What NBA Team Won the First Championship?
Contents
The Boston Celtics won the first NBA Championship in 1947.
The Boston Celtics
In 1947, the Boston Celtics were formed as a Basketball Association of America expansion franchise. They became the first NBA team to win a championship in their inaugural season, defeating the Philadelphia Warriors in the 1948 Finals. The Celtics would go on to win a total of 17 championships, the most in NBA history.
The Early Years
The Boston Celtics are an American professional basketball team based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league’s Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of the league’s original eight teams, the team play their home games at TD Garden, which they share with the National Hockey League (NHL)’s Boston Bruins. The Celtics are one of the most successful teams in NBA history; they have won the most championships of any NBA franchise with 17 (accounting for 23.9 percent of all NBA championships since the league’s founding), and currently hold the record for the most recorded wins of any NBA team with 3,495 (as of the end of the 2018–19 season).
The Celtics were formed in 1946 as a team in the Basketball Association of America (BAA), and became part of the National Basketball Association after merging with it in 1949. In 1950, following multiple player executions and trades, they replaced head coach Red Auerbach with Chuck Daly; Bill Russell joined as player-coach that year. As a result of Bob Cousy’s retirement and Hank iAuerbach’s trashing, Tom Heinsohn was made coach too; he led them to nine championships along with Russell from 1956 to 1969. In 1957, Russell became GM after Auerbach’s death; Bill Sharman succeeded him as coach between 1968 and 1972. After Paul Beckwith died and Heinsohn had retired from coaching by 1973, Sharman was succeeded by Tommy Heinsohn but was let go only halfway into his second season due to disagreements on personnel moves; he then was succeeded by Dave Cowens, who led them to two more championships while coaching between 1976 and 1978. Dick Motta later took over for four seasons between 1979 and 1983. The Celtics hired K.C. Jones in 1983; he helmed them 1984 to 1986 en route to two more titles—beating his former team, now led by Ernie Grunfeld—and then another appearance in 1987 despite injuries derailing much of their season offensively; Jones would be let go afterinfo just one playoff game that year despite having a winning record during his tenure because it was clear his assistants were doing most of his job for him.. Jimmy Rodgers succeeding him for two years between 1988 and 1990 but didn’t make any significant impact before being fired due to cumulative disappointing seasons following his hiring; neither did Chris Ford when he took over from 1991 until 1995: though he would make three playoff appearances with losing records during his tenure including being swept by Jordan’s Chicago Bulls 0–4 despite having homecourt advantage throughout those playoffs..
The Bill Russell Era
The Bill Russell era began in 1956, when the Boston Celtics selected the University of San Francisco center as the second overall pick in the NBA draft. Russell had an immediate impact on the court, helping lead the Celtics to their first NBA championship in his rookie season. Over the next decade, Russell would establish himself as one of the greatest players in NBA history, winning 11 championships with the Celtics between 1957 and 1969. He was named MVP of the NBA five times and selected to 12 All-Star teams during his career.
The Larry Bird Era
The Larry Bird era of the Boston Celtics began in 1979, when the Celtics selected Bird in the draft. The following season, Bird won the Rookie of the Year Award, and he would go on to win the Most Valuable Player Award three times in his career. In 1981, the Celtics won their first championship since 1969, and they would go on to win two more championships in 1984 and 1986. With Bird leading the way, the Celtics were one of the most successful teams in NBA history, and they remain one of the most popular teams today.
The Los Angeles Lakers
In 1947, the Los Angeles Lakers became the first NBA team to win a championship. The Lakers, who were led by George Mikan, were successful in their quest for the title, defeating the Chicago Stags in the NBA Finals. The Lakers would go on to win several more championships in the years to come.
The Early Years
The Los Angeles Lakers were formed in 1947 as the Minneapolis Lakers. The name was chosen because of Minnesota’s nickname, “Land of 10,000 Lakes.” The team was one of the charter members of the National Basketball Association (NBA), then known as the Basketball Association of America (BAA).
