What Were The Original NBA Teams?
The National Basketball Association (NBA) was founded in 1946 with 11 teams. The original NBA teams were the Boston Celtics, New York Knicks, Philadelphia Warriors, Minneapolis Lakers, Rochester Royals, Fort Wayne Pistons, Tri-Cities Blackhawks, Syracuse Nationals, Detroit Gems, Chicago Stags, and Cleveland Rebels. By the 1950-1951 season, only six of the original NBA teams were still in the league.
Boston Celtics
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; the franchise has won the most championships in the NBA with 17, accounting for 24.6 percent of all NBA championships since the league’s founding.
Founded in 1946
The Boston Celtics are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. 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)’sBoston Bruins. The Celtics are one of the most successful teams in NBA history; winning a record 17 NBA championships, which includes 8 consecutive wins from 1959 to 1966, as well as winning their first championship in 1957. According to Forbes, the Celtics are the fifth most valuable basketball franchise in the United States and fourth in the NBA, and generating an estimated $1.5 billion annually.
Won the first ever NBA championship in 1957
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 in league history with seventeen, owning the record for most championships won by a single franchise.
New York Knicks
The New York Knicks were one of the original NBA teams. They were founded in 1946 and they are one of the most successful teams in NBA history. The Knicks have won two NBA championships and they have been to the NBA Finals eight times. They have also won eight conference championships. The Knicks are one of the most popular teams in the NBA and they have a large fan base.
Founded in 1946
The New York Knicks are an American professional basketball team based in New York City. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games at Madison Square Garden, an arena they share with the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL). They are one of two NBA teams located in New York City; the other team is the Brooklyn Nets. Alongside the Boston Celtics, the Knicks are one of two original NBA teams still located in its original city.
The Knicks were established as an expansion team in 1946 and initially played their home games at the Polo Grounds. Henry Morganthau Jr. was awarded an NBA franchise for his group which also included Ned Irish and Leo Ferris, after building Athletic Park, a successful 10,000-seat arena in Troy, New York used by Ned Irish’s boxing promotion company and both Seton Hall University basketball squads as well as numerous high school teams and musical events. In 1951, Irish obtained permission to move his basketball operation to Madison Square Garden II, resulting in a dispute between him and MSG owner Tex Rickard that almost negated the formation of the Knicks entirely. The Knicks actually played their first game against Irish’s own Boston Celtics on November 1st 1946 before approximately 8,000 fans at MSG II, with one of those spectators being music icon Frank Sinatra who had been given free tickets by Morganthau himself just so he could see what professional basketball was like.
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Won two NBA championships in 1970 and 1973
The New York Knicks are an American professional basketball team based in New York City. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games at Madison Square Garden, an arena they share with the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL). They are one of two NBA teams located in New York City; the other is the Brooklyn Nets. Along with the Boston Celtics, the Knicks are one of only two original NBA teams still located in its original city.
The Knicks were successful during their early years and won two NBA championships in 1970 and 1973. However, they fell into a period of decline afterwards, missing the playoffs from 1974 to 1985. During this time, they also had two head coaches who each lasted less than a year. In 1986, things began to turn around for the franchise when they hired Pat Riley as their new head coach. He helped lead them to success in his first year by drafting Patrick Ewing. The team reached the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in 15 years but lost to eventual champions, the Chicago Bulls. They then reached it again three years later but lost again to the Bulls.
Philadelphia Warriors
The Philadelphia Warriors were a professional basketball team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that was established in 1946. The Warriors were one of the original National Basketball Association (NBA) teams. They won the NBA championship in 1947, their first year in the league. The team played their home games at the Philadelphia Arena.
Founded in 1946
The Philadelphia Warriors were a professional basketball team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that played in the Basketball Association of America (BAA) from 1946 to 1949 and in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1949 to 1962. The franchise was founded in 1946 as the Philadelphia Warriors, a charter member of the BAA. They were owned by Peter A. Tyrrell, who also owned the Philadelphia Rockets of the American Hockey League. Tyrrell hired Eddie Gottlieb, a longtime basketball promoter in the city, as coach and general manager.
The warriors won their lone BAA championship in 1947, while playing under Tyrell’s ownership and Gottlieb’s coaching. Led by early scoring sensation Joe Fulks, they won that inaugural BAA championship by defeating the Chicago Stags, four games to one. Gottlieb was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach on April 20, 1964, for his contributions as head coach of both the Warriors and Sixers.
