Editing National Basketball Association (section)

===Creation and BAA–NBL merger (1946–1956)===
{{Main|Basketball Association of America}}
[[File:Maple Leaf Gardens 2023.jpg|thumb|[[Maple Leaf Gardens]] in [[Toronto]], site of the first ever NBA game on November 1, 1946]]
The NBA traces its roots to the [[Basketball Association of America]] which 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.<ref>{{cite news |author1=[[Charley Rosen]] |title=NBA pioneer is no old fogey |url=https://www.espn.com/page2/s/rosen/030408.html |access-date=June 23, 2024 |work=[[ESPN]]}}</ref>

Although there had been earlier attempts at professional basketball leagues, including the [[American Basketball League (1925–55)|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 1947 ABL finalist [[Baltimore Bullets (1944–54)|Baltimore Bullets]] moved to the BAA and won that league's 1948 title,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Grill |first1=Grace |title=This day in sports: Baltimore Bullets defeat Philadelphia Warriors in 1948 BAA Finals |url=https://www.dcnewsnow.com/sports/this-day-in-sports-baltimore-bullets-defeat-philadelphia-warriors-in-1948-baa-finals/ |work=[[DC News Now]] |date=April 22, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Season Review: 1947-48 |url=https://www.nba.com/news/history-season-review-1947-48 |website=[[NBA.com]] |access-date=June 28, 2024 |language=en}}</ref> and the 1948 NBL champion [[Minneapolis Lakers]] won the 1949 BAA title.<ref>{{cite news |author1=Dick Robb |title=Lakers make city world's pro capital |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-minneapolis-star-lakers-make-city-wo/149954500/ |access-date=June 24, 2024 |work=[[The Minneapolis Star]] |date=April 14, 1949 |page=45 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}{{open access}}</ref>

Prior to the 1948–49 season, the BAA lured away the [[Fort Wayne Pistons]], [[Indianapolis Kautskys]], [[Minneapolis Lakers]], and [[Rochester Royals]] from the NBL with the prospect of playing in major venues such as [[Boston Garden]] and [[Madison Square Garden]].<ref name="encyc">{{cite book |title=The Official NBA Basketball Encyclopedia |publisher=Villard Books |date=1994 |page=34 |isbn=0-679-43293-0}}</ref> The NBL hit back by outbidding the BAA for the services of several players, including [[Al Cervi]], rookie [[Dolph Schayes]] and five stars from the [[University of Kentucky]] while also gaining the upper hand in Indianapolis with the creation of the [[Indianapolis Olympians]] while the Kautskys folded.<ref name="wp-2022-01-02">{{cite news |author1=Curtis Harris |title=How the NBA's 75th anniversary sweeps away its early history |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/01/21/nba-history-nbl-baa/ |access-date=June 23, 2024 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=January 21, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author1=W.F. Fox jr. |title=N.B.L. seeks Field House, coach |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-indianapolis-news-1949-may-nbl-ken/45812376/ |access-date=June 24, 2024 |work=[[The Indianapolis News]] |date=May 5, 1949 |page=26}}</ref> With several teams facing financial difficulties,<ref>{{cite news |title=Story hints BAA to quit if 1949-50 proves loser |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/democrat-and-chronicle-story-hints-baa-t/149984124/ |access-date=June 24, 2024 |work=[[Democrat and Chronicle]] |agency=[[Associated Press]] |date=June 24, 1949 |page=37 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}{{open access}}</ref> the BAA and the NBL agreed on a merger on August 3, 1949, to create the National Basketball Association. [[Maurice Podoloff]], the president of BAA, became the president of the NBA while [[Ike Duffey]], president of the NBL, became the chairman.<ref>{{cite news |author1=Glenn Gaff |title=Cage peace: Form 18-team league |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/star-tribune-cage-peace-form-18-team-le/149924180/ |access-date=June 23, 2024 |work=[[Star Tribune]] |date=August 4, 1949 |page=20 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}{{open access}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Pro hoop war comes to end |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-spokesman-review-pro-hoop-war-comes/149924952/ |access-date=June 23, 2024 |work=[[The Spokesman-Review]] |agency=[[Associated Press]] |date=August 4, 1949 |page=13 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}{{open access}}</ref> The NBA later adopted the BAA's history and statistics as its own but did not do the same for 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>

[[File:Wat Misaka.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Asian American point guard [[Wat Misaka]] broke BAA/NBA's [[Racial segregation|color barrier]] as the first non-white player to play in the BAA in 1947.]]

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<ref>{{cite news |author1=John Barrington |title=NBA plans only 12 clubs; $50,000 trust bond |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-tribune-nba-plans-only-12-clubs-50/149954362/ |access-date=June 24, 2024 |work=[[Scranton Tribune]] |date=April 12, 1950 |page=17 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}{{open access}}</ref> to eleven franchises, a process that continued until 1954–55, 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://books.google.com/books?id=B3wX21fXD-QC |location= |publisher=[[Syracuse University Press]] |page=237 |isbn=9780815627548}}</ref>

[[Japanese-American]] [[Wataru Misaka]] is considered to have broken the [[NBA color barrier]] in the [[1947–48 NBA season|1947–48 season]] when he played for the [[New York Knicks]] in the BAA. 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 won five [[NBA Finals|NBA championships]] and established themselves as the league's first [[Dynasty (sports)|dynasty]];<ref>{{cite web |title=1949–51: 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> their squad was led by center [[George Mikan]] who was the NBA's first [[superstar]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Mahoney |first=Brian |date=October 20, 2021 |title=NBA struggles during 1950s, begins its rise later in decade |url=https://apnews.com/article/mlb-nba-sports-baseball-racial-injustice-cd81a5b64be39578dfeccb6ae23e7221 |work=[[Associated Press]] |location= |access-date=May 26, 2024}}</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>