The National Basketball Association (NBA) is the pre-eminent
men's professional basketball league and one of the Big Four major sports
leagues in North America. With thirty franchised member clubs (29 in the United
States and 1 in Canada), the NBA is widely considered to be the premier men's
professional basketball league in the world. It is an active member of USA
Basketball (USAB), which is recognized by FIBA (also known as the International
Basketball Federation) as the national governing body for basketball in the
United States. The NBA is one of the four major North American professional
sports leagues. NBA players are the world's best paid sportsmen, by average
annual salary per player.
The league was founded in New York City on June 6, 1946, as
the Basketball Association of America (BAA).The league adopted the name
National Basketball Association in 1949 after merging with the rival National
Basketball League (NBL). The league's several international as well as
individual team offices are directed out of its head offices located in the
Olympic Tower at 645 Fifth Avenue in New York City. NBA Entertainment and NBA
TV studios are directed out of offices located in Se caucus, New Jersey.
The Basketball Association of America was founded in 1946 by
owners of the major ice hockey arenas in the Northeastern and Midwestern United
States and Canada. On November 1, 1946, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the
Toronto Huskies hosted the New York Knickerbockers at Maple Leaf Gardens, in a
game the NBA now regards as the first played in its history.Although there had
been earlier attempts at professional basketball leagues, including the
American Basketball League 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 1948 ABL finalist Baltimore Bullets moved to the BAA and won
that league's 1948 title, and the 1948 NBL champion Minneapolis Lakers won the
1949 BAA title.
