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The NBA was created on August 3, 1949, with the merger of the Basketball Association of America (BAA) and the National Basketball League (NBL).
Oct 26, 2024 · The following table highlights the year that every current NBA was established. NBA Team Year Established Atlanta Hawks 1946 Boston Celtics 1946 Brooklyn Nets 1967 Charlotte Hornets 1988 Chicago Bulls …
The league was formed as the Basketball Association of America (BAA) in 1946 and took its current name in 1949. The histories of NBA franchises that were also members of the American Basketball League (ABL), National Basketball League (NBL), National Pro Basketball League (NPBL), and American Basketball Association (ABA) are also included.
Apr 25, 2024 · The National Basketball League, the first professional basketball league, was founded on November 20, 1898. The league comprised six to eight clubs from the northeast region of the United States. The league’s most successful season was 1901–02. The National Basketball League dissolved in January 1904 following a few years of decline.
- Overview
- League growth and membership
- NBA championship
National Basketball Association (NBA), professional basketball league formed in the United States in 1949 by the merger of two rival organizations, the National Basketball League (founded 1937) and the Basketball Association of America (founded 1946). In 1976 the NBA absorbed four teams from the American Basketball Association (ABA), which disbanded that year.
(Read James Naismith’s 1929 Britannica essay on his invention of basketball.)
Britannica Quiz
Basketball Player Nicknames
By the early 1980s the NBA was plagued by money-losing franchises, low attendance, declining television ratings, and limited national appeal. The league soon rebounded under the leadership of David Stern, NBA commissioner from 1984, who helped transform it into an international entertainment company. Aggressive marketing highlighted star players such as Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, and, especially, Michael Jordan. Other innovations included league limits on player salaries, lucrative broadcast rights for network and cable television, and expanded All-Star Game festivities.
The NBA membership was divided into two conferences, each with three divisions. There were 30 teams, aligned as follows:
Eastern Conference
•Atlantic Division: Boston Celtics, Brooklyn Nets, New York Knicks, Philadelphia 76ers, Toronto Raptors
•Central Division: Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers, Detroit Pistons, Indiana Pacers, Milwaukee Bucks
•Southeast Division: Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Hornets, Miami Heat, Orlando Magic, Washington Wizards
Winners of the National Basketball Association championship are provided in the table.
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- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Members of the NBA 75th Anniversary Team during the halftime ceremony of the 2022 NBA All-Star Game. The NBA 75th Anniversary Team, also referred to as the NBA 75, [1][2] was chosen in 2021 to honor the 75th anniversary of the founding of the National Basketball Association (NBA).
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Apr 25, 2022 · The BAA started out as a competitor of the already established (1937) National Basketball League and when the 2 competing professional basketball leagues merged in 1949, the NBA was born, the premier professional basketball league in the world.
