David Stern, the former commissioner of the National Basketball Association who once served as its general counsel and is credited with helping the league gain international recognition, passed away on Wednesday at 77.

Those who worked with Stern recalled his enthusiasm for sports and sports law and were not surprised that he rose through the ranks to become commissioner of the NBA.

"We went back before Proskauer," Michael Cardozo, a New York partner at Proskauer Rose, said in an interview on Thursday.

Cardozo explained that he, Stern and fellow New York Proskauer partner Howard Ganz were members of the Columbia Law Review. They recalled that when he first became an associate at the firm, he immediately wanted to work on sports matters.

"When David started at Proskauer he had in the back of his mind that he wanted to work on sports cases, but he didn't start out that way," Cardozo explained. "He heard that a young associate who was leaving the firm was working on a sports case, and David ran into a senior partner and asked to work on the case."

Ganz said that together he, Cardozo and Stern all worked on NBA matters early in their career. At that time, the league was not what it is today and had much less of a following.

Stern worked with Cardozo and Ganz on behalf of the NBA on the Robertson v. National Basketball Association case in 1976.

"The Robertson litigation involved two issues," Cardozo explained. "It combined whether it would be lawful for the ABA [American Basketball Association] to become a part of the NBA and the players who were objecting to that also had player and free agency type issues."

The case settled in 1976 with one of the changes being the NBA allowing players to more easily enter as free agents. Stern became general counsel of the NBA in 1978.

"We weren't surprised at the offer; we were surprised he accepted," Ganz said.

At the time, Cardozo said, the NBA was a "nothing" organization.

"It was not even a major client of the firm at the time. I think they had one other lawyer when he went over there," Cardozo said. "We would not have predicted when he left Proskauer what was going to happen."

Stern became commissioner of the league in 1984 and is credited with helping foster the league into the massive sports corporation it is today.

"The domestic and international success of the sport, I think, is attributable to him," Ganz said.

Stern stepped down as commissioner in 2014 and Adam Silver took over. Ganz said the transition between the commissioners was seamless.

"I think that should be a feather in the cap to both of them," Ganz said. "Especially David, because he was the one who schooled Adam along the way."

In a statement on the NBA's website, Silver said it was a pleasure to have worked with Stern for nearly 22 years.

"He launched groundbreaking media and marketing partnerships, digital assets and social responsibility programs that have brought the game to billions of people around the world.  Because of David, the NBA is a truly global brand—making him not only one of the greatest sports commissioners of all time but also one of the most influential business leaders of his generation," Silver said in the statement.

On social media, a number of NBA players lauded Stern for his role in shaping the game.

"The league wouldn't be what it is today without you," Houston Rockets shooting guard James Harden tweeted.