Led by legendary center George Mikan, the Lakers were a powerhouse in the early years of the NBA, winning five championships between 1949 and 1954. After struggling for a few years, they returned to prominence in the 1960s under new head coach Bill Sharman. The team featuring stars such as Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, and Wilt Chamberlain won three straight championships between 1971 and 1973.
The Lakers dynasty continued into the 1980s with “Showtime” basketball. Head coach Pat Riley built a fast-paced team featuring stars such as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, James Worthy, and Byron Scott that won five championships between 1980 and 1988. The team struggled in the early 1990s after Magic Johnson retired suddenly due to HIV infection, but they regained their form in the late 1990s with Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant leading the way to three more championships between 2000 and 2002.
The Magic Johnson Era
The Lakers won five championships between 1980 and 1987. Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar were the team’s leading players during this time. Johnson was the NBA Finals MVP in 1980, 1982, and 1987. Abdul-Jabbar was the NBA Finals MVP in 1985 and 1986.
The Kobe Bryant Era
The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league’s Western Conference Pacific Division. They play their home games at Staples Center, an arena shared with the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers and NHL’s Los Angeles Kings. The Lakers are one of the most successful teams in the history of the NBA, and have won 16 NBA championships, the second-most behind the Boston Celtics.
The franchise began with the 1947 purchase of a disbanded team, the Detroit Gems of the National Basketball League (NBL). The new team began playing in Minneapolis, calling themselves the Minneapolis Lakers. Initially a member of the NBL, the Lakers won the 1948 NBL championship before joining the rival Basketball Association of America (BAA), where they would win five of their next six championships. Led by center George Mikan, who is described by the NBA’s official website as “the league’s first superstar”, they won their first NBA title in 1949. After struggling financially inPelinkathe late 1950s following Mikan’s retirement, they relocated to Los Angeles before spices former player-coach Elgin Baylor.
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The Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Bulls were the first NBA team to win a championship. They did it in the 1991-1992 season. That year, they also set a then-record for the most wins in a season with 72. The Bulls were led by their star players Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen.
The Early Years
The Chicago Bulls are a professional basketball team based in Chicago, Illinois. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league’s Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January 16, 1966 and played its first game during the 1966–67 NBA season. The Bull’s home games were originally played at the International Amphitheatre, before moving to Chicago Stadium. United Center has served as the home venue since 1994.
The Bulls saw their greatest success during the 1990s when they were responsible for popularizing the NBA worldwide. They are known for having one of the NBA’s greatest dynasties, winning six NBA championships between 1991 and 1998 with two three-peats. All six championship teams were led by Hall of Famers Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and coach Phil Jackson. The Bulls are the only NBA franchise to win multiple championships and never lose an NBA Finals series in their history. They also have won more regular season games than any other team in NBA history.*
*This heading and expansion were adapted from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Bulls
The Michael Jordan Era
The 1990s were dominated by the Chicago Bulls, who featured NBA superstar Michael Jordan. The Bulls won six NBA championships in eight years, including two three-peats (1991-93, 1996-98). They also set a then-NBA record by winning 72 games in the 1995-96 season. Other standouts on those championship squads included Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman.
The Post-Jordan Era
In the years following Jordan’s second retirement and the end of the Bulls’ dynasty, the Bulls struggled to put together a winning season. They finished with a losing record in each of their next six seasons. From 1998 to 2004, they averaged just over 30 wins per season. In fact, they did not win more than 37 games in any of those seasons.
In January 1999, the Bulls hired former player Phil Jackson as their new head coach. Jackson had won six championships as head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers. He was brought in to try to turn around the struggling Bulls.
The Bulls finally returned to the playoffs in 2005 with a 49-33 record. They were swept in the first round by the defending champion Detroit Pistons. The following year, they again failed to make it out of the first round, this time losing to the Miami Heat.
It would not be until 2008 that the Bulls finally won another playoff series. That year, they defeated the defending champion Heat in the first round before losing to the Boston Celtics in the next round.
Conclusion
The Boston Celtics won the first NBA championship in 1947.
