In the beginning, there were two. The birth of the NBA, on August 3, 1949, exactly 75 years ago, was the result of a merger between two leagues that already existed at the time: the National Basketball League (NBL) created in 1937, and the Basketball Association of America (BAA) in 1946. Two rival leagues, of course.
” A conference on July 1 (1949) in Chicago between the two rival leagues had failed to pacify professional basketball with the refusal of a merger. “, United Press reports at the time, by evoking a ” war ” between the two entities, three years long.
How did it get here? Let's go back a little over a decade. When the “Midwest Basketball Conference”, which can be considered the “grandmother” of the NBA, was born in 1935. At its beginning, this league brought together a little less than ten teams, mainly corporate teams.
In 1937, it changed its name in order to attract a wider audience, and became the “National Basketball League”. The latter was established in “small” industrial cities in the states of the Great Lakes region (Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, etc.). After about ten years of existence, and once the Second World War was over, the NBL saw the emergence of its very first star, a certain George Mikan.
When hockey bosses get involved…
At the same time, in 1946, less good news was announced: the birth of a competing league, the “Basketball Association of America”. It had ” It was mainly started by hockey team owners who wanted to fill their arenas on non-game nights.”, describes the New York Times. “The league had less talented players than the NBL but the advantage of playing in big cities like New York, Philadelphia and Boston. » His first boss, Maurice Podoloff, is also the president of the “American Hockey League”.
The turning point came in 1948 when the Minneapolis Lakers, and their star George Mikan, migrated from the NBL to the BAA. With this, they were able to perform on larger stages, where the NBL could only attract about 2,000 people at most. The BAA, whose first seasons of competition were incorporated to the NBA history (unlike the NBL), finds itself in a strong position to absorb, or at least merge with, the NBL.
” A merger – even a complicated one with 19 teams, the total number with the two leagues – would make professional basketball a better investment.”, judge the Indianapolis Newsend of July 1949. “Both leagues have admitted to losing revenue. “An agreement must be reached, otherwise” both leagues will be ruined “, even warns Ike Duffey, the president of the NBL.
On August 1, 1949, Sheboygan Press publishes the 14 constituent points of the merger. The first of these concerns the name of the league: it will be the “National Basketball Association”. This charter also provides for the creation of four divisions: two divisions of five teams for the clubs of the future ex-BAA, two others of four teams for those of the NBL. On August 3, the two parties meet in the offices of the BAA, at the Empire State Building.
The merger is done, the NBA is born.
Article originally published in 2019
