Who Founded the NBA?

The National Basketball Association (NBA) was founded on June 6, 1946, in New York City. The league was originally composed of 11 teams, and has since grown to 30 teams.

The NBA was Founded by James Naismith

Inventor of Basketball, Dr. James Naismith, is known as the founder of the National Basketball Association. Flash forward to today, and the NBA is now a multi-billion dollar industry with players signing contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars. However, it all started with Naismith and a simple game he created to keep his students active during the winter.

Born in 1861 in Almonte, Ontario, Naismith was raised on a farm and played all sorts of sports as a child. When he was older, he attended McGill University in Montreal where he played rugby. It was there that he was introduced to a new game called “Basketball” by another student. The game was still in its infancy and Naismith was tasked with creating his own version that would be less dangerous and easier to play indoors.

He came up with 13 rules for the game and nailed a peach basket 10 feet off the ground at either end of the gymnasium. On December 21st, 1891, the first ever game of basketball was played at Springfield College in Massachusetts. There were nine players on each team and the game ended with a score of 1-0 – classic James Naismith efficiency.

Despite its humble beginnings, basketball quickly grew in popularity. Within 25 years there were professional leagues popping up all over America and by 1946 the Basketball Association of America (BAA) was formed – which would eventually merge with the National Basketball League (NBL) to create today’s NBA.

While he didn’t know it at the time, James Naismith had created something special when he invented basketball all those years ago.

Other Contributors to the NBA

In addition to the founding fathers, there are several other important contributors to the NBA. These include:

* Walter A. Brown- While not one of the original founders, Brown was instrumental in the development of the NBA. He was the owner of the Boston Celtics and one of the league’s most important early figures.

* Abe Saperstein- Saperstein was one of the pioneers of professional basketball. He founded and coached the Harlem Globetrotters, one of basketball’s first great teams.

* George Mikan- Mikan was one of basketball’s first true superstars. He dominated the game in the 1940s and 1950s and is widely considered one of the greatest players in history.

* Bill Russell- Russell is one of the most decorated players in NBA history. He won 11 championships with the Boston Celtics and is widely considered one of the greatest players of all time.

The Importance of the NBA

The National Basketball Association (NBA) is the premier professional basketball league in the United States and Canada. Founded in 1946, the NBA is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA consists of two conferences, the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference, each of which is made up of 15 teams. The Eastern Conference includes teams such as the Boston Celtics, Miami Heat, and Brooklyn Nets, while the Western Conference includes teams such as the Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State Warriors, and Houston Rockets.

The NBA is a highly popular league both in the United States and internationally. In fact, it is one of the four major professional sports leagues in North America, along with Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Football League (NFL), and the National Hockey League (NHL). The NBA is also widely considered to be the premier professional basketball league in the world.

You may be wondering who founded the NBA. That would be James Naismith. Naismith was a physical education teacher at Springfield College in Massachusetts when he came up with the game of basketball in 1891. He invented the game as an activity that could be played indoors during inclement weather. Today, basketball is enjoyed by people of all ages all over the world.