National Basketball Association Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ===Creation and BAAβNBL merger (1946β1956)=== {{Main|Basketball Association of America}} The Basketball Association of America was founded in 1946 by owners of the major [[ice hockey]] arenas in the [[Northeastern United States|Northeastern]] and [[Midwestern United States]] and Canada. On November 1, 1946, in [[Toronto]], Ontario, Canada, the [[Toronto Huskies]] hosted the [[New York Knicks|New York Knickerbockers]] at [[Maple Leaf Gardens]], in a game the NBA now refers to as the first game played in NBA history.<ref name="firstgame">{{cite web|title=History of Basketball in Canada|url=http://www.nba.com/canada/History_of_Basketball_in_Canad-Canada_Generic_Article-18023.html|publisher=National Basketball Association|date=March 8, 2002|access-date=December 31, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121024035057/http://www.nba.com/canada/History_of_Basketball_in_Canad-Canada_Generic_Article-18023.html|archive-date=October 24, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> The first basket was made by [[Ossie Schectman]] of the Knickerbockers. Although there had been earlier attempts at professional basketball leagues, including the [[American Basketball League (1925β55)|American Basketball League]] (ABL) and the NBL, the BAA was the first league to attempt to play primarily in large arenas in major cities. During its early years, the quality of play in the BAA was not significantly better than in competing leagues or among leading independent clubs such as the [[Harlem Globetrotters]]. For instance, the 1948 ABL finalist [[Baltimore Bullets (1944β54)|Baltimore Bullets]] moved to the BAA and won that league's 1948 title, and the 1948 NBL champion [[Minneapolis Lakers]] won the 1949 BAA title. Prior to the 1948β49 season, however, NBL teams from Fort Wayne, Indianapolis, Minneapolis, and Rochester jumped to the BAA, which established the BAA as the league of choice for collegians looking to turn professional.<ref name=encyc>{{cite book|title=The Official NBA Basketball Encyclopedia|publisher=Villard Books|date=1994|page=34|isbn=0-679-43293-0}}</ref> On August 3, 1949, the remaining NBL teams (Syracuse, Anderson, Tri-Cities, Sheboygan, Denver, and Waterloo) merged into the BAA. In deference to the merger and to avoid possible legal complications, the league name was changed to the present National Basketball Association, even though the merged league retained the BAA's governing body, including [[Maurice Podoloff]] as president.<ref name=encyc/> To this day, the NBA claims the BAA's history as its own. It now reckons the arrival of the NBL teams as an expansion, not a merger, and does not recognize NBL records and statistics.<ref>{{cite web |title=NBA's bogus birthday sweeps Syracuse's contributions under the confetti (Editorial Board Opinion, Video) |url=https://www.syracuse.com/opinion/2021/11/nbas-bogus-birthday-sweeps-syracuses-contributions-under-the-confetti-editorial-board-opinion-video.html |website=syracuse |access-date=December 30, 2021 |date=November 28, 2021}}</ref> The new league had seventeen franchises located in a mix of large and small cities,<ref name=history>{{cite web |url=http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/nba-is-born |title=NBA is born |work=History |access-date=July 29, 2010}}</ref> as well as large arenas and smaller gymnasiums and [[Arsenal|armories]]. In 1950, the NBA consolidated to eleven franchises, a process that continued until 1954β55, when the league reached its smallest size of eight franchises: the [[New York Knicks]], [[Boston Celtics]], [[Philadelphia Warriors]], [[Minneapolis Lakers]], [[Rochester Royals]], [[Fort Wayne Pistons]], [[Milwaukee Hawks]], and [[Syracuse Nationals]], all of which remain in the league today, although the latter six all did eventually relocate. The process of contraction saw the league's smaller-city franchises move to larger cities. The Hawks had shifted from the [[Quad Cities|Tri-Cities]] to [[Milwaukee]] in 1951, and later shifted to [[St. Louis]] in 1955. In 1957, the Rochester Royals moved from [[Rochester, New York]], to [[Cincinnati]] and the Pistons moved from [[Fort Wayne, Indiana]], to Detroit.<ref>{{cite book |editor-last=Riess |editor-first=Stephen A. |author-link= |date= 1998|title= Sports and the American Jew|url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Sports_and_the_American_Jew/B3wX21fXD-QC?hl=en |location= |publisher= [[Syracuse University Press]]|page=237 |isbn=9780815627548}}</ref> [[Japanese-American]] [[Wataru Misaka]] broke the [[NBA color barrier]] in the [[1947β48 NBA season|1947β48 season]] when he played for the [[New York Knicks]]. He remained the only non-white player in league history prior to the first African-American, [[Harold Hunter (basketball)|Harold Hunter]], signing with the [[Washington Capitols]] in 1950.<ref name=kcstar>{{cite news|first=Sam |last=McDowell |title=Sumner grad Harold Hunter, first African-American to sign with NBA team, dies at 86 |url=http://www.kansascity.com/2013/03/08/4109211/sumner-grad-harold-hunter-first.html |work=Kansas City Star |date=March 9, 2013 |access-date=March 30, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130312014711/http://www.kansascity.com/2013/03/08/4109211/sumner-grad-harold-hunter-first.html |archive-date=March 12, 2013}}</ref><ref name=timespicayune>{{cite news|title=NBA pioneer Harold Hunter, an ex-Xavier coach, died Thursday |url=http://www.nola.com/xavier/index.ssf/2013/03/pioneering_coach_harold_hunter.html|work=Times-Picayune|date=March 7, 2013|access-date=March 30, 2013}}</ref> Hunter was cut from the team during training camp,<ref name=kcstar/><ref name=citypaper>{{cite news|title=Former Tennessee State basketball coach Harold Hunter dies|url=http://nashvillecitypaper.com/content/sports/former-tennessee-state-basketball-coach-harold-hunter-dies|work=The City Paper|date=March 7, 2013|access-date=March 30, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131102164059/http://nashvillecitypaper.com/content/sports/former-tennessee-state-basketball-coach-harold-hunter-dies|archive-date=November 2, 2013}}</ref> but several African-American players did play in the league later that year, including [[Chuck Cooper (basketball)|Chuck Cooper]] with the Celtics, [[Nathaniel "Sweetwater" Clifton]] with the Knicks, and [[Earl Lloyd]] with the [[Washington Capitols]]. During this period, the Minneapolis Lakers, led by center [[George Mikan]], won five [[NBA Finals|NBA Championships]] and established themselves as the league's first [[Dynasty (sports)|dynasty]].<ref>{{cite web|title=1949β51: Lakers Win First NBA Finals|url=http://www.nba.com/lakers/history/lakers_history_new.html#4|website=Lakers.com|publisher=NBA Media Ventures, LLC|access-date=July 30, 2010}}</ref> To encourage shooting and discourage stalling, the league introduced the 24-second [[shot clock]] in 1954.<ref>{{cite web|title=NBA Rules History|url=http://www.nba.com/analysis/rules_history.html|publisher=National Basketball Association|date=May 8, 2008|access-date=July 30, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110303213838/http://www.nba.com/analysis/rules_history.html|archive-date=March 3, 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. 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