Origins Of The NBA

Basketball is one of the world's most loved sports. Thousands of people gather from all over the world to watch it. The National Basketball Association or NBA is the whole reason people are able to play the sport professionally. Although the NBA is a huge company now it wasn’t always like this. Before the NBA there was the Basketball Association of America. (BAA) Many of the rules the NBA has today didn’t exist back then.

“The NBA was formed in August 3rd 1949. The basketball association of America (BAA) and the National Basketball League (NBL) merged to form the NBA. At the beginning the NBA had 17 teams. The 17 teams were in both small and large cities and towns.” (“NBA is born.” 2014 The History Channel website. May 18 2014. Web.

The National Basketball Association, or NBA has grown up over the last few decades. Once on the verge of collapse, and unwanted by television, the NBA has rebounded to become quite possibly the most popular league in the nation. It was through television that the league finally established itself as a worthy opponent to Major League Baseball and the National Football League. The NBA got its first television exposure during the 1953-54 season on the long-since folded DuMont network. At that time, baseball was still the national pastime, and pro football was beginning to take the spotlight as the favorite sport. Even college basketball was

The game of basketball, credited to Dr. James Naismith, began in Massachusetts, but what about

But back to smaller concepts, marketing in the 1960’s the NBA was not that known due to its small scope. It was beginning to be televised and so it started to reach more people through that medium. Then we start to see how ideas are used to market the league better. There is an entertainment value aspect to it; we started to see the players on cereal boxes as a form of advertisement. In the 1970’s we start to see more competitive balance then in the

In 1970 the Lakers would return to the finals to play the New York Knicks, but would lose again. The next year the Lakers were defeated by the Bucks in the Conference Finals. In 1971 Elgin Baylor would retire due to his injuries throughout his career. That season is when the Lakers would go on to shatter the NBA record of most games won in a row, winning 33 games in a row. They also set another record by winning 69 games in one season but would eventually be broken by the Chicago Bulls later on in history. In 1975 the Lakers would acquire Kareem Abdul-Jabbar who was the league's best player. That season he would go on the win the NBA's MVP but the Lakers would fail to make the playoffs. In 1979 the Lakers would start fresh and the Magic Johnson era would being in Los Angeles. In the same year the Lakers would hire Hall of Fame coach Pat Riley. Magic Johnson would go on to have an amazing career winning five championships. In 1991 Magic Johnson would retire due to having HIV. The Lakers would struggle during the 90's but managed to make the playoffs. In 1996 the Lakers would sign Shaquille O'neil and would trade the

Basketball had its humble beginnings in the YMCA, founded by a 30-year old instructor named James Naismith. Naismith was tasked to come up with an activity that could be played indoors during the winter months, and was only given fourteen days to do so. He tried indoor versions of other sports such as soccer, football, and even lacrosse but they all failed for they were too violent and windows end up broken most of the time. Naismith set out

Los Angeles Lakers Legend Jerry West, the shooting guard whose silhouette has served as the league's face since 1969, recently told The Huffington Post that he would want Michael Jordan to take the mantle if such an event were to occur.

In the United States, the National Basketball League is the first professional basketball league. The NBL and the ABL did not find success in passing on basketball to national thought at a vital city level. Once the NBA was established, basketball was then considered a popular professional sport in the country.

The National Basketball Association was created in 1946. It is no surprise that it has gone through some changes throughout the years, although they're only a few bad changes, there's a significant amount if good changes. In the early years of the NBA , they only did the simple stuff, and although the evolution of the NBA has been entertaining, the players are becoming fancy by changing up the game.

As basketball continued to get more popular the sport was played in different colleges and universities, teams were also developed. Tournaments were also held across the country. This shows that basketball became more popular among different ages of people. Finally, another way basketball became more popular were that the rules of basketball were printed in a college magazine all over the country which was an excellent idea because more people would get introduced to the new sport. (“Where Basketball was invented: The History of

Within the same year superstar 7’1 Shaquille O’Neal signed and tagged alongside Kobe Bryant. Later on, being known for one of the most ultimate duo’s in the history of the game. Bryant ready for his next opportunity to make his next move to become a star. Kobe was now in his second season a the guard position as a Los Angeles Lakers. Voted a starter in the 1998 all star game Kobe became the youngest player at the age of nineteen to ever attend one. "Whether competing in the finals among millions of people watching or hoisting jump shots after midnight in an empty gym, Kobe has an unconditional love for the game in his heart and his mind ." Jerry west(former hall of fame laker player) explained by saying “Kobe is the great laker I’ve ever seen in terms of determination and dominance of the game, i don't think I've ever seen one like him.” Kobe started going through, and breaking career records, and achievements. Achievements that were very rare in a sense and hard to break or even think about overcoming. With Bryant’s determined spirit, and crafty mindset he became one out of two only to score forty or more points on every NBA team he has faced; at least once or more. Also at this time Bryant surpassed Jordan’s record of sixty four points scored in one game. Surpassing it with a plus seventeen more as a total of a whopping eighty one points achieved in one

In an office in the back of Staples Center during the 1996 offseason one man is set to change the course of not only a franchise but history. Anyone who knows basketball history knows this was the year Shaquille O'Neal signed a seven year $120 million dollar deal with the Lakers. So of course you would think I mean him, but in reality I’m referring to the architect of that deal Jerry West. Jerry West signed Shaq and this move capitulated the Lakers from mediocrity to basketball’s elite. No more did they have to cling onto titles and accolades earned in the 70s and 80s. With Shaq the Lakers won three championships in four years and could now add another player to their Mt. Rushmore of best Lakers ever. In hindsight you expected the Lakers to

Dr. James Naismith said “The invention of basketball was not accident. It was develop to meet a need. Those boys simply would not play ‘drop the Handkerchief.” Dr. James A. Naismith an coach at the University of Kansas an inventor, he designed the first football helmet created basketball in 1891, Dr. James Naismith created basketball from an old childhood game called "Dock and rock", same goals applied a person had to score in a hoop but instead with a ball you use a rock and you throw in a basket one at a time.

Third of August, 1949, after many years of battle, the two rival leagues of basketball called BAA (Basketball Association of America) and NBL (National Basketball League) merged to form the most professional basketball league called the NBA (National Basketball Association).