History of NBA

The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional men's basketball league. The NBA is made up of 29 United States teams and 1 Canadian team. The NBA is a member of USA Basketball (USAB). USAB governs basketball (men's and women's olympic b-ball teams) and represent United States Basketball in the International Basketball Federation (FIBA).

The NBA is one of the four major North American professional sports leagues, along with the NFL, MLB, and NHL.

The history of the NBA actually begins with the Basketball Association of America (BAA). The BAA (later named the NBA) was founded in the 1940’s by the owners of ice hockey arenas. The first NBA game was the Toronto Huskies hosting the New York Knickerbockers. Even though there had been previous attempts at a professional basketball league, including the American Basketball League (ABL) and the National Basketball League (NBL), the BAA was the first league attempting to play primarily in large arenas and major cities.

During its early years the quality of play in the BAA was not necessarily any better than competing leagues or among leading independent clubs. For instance in 1948 the Baltimore Bullets for the ABL moved to the BAA and won the leagues 1948 title and the 1948 NBL champion Minneapolis Lakers won the 1949 BAA title.

In August of 1949, the BAA agreed to a merger with the NBL. This created the new National Basketball Association or NBA that we know today. This new league contained 17 franchises located in a mixture of large and small cities, as well as including large arenas and smaller gymnasiums and armories. In 1950, the NBA consolidated to only 11 franchises. This was a process that remained in place until 1954, when the league contracted to only eight franchises, all of which are still in the league.

NBA: Mavs v Raptors. Thanks to the_junes at flickr.com for the picture.

This process of contracting meant that the majority of smaller city franchises moved to larger cities. Out of the original eight franchises only the Knicks and the Celtics have not relocated.

Technically, the Japanese American basketball player Wataru Misaka broke the NBA color barrier in the 47-48 season when he played for the New York Knicks. But 1950 is recognized as being the year that the NBA integrated with the addition of African-American players by several teams including the Boston Celtics, New York Knicks and Washington Capitols.

An increasing number of international players have moved directly from playing on major teams elsewhere in the world to being NBA stars. Beginning in the late 80s, with players from Croatia and Germany, there have since been players in the NBA from Brazil, Italy, Spain, Argentina, Lithuania, France, Turkey and China.

AI on a break-away slam against Golden State Warriors... in a losing effort....
Thanks to DJ Anto D at flickr.com for the picture.

In 2001, the national basketball development league, which was an affiliated minor league of the NBA, was created. It is now called the NBA development league or D-league.

The current organization of the NBA divides the 30 teams into two conferences of three divisions with five teams. This lineup was introduced in 2004-05 season.

Over the years, the NBA has grown and expanded. In 2006, after 35 years, the league returned to its traditional leather ball as the official NBA game ball.

This was the point where 7ft 6" Yao Ming decided that The Rockets were not going to lose to the worst team in the NBA. Thanks to the_junes at flickr.com for the picture.

Which NBA team was the best ever? Find out at Best All-Time Professional Basketball Team.

Here's a place to go for a fun break from basketball:

The most successful franchises in the history of the NBA have surely been the Boston Celtics; Los Angeles Lakers and Chicago Bulls. You can read lots more about those franchises as well as the great teams and players that comprised them, and other NBA teams, at follows.

Now, for our Best All Time Professional Basketball Articles:

All Time Top Ten Tallest NBA Players

2010 NBA Free Agent Predictions

Best All Time Professional Basketball Player

Best Current Pro Basketball Player

Best All Time Pro Basketball Scorer

Best All Time Pro Basketball Coach

Best All Time Pro Basketball Fans

Best All Time Pro Basketball Franchise

Best All Time Professional Basketball Team

Best All Time Professional Basketball Rivalry

Best All Time Pro Basketball Arena

Best All Time Boston Celtic

Top 2009-2010 NBA Rookie

Shopping a special gift for the Basketball fans Best NBA Gifts

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