Helena Frye
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America, composed of 30 teams. The NBA was formed in 1949 by the merger of two rival organizations, the National Basketball League (NBL), founded in 1937, and the Basketball Association of America (BAA), founded in 1946. The BAA was created by owners of major ice hockey arenas in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States and Canada. The NBA has since expanded to Canada and created a women's league, the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) in 1996.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Name | National Basketball Association (NBA) |
| Founding Date | 3 August 1949 |
| Founding Organisations | Basketball Association of America (BAA) |
| National Basketball League (NBL) | |
| Current Number of Teams | 30 (29 in the US, 1 in Canada) |
| First Game | 1 November 1946 |
| Teams Involved in First Game | Toronto Huskies and New York Knickerbockers |
| Location of First Game | Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Expansion to Canada | 1995 |
| Creation of Women's League | 1996 |
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What You'll Learn
The NBA was formed in 1949 by the merger of the NBL and BAA
The National Basketball Association (NBA) was formed on August 3, 1949, through the merger of the National Basketball League (NBL) and the Basketball Association of America (BAA). The NBA is a professional basketball league in North America, currently composed of 30 teams (29 in the US and 1 in Canada).
The NBA recognises its roots in the BAA, which was founded in 1946 by owners of major ice hockey arenas in the Northeastern and Midwestern US and Canada. The BAA played its games in large arenas such as Boston Garden and New York City's Madison Square Garden. By the 1948-49 season, the BAA had begun to attract some of the country's best players, and four NBL franchises moved to the BAA, bringing their star players with them. These included the Fort Wayne Pistons, the Minneapolis Lakers, and the Rochester Royals.
The NBL, on the other hand, held its games in small gymnasiums and was facing financial difficulties. It was unable to sustain the large paychecks it needed to give its players without more capital. However, the NBL did make significant contributions to the NBA's foundation, particularly in offering opportunities for African-American players. In the 1942-43 season, with many players in the armed forces, two NBL clubs signed African-American players, five years before Jackie Robinson broke baseball's colour barrier.
Both leagues had initially planned to continue independently for the 1949-50 season, but negotiations for a merger began soon after the 1948-49 season ended. Representatives from the two leagues met at the BAA offices in New York's Empire State Building to finalise the merger. The new NBA was made up of 17 teams representing both small towns and large cities across the country. The NBA later adopted the BAA's history and statistics as its own but did not do the same for the NBL. Five current NBA teams trace their history back to the NBL, including the Los Angeles Lakers, the Philadelphia 76ers, and the Sacramento Kings.
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The NBA's roots can be traced to the BAA, founded in 1946
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America, composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is widely regarded as the premier professional basketball league in the world.
The NBA was created on August 3, 1949, with the merger of the Basketball Association of America (BAA) and the National Basketball League (NBL). The BAA was founded in New York City on June 6, 1946, by Boston Garden owner Walter Brown. Brown realised that major ice hockey arenas, which were vacant most nights, could be used to host basketball games. The NBA later adopted the BAA's history and considers its founding on June 6, 1946, as its own.
The BAA initially consisted of 11 teams, including the Boston Celtics, New York Knicks, and Philadelphia Warriors. On November 1, 1946, the Toronto Huskies hosted the New York Knickerbockers at Maple Leaf Gardens, in a game the NBA now refers to as the first game played in its history. The first basket was made by Knickerbocker Ossie Schectman.
Prior to the 1948–49 season, the BAA attracted four teams from the NBL: the Fort Wayne Pistons, Indianapolis Kautskys, Minneapolis Lakers, and Rochester Royals. The BAA lured them with the prospect of playing in major venues such as Boston Garden and Madison Square Garden. However, several teams in the league soon faced financial difficulties. This led to the eventual merger of the BAA and the NBL in 1949, creating the NBA.
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The NBA's first game was played in Toronto, Canada, in 1946
The National Basketball Association (NBA) came into existence on August 3, 1949, with the unification of the Basketball Association of America (BAA) and the National Basketball League (NBL). The NBA, however, considers its founding date to be June 6, 1946, the same as the BAA's.
The NBA's first game was played on November 1, 1946, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Toronto Huskies hosted the New York Knickerbockers (now the Knicks) at the Maple Leaf Gardens, with the former losing 66-68 to the latter. The game was played in front of 7,090 fans, with the Huskies' Ed Sadowski and George Nostrand being the game's highest scorers, with 18 and 16 points, respectively. Nostrand was also the focus of a marketing campaign to attract fans to the game, with a newspaper advertisement offering free admission to anyone taller than his 6-foot-8 height. Ossie Schectman of the Knickerbockers scored the game's first basket.
