National Basketball Association

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National Basketball Association

The National Basketball Association, better known simply by its acronym NBA (in Spanish, National Basketball Association), is a private professional basketball league that has been held in the United States since 1946, with Canada later added in the 1990s. Being an entity privately, it does not officially depend on the American Basketball Federation. NBA players are authorized to compete internationally after a special three-band agreement signed between the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) - the highest organization worldwide - the NBA itself and the American Federation in 1989.1

It was at the end of World War II when a group of men - mostly owners of some of the sports venues of different American cities - met at Madison Square Garden in New York in order to find alternatives to fill those pavilions with more than ice hockey and boxing, which attracted a lot of public but could not fill their gates. Thinking about something totally different that was able to complete the calendar, in addition to offering the American po[CENSORED]tion a new entertainment, they saw in basketball the ideal event to achieve their goals. This is how on June 6, 1946, the birth of what over time became one of the most followed sports leagues in the world, the Basketball Association of America (BAA), which years later passed, was signed to be called NBA. 2

The first leader or commissioner of the league was Maurice Podoloff, who was also the president of the National Hockey League (NHL). Eleven cities were established to host a team that represented them, being essentially cities located on the East Coast of the United States: New York, Chicago, Boston, Providence, Toronto, Cleveland, St. Louis, Washington DC, Detroit, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia

Since the 2004-05 season it is made up of 30 teams or franchises divided into two conferences, 3 East, and West, which in turn are divided into three divisions of five teams each.

 

History
Main article: NBA history
Origin and first years
The Basketball Association of America (BAA) was founded in 1946 by owners of major sports halls in the Northeast and Midwest, such as Madison Square Garden in New York. The 11 teams that opened the curtain in the inaugural season 1946-47 were Boston Celtics, Philadelphia Warriors, New York Knicks, Washington Capitols, Providence Steamrollers, Toronto Huskies, Chicago Stags, St. Louis Bombers, Cleveland Rebels, Detroit Falcons and Pittsburgh Ironmen .5 Only three of those teams have endured to the present day: Boston Celtics, New York Knicks and Golden State Warriors being therefore the only ones that have played every season of the league since its foundation. Of these, only Boston Celtics and New York Knicks have not moved from city being considered for these reasons as two of the most representative and historical teams in the league. In contrast, the Warriors were born in Philadelphia, to move in 1962 to San Francisco and in 1971 to Oakland, a place they have occupied since then.

Although other professional basketball leagues existed before in the country, such as the American Basketball League (ABL) and the National Basketball League (NBL), the BAA was the first league to try to play mainly in large pavilions of major cities. During those years the level of the BAA was obviously not even better than that of the other leagues due to its recent creation, nor could the teams be compared to independent clubs like the Harlem Globetrotters, considered then as one of the best teams in the nation , if not the best. Another example was that of Baltimore Bullets, who after being an ABL finalist in 1947, who moved to the BAA and won the title in the 1947-48 season, the same path taken by the Minneapolis Lakers, winners of the NBL in 1948 and the following year in the BAA giving the new league a first important projection.

A worked expansion to be the reference
These cases, however, were contextualized by the merger agreement between the BAA and the NBL, thus renamed the league as National Basketball Association (NBA), with 17 franchises located in a mixture of large and small cities, as well as pavilions with more capacity and smaller gyms.6 In 1950, the NBA was consolidated into eleven franchises, a process that continued until 1954, when it came to have only eight teams that still endure today (Knicks, Celtics, Warriors, Lakers, Royals / Kings, Pistons, Hawks and Nationals / 76ers).

At that time, the NBA also attended the franchise change to larger cities. The Hawks left the "Tri-Cities" area to move to Milwaukee and later to St. Louis; the Rochester Royals moved to Cincinnati; and the Pistons from Fort Wayne to Detroit.

During that period, Minneapolis Lakers, led by power forward George Mikan, won five rings, establishing the first dynasty in league history.7

In 1950 the integration of the NBA was also seen with the incorporation of the first African-American players to the league, such as Chuck Cooper (Boston Celtics), Nat Sweetwater Clifton (New York Knicks) and Earl Lloyd (Washington Capitols) .8 In Today, more than fifty years later, the NBA is made up of players from many different races, as well as from diverse backgrounds and cultures, 80% of them African-American

After the color players entered the NBA, their game characteristics changed the same. In a very outgoing style, they were faster and more skillful. [Citation needed] They incorporated the mate (in English, 'slam dunk') into the game, and acted with somewhat chuleco and striking movements. He was considered as the African-American style of playing basketball, quickly and agilely, and with great ball handling and which had its origins in the aforementioned Harlem Globetrotters.

Another of the changes that occurred at the time to increase the pace of the game and encourage it, was to incorporate the rule of 24 seconds of possession still in force, 10 in which it was determined that it should be thrown into the basket before time expires, although if the pitch does not touch the hoop or the basket is converted, game violation is thrown and the offensive team loses possession.

In 1956, rookie center (in Spanish, rookie) Bill Russell joined Boston Celtics, a team that already had one of the best bases in the league, Bob Cousy, and one of the most successful coaches in NBA history , Red Auerbach. With Russell, the team became a league legend, winning eleven champion rings in the thirteen seasons in which he was active. Each player is given a champion ring that represents the title achieved by the team.11 12 In 1959, the pivot Wilt Chamberlain - from the Globetrotters - entered the league and soon became one of the Most dominant players of all time, setting all kinds of records in points and rebounds, and even reaching 100 points in a match. His rivalry with Russell is remembered as one of the greatest in the history of sport.13

In that period, the NBA was strengthened with the movement from Minneapolis Lakers to Los Angeles, from Philadelphia Warriors to San Francisco, and from Syracuse Nationals to Philadelphia.

 

Draft
Main article: NBA Draft
The Draft is a system to control that the access of new players to the league benefits the competition. It basically allows the weakest teams of a year to select the players they want for the next campaign, leveling the competition in the short / medium term.

All players who want to be part of the NBA sign up to participate in the Draft election held in early summer. In it each of the teams in the league has the right to choose a player in principle. Originally the team with the worst win rate in the previous regular league chose the player they wanted, then the next team with the least wins, etc.

However, it was observed that some teams that had no chance of qualifying for the playoffs were lost in the last competition matches to have a higher number of election. That is why it was decided that the first 14 elections would be decided by a lottery.

Currently in this draw only teams that have not played the playoffs enter. Of them, the one with the most victories in the previous regular league is the one with the least chances, the second with the most wins has some more possibilities, etc. The rest of the elections are made in reverse order to the position occupied in the classification of the last campaign.