NBA was founded on June 6, 1946 in New York City and was known as Basketball Association of America (BAA). BAA absorbed its closest rival, the National Basketball League (NBL) in 1949 and consequently adopted the name NBA.
The first recognized NBA game was played in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on November 1, 1946 played between Toronto Huskies and New York Knickerbockers. A number of basketball leagues attempted to play in large arenas in the country’s major cities, including NBL and the American Basketball League (ABL).
The BAA and the NBL agreed to a merger on August 3, 1949 and created the NBA. Initially, NBA had seventeen member franchises. In the years that followed, the NBA tried to consolidate the franchises and the number of ball clubs dropped from seventeen to eleven. The process continued until 1954 and reached eight consolidated franchises, all of which are still active franchises today – Nationals/76ers, Atlanta Hawks, Detroit Pistons, Royals/Kings, Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State Warriors, Boston Celtics, and New York Knicks.
The eight franchises played against each other until the 1960s, a period dominated by the Boston Celtics. In 1961, the Chicago Packers, now known as Washington Wizards, became the ninth NBA team. Further expansions happened between 1966 and 1968 and the franchises grew from nine to fourteen. The additions included Seattle Supersonics (now the Oklahoma Thunder), Chicago Bulls, San Diego Rockets (now playing in Houston), Phoenix Suns, and Milwaukee Bucks.
Four more franchises joined the NBA through the 1970s. They were the Cleveland Cavaliers, Portland Trail Blazers, Buffalo Braves (now the Los Angeles Clippers) and the New Orleans Jazz (Now playing in Utah). In 1976, four ABA franchises moved to the NBA which included the Denver Nuggets, San Antonio Spurs, New York Nets (now playing in Brooklyn) and the Indiana Pacers.
NBA’s popularity surged in the late 1970s during a period of the fiercest rivalry between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics. From 1979 through 1984, the Lakers won five championships and the Boston had three.
In the early 1980s, the Dallas Mavericks joined the NBA. In 1989, four new franchises joined the league – Minnesota Timberwolves, Orlando Magic, Miami Heat, and Charlotte Hornets. The league also expanded to Canada with the entrance of Vancouver Grizzlies (now playing in Memphis) and Toronto Raptors.