The NBA now has 30 teams, 29 of which are based in the United States and one in Canada. The Toronto Raptors, the only Canadian team in the league since 2001, were founded in 1995 when the NBA expanded into Canada. The Raptors became the NBA champions in 2019, winning their first NBA Finals.
The NBA is the second-wealthiest professional sports league in the world by revenue, after the NFL. As of 2020, NBA players are the highest-paid athletes in the world on average.
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The NBA expanded to Canada in 1995
The National Basketball Association (NBA) was created on August 3, 1949, with the merger of the Basketball Association of America (BAA) and the National Basketball League (NBL). The NBA expanded to Canada in 1995 with the addition of two new teams: the Vancouver Grizzlies and the Toronto Raptors. The Grizzlies were formed and owned by Vancouver sports magnate Arthur Griffiths, with former Atlanta Hawks assistant coach Brian Winters hired as the franchise's first head coach. The Grizzlies used their first pick to select former first-round pick Greg Anthony from the New York Knicks. The Raptors, on the other hand, were formed and owned by a group headed by Toronto businessman John Bitove, with Brendan Malone hired as the franchise's first head coach. The Raptors used their first pick to select three-time NBA champion B.J. Armstrong from the Chicago Bulls. However, Armstrong refused to report for training and was traded to the Golden State Warriors for five other players.
The expansion of the NBA to Canada in 1995 was significant as it marked the return of professional basketball to Canadian soil after a long hiatus. The Toronto Huskies, who played in the inaugural 1946-47 season, were the last Canadian team in the NBA before the expansion. The addition of the Vancouver Grizzlies and the Toronto Raptors brought the total number of teams in the NBA to 29, with 28 in the United States and one in Canada. The expansion also represented the league's first move into the Canadian market, which offered new opportunities for growth and expansion.
The 1995 expansion draft, held on June 24, 1995, allowed the newly founded Toronto Raptors and Vancouver Grizzlies to acquire players for the upcoming 1995-96 season. In an NBA expansion draft, new NBA teams are permitted to acquire players from the league's existing teams. However, not all players are available for selection, as each team can protect a certain number of players from being selected. During the 1995 draft, each of the 27 other NBA teams protected eight players from their roster, while the Raptors and Grizzlies selected 14 and 13 unprotected players, respectively, with each team selecting one player from every other team.
The debut games for the new teams took place on November 3, 1995, with the Toronto Raptors defeating the New Jersey Nets 94-79 in front of over 30,000 fans at the SkyDome. On the same night, the Vancouver Grizzlies also celebrated their first victory, beating the Portland Trailblazers 92-80. The Grizzlies played their home games at General Motors Place (now known as Rogers Arena) until they relocated to Memphis, Tennessee, in 2001 due to financial difficulties and poor performance. The Raptors played their first two seasons at the SkyDome before moving to the Air Canada Centre, sharing a home with the Maple Leafs.
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The NBA created a women's league, the WNBA, in 1996
The National Basketball Association (NBA) was created on August 3, 1949, through the merger of the Basketball Association of America (BAA) and the National Basketball League (NBL). The NBA, however, traces its roots to the BAA, which was founded in 1946, and considers its founding date as June 6, 1946.
In 1996, the NBA created a women's league, the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The creation of the WNBA was approved by the NBA Board of Governors on April 24, 1996, and was announced at a press conference with Rebecca Lobo, Lisa Leslie, and Sheryl Swoopes in attendance. The WNBA was not the first women's professional basketball league in the US, but it is the only league to have received the full backing of the NBA. The league began with eight teams, each located in a city that was also home to an NBA team, and with nicknames and uniform colours similar to their men's counterparts.
The WNBA's first season began on June 21, 1997, with a game between the New York Liberty and the Los Angeles Sparks. The New York Liberty won the game 67-57, and the game was attended by a crowd of 14,284 people at the Great Western Forum in Inglewood, California. The game was also televised nationally in the US on NBC. The New York Liberty went on to win the first WNBA Championship, defeating the Minnesota Lynx.
The WNBA has since expanded and, as of 2026, will comprise 15 teams. The league is considered the premier professional women's basketball league in the world and is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan.
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Frequently asked questions
The NBA was formed in 1949 by the merger of the National Basketball League and the Basketball Association of America.
The NBA was formed by the merger of two rival organisations, with a total of 17 teams between them.
The NBA expanded to Canada in 1995 with the addition of the Vancouver Grizzlies and the Toronto Raptors.
The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) was founded in 1996 and league play began in 1997.
