Former NBA commissioner David Stern died aged 77 on Wednesday following emergency surgery for a brain haemorrhage less than a month ago. The league confirmed his passing in an official statement.

Stern, who became commissioner in 1984, started at the NBA as an outside counsel in 1966 and was the longest-tenured commissioner in the history of major North American sports leagues upon his resignation in 2014. He has been widely credited with the boom in the NBA’s popularity in the ’90s and ’00s, helping position the NBA as an international force in the sports world by recruiting more international players, setting up training camps, and playing exhibition games overseas.

Stern also helped found the WNBA and the NBA G League and, under his stewardship, the NBA expanded into Canada, introducing the Toronto Raptors and the Vancouver Grizzlies to the league.

Upon news of Stern’s death, the NBA community was quick to pay their respects online, with notable former players such as Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant making statements, as well as several teams, current players, and journalists looking back on Stern’s remarkable career with the NBA. Check out some of the reactions below.