stankovic said at the time. Mr. Granik said that N.B.A. “It was nothing that David and I lobbied for,” Mr. Granik said, referring to Mr. Stern, who died in January.

Source: International New York Times March 23, 2020 21:22 UTC