David Stern, who announced he will step down as NBA commissioner in 2014, has done a lot of positive things for the league in three decades. But he has also had his share of controversies, some more legacy-damaging than others. We rank the top 10.

The biggest threat to the NBA's credibility – and, by extension, Stern's – came when former referee Tim Donaghy (pictured) was investigated by the FBI for betting on NBA games and making calls that affected the point spread in those games. Donaghy ended up serving 15 months in prison and claimed that "top executives of the NBA sought to manipulate games using referees," including the Lakers-Kings playoff series in 2002. Stern said Donaghy was lying, but Sacramento fans still find that allegation easy to believe.

Stern has presided over four NBA lockouts, two of which resulted in shortened seasons in 1998-99 and 2011. Stern's reputation as a tough negotiator was earned in his countless meetings with NBAPA executive director Billy Hunter. But so was his reputation as a jerk and bully.

When the NBA purchased the struggling New Orleans Hornets, many people around the league complained of a conflict of interests. Those fears were confirmed when Stern, acting as owner of the Hornets, vetoed a trade that would have brought New Orleans star point guard Chris Paul to the Los Angeles Lakers. He then allowed the Hornets to deal Paul to the Los Angeles Clippers for an inferior but less expensive collection of players.

Stern enraged Phoenix fans when he suspended several Suns for leaving the bench during a minor altercation near the end of Game 4 of their 2007 playoff series with the Spurs. The Suns then lost Game 5 at home without Amar'e Stoudemire and Boris Diaw. "We have the most powerful microscopes and telescopes in the world in Arizona, [and] you could use those instruments and not find a shred of fairness or common sense in that decision," said Phoenix coach Mike D'Antoni, whose team lost the series in six games.

Stern has always scoffed at the notion that the 1985 draft lottery was rigged. Yet more than 25 years later, you can find plenty of folks who think it was more than luck that helped the New York Knicks land franchise center Patrick Ewing. Was Stern helping the league's biggest media market? If so, why didn't he rescue the Knicks from their own incompetence after Ewing retired?

Not only did Stern allow Clayton Bennett to buy the Seattle SuperSonics and move them to Oklahoma City, he supported the move and led the NBA to intervene against a 2008 legal attempt by Howard Schultz to keep the team in Seattle. No wonder fans in the Pacific Northwest still can't stand the commish.

In 2000 Stern came down hard on the Minnesota Timberwolves for promising to give Joe Smith a more lucrative contract in the future if he would sign a below-market value deal at the time. Though such tampering was considered common, Stern voided Smith's contract and took away Minnesota's next three first-round picks, devastating the franchise. Yes, the Timberwolves broke the rules, but would Stern have done the same to the Lakers or Celtics?  

Stern has often been criticized for his decisions regarding player discipline. He suspended Latrell Sprewell (pictured, in white) for a year for choking his coach, a punishment reduced to 68 games through arbitration. He also threw the book at Ron Artest after a brawl spilled into the stands in 2004. Artest missed 86 games, the longest suspension for an on-court incident in NBA history.

Concerned about the league's image, Stern banned players from wearing headphones, chains, shorts, sleeveless shirts, indoor sunglasses, T-shirts, jerseys and baseball caps during NBA-related public appearances. Allen Iverson was among the players who complained Stern was cracking down on "hip-hop" culture. Some say the current popular nerd fashion trend is a response to the league's dress code.

For the 2006-07 season, the NBA decided to change from its traditional leather ball to a "microfiber" ball that supposedly had a truer bounce. The players hated it. "Feels like one of those cheap balls that you buy at the toy store," Shaquille O'Neal said. Stern initially brushed off their concerns before switching back to the leather ball two months into the season. It's one of the only times he has ever admitted being wrong.