In 1962, following costly court battles over both leagues’ attempts to invade Chicago with franchises (which eventually led to both leagues agreeing to merge in 1949), owner Eddie Gottlieb sold his team for $850,000 to local investors George Reese & James Gamble for $5 million; at that time Reese & Gamble also assumed responsibility for paying off an outstanding debt of $2 million left behind by Tyrrell’s estate. As a result of moving elsewhere or going out of business altogether (as with many franchises that existed prior to NBA’s founding), only six other teams predate warriors: Knicks (founded in 1946), Lakers (1947), Royals/Kings (1948), Pistons (1948), Hawks (1949), and Capitals/Wizards (1961).
Won the first ever NBA championship in 1947
In 1947, the Philadelphia Warriors won the first ever NBA championship. The team was led by player-coach George Mikan, who was also the league’s first ever MVP. The Warriors were a founding member of the Basketball Association of America, which merged with the National Basketball League to form the NBA in 1949.
Minneapolis Lakers
The Minneapolis Lakers were a professional basketball team that played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1947 to 1960. The Lakers were one of the NBA’s eight original teams. They were based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Lakers won five NBA championships before relocating to Los Angeles in 1960.
Founded in 1947
The Minneapolis Lakers were an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1947 to 1960. The Lakers were one of the earliest success stories of the NBA and and became one of its greatest dynasties, winning five NBA championships in six final appearances before relocating to Los Angeles in 1960.
Won five NBA championships between 1949 and 1954
The Minneapolis Lakers were a professional basketball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota who won five NBA championships between 1949 and 1954. The team was founded in 1947 by businessman Bob Short as the Minneapolis Milkmen, an expansion franchise in the Basketball Association of America (BBA). Short named the team after the state’s nickname, “Land of 10,000 Lakes”. They played their home games at Minneapolis Auditorium from 1947 to 1959.
The Lakers were one of the league’s most successful teams during this time period, winning five championships in six years. Led by star players such as George Mikan, Vern Mikkelsen, Elgin Baylor, and Jerry West, the team appeared in the NBA Finals eight times between 1949 and 1954. However, they failed to win a championship between 1955 and 1974.
In 1975, the franchise relocated to Los Angeles, where they won two more titles in 1982 and 1985. The team struggled again between 1986 and 2000, winning only one playoff series during that time period. After 2000, they entered into another period of success; they won three consecutive championships between 2000 and 2002 led by stars such as Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant. The Lakers then returned to mediocrity until 2008 when they once again became one of the league’s top teams. They won another championship in 2009 before failing to repeat as champions from 2010 to 2014.
Detroit Pistons
The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit, Michigan. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league’s Eastern Conference Central Division.
Founded in 1948
The Detroit Pistons are a professional basketball team based in Detroit, Michigan. They play in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pistons joined the NBA in 1948 as the Fort Wayne (Indiana) Pistons, based in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
The Pistons have won three NBA championships: in 1954, 1989 and 1990. The Detroit Pistons franchise was founded as the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons, a National Basketball League (NBL) team, in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Owner Fred Zollner’s sister, Janets Zollner Corporation, manufactured precision metal products for use in the automotive industry.
Won three NBA championships in 1989, 1990, and 2004
Detroit Pistons – The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit, Michigan. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Eastern Conference Central Division, and play their home games at Little Caesars Arena, located in Midtown.
The team was founded in Fort Wayne, Indiana as the Fort Wayne (Zollner) Pistons in 1941, a member of the National Basketball League (NBL). The Pistons joined the Basketball Association of America (BAA) in 1948. In 1949, the NBL and BAA merged to become the NBA, and the Zollner Pistons became part of the West Division.
In 1957, Detroit businessman Fred Zollner brokered a deal for noted architect GermanoCanuti to design a 12,000-seat arena in downtown Detroit for his Piston’s team. In addition to Canuti’s design being realized, Zollner also lettered “Pistons” on both ends of seating rows closest to each sideline. The 10-foot-tall letters that spelled out “PISTONS” were attached with two-inch-thick cords so they could be lowered for basketball games and raised when larger crowds were expected for concerts and other events at Olympia Stadium next door.
The Pistons made it back to back Finals appearances in 1955 and 1956, but lost both times to the Syracuse Nationals led by Hall of Famers Dolph Schayes and George Yardley. In 1957–58, they improved their record to 39–22 but lost to the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Finals.
The following year saw them rebound with a 47–19 record but lose once again their Eastern Finals matchup; this time against powerhousebcast by Walt Bellamy and Bob Pettit; Pettit averaged 37.4 points per game that season), winning 62 games en route to their first NBA Championship since relocating from Fort Wayne.
