The Early Days of the NBA
The behemoth that is today’s NBA started small. Basketball, invented by Dr. James Naismith in 1891, evolved as a sport through amateur clubs and schools. Professional leagues during the early 1920s and ’30s, including the ABL and NBL, started forming but could not be successful in the long term because they were unstable and undercapitalized.
Arena owners founded the Basketball Association of America (BAA) in 1946 to bring basketball into arenas and to large cities and their city-based fan base. The BAA was a success, and in 1949 merged with the NBL to form the National Basketball Association (NBA), uniting great regional powers with mass market popularity.
The NBA, too, saw its early failures, including poor crowds and financial woes, but found stability with the drafting of superstars George Mikan, Bill Russell, and Wilt Chamberlain. The implementation of the 24-second shot clock, one of the most visible rule changes of 1954, hastened the game and made the game more appealing to fans.
By the 1980s, the NBA was a pop culture built around historic Magic Johnson-Larry Bird and Michael Jordan dominance. The league was internationalized, and the league became more popular.
The NBA today is a worldwide melting pot of players and games played in over 200 countries, a worldwide sporting and entertainment giant.
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