NBA History and General Information

The league that became the NBA began in 1946 as the Basketball Association of America. The BAA began with 11 teams and attempted to establish major-league professional basketball in many of North America's largest arenas and cities. Maurice Podoloff served as the league's first president.

The BAA faced competition from the older National Basketball League, which was concentrated largely in the Midwest and included many of the country's best professional players. Before the 1948-49 season, four prominent NBL franchises — the Minneapolis Lakers, Rochester Royals, Fort Wayne Pistons and Indianapolis Jets — moved to the BAA. Their arrival gave the BAA many of the NBL's best players while also putting them in the larger arenas used by the BAA.

Following the 1948-49 season, the six remaining NBL franchises joined the BAA. The combined 17-team league adopted the name National Basketball Association for the 1949-50 season. The new NBA was divided into three divisions and included franchises stretching from major cities such as New York and Boston to smaller basketball markets such as Anderson, Indiana, and Sheboygan, Wisconsin.

The large 17-team league did not last long. Financial problems and unstable ownership caused numerous franchises to fold during the NBA's first several seasons. By the 1954-55 season, the league had contracted to eight teams.

Among the important figures who helped professional basketball survive those difficult years was Frank Zollner, owner of the Fort Wayne Pistons. Zollner had been a major figure in the NBL and remained influential during the NBA's early years.

The NBA's first dominant dynasty was the Minneapolis Lakers, led by George Mikan. With Mikan controlling the interior, Minneapolis became professional basketball's first great dynasty and won five championships from 1949 through 1954 when counting the Lakers' final BAA championship and their first four NBA titles.

Mikan's dominance also influenced the development of the sport. Rule changes designed partly to prevent big men from controlling the area around the basket, along with the introduction of the 24-second shot clock for the 1954-55 season, helped transform the NBA from the slower game of its earliest years into a faster and more entertaining league.

The Boston Celtics became the league's defining team during the late 1950s and 1960s. Led by Bill Russell and coached by Red Auerbach, Boston won 11 championships in 13 seasons from 1957 through 1969, including an NBA-record eight consecutive titles from 1959 through 1966.

The Celtics dynasty coincided with the NBA's gradual recovery from its early financial struggles. The league remained at eight teams from 1955 through 1961 before adding the Chicago Packers for the 1961-62 season. The franchise later became the Chicago Zephyrs, Baltimore Bullets and eventually the Washington Wizards.

The NBA's major expansion era accelerated when the Chicago Bulls joined in 1966. The Bulls were stocked through an expansion draft, a process the NBA would continue to use as new franchises entered the league. Seattle and San Diego joined in 1967, Milwaukee and Phoenix followed in 1968, and Buffalo, Cleveland and Portland were added in 1970.

At the same time, the NBA faced its most serious rival in the American Basketball Association. The ABA began play in 1967 and challenged the NBA for players, markets and attention. The rival league became known for its red, white and blue basketball, three-point line and a faster, more open style of play.

The competition ended in 1976 when four ABA franchises — Denver, Indiana, New York and San Antonio — entered the NBA. The ABA ceased operations, but many of its ideas, players and stylistic innovations became part of the NBA.

The NBA entered a new era in the 1980s. The rivalry between Magic Johnson's Los Angeles Lakers and Larry Bird's Boston Celtics helped generate enormous national interest in the league. Their teams met in three NBA Finals during the decade, and the Lakers and Celtics combined to win eight of the ten championships played during the 1980s.

Under commissioner David Stern, who took office in 1984, the NBA dramatically expanded its television exposure, marketing reach and international profile. Expansion also resumed, with new franchises eventually appearing in Charlotte, Miami, Minnesota, Orlando, Toronto, Vancouver and other markets.

The 1990s belonged largely to Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. Jordan became the NBA's most recognizable player and one of the most famous athletes in the world. Chicago won six NBA championships between 1991 and 1998, completing two separate three-peats.

The popularity of Jordan and the Bulls helped push the NBA into an unprecedented period of worldwide growth. Television audiences increased, NBA merchandise became globally recognizable and basketball continued to expand beyond the United States.

The post-Jordan era featured another Lakers dynasty, the sustained success of the San Antonio Spurs and the rise of a generation of international stars. Players such as Dirk Nowitzki, Pau Gasol, Yao Ming, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili demonstrated how international the league had become.

The number of international NBA players continued to grow as scouting and player development expanded around the world. By the end of the decade, international players were no longer unusual contributors; many were franchise stars and championship leaders.

The 2010s included championship teams led by LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Kawhi Leonard, Dirk Nowitzki and Tim Duncan. Miami reached four consecutive Finals after forming its LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh core, while Golden State later built a dynasty around Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green.

The decade also produced a dramatic increase in three-point shooting and positionless basketball. Analytics increasingly influenced roster construction, shot selection and coaching strategy, fundamentally changing the way NBA offenses were built.

The 2020s have continued the league's movement toward greater international influence and competitive balance. Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Luka Doncic and other international stars have become central figures in the modern NBA, while teams have increasingly built offenses around versatile players who can create, shoot and pass from every position.

The decade has also seen the creation of the NBA Play-In Tournament and the NBA Cup, giving the league new forms of competition beyond the traditional regular season and playoffs.

Championships have been spread among multiple franchises during the decade. The Los Angeles Lakers won in 2020, Milwaukee in 2021, Golden State in 2022, Denver in 2023, Boston in 2024, Oklahoma City in 2025 and the New York Knicks in 2026. New York's victory was the franchise's first NBA championship since 1973.

Today the NBA consists of 30 teams divided equally between the Eastern and Western Conferences. The league continues to evaluate its future while basketball becomes increasingly global, technologically advanced and connected to generations of history that stretch back well before the creation of the NBA name in 1949.