Who Was the First Person in the NBA?
The answer to this question may surprise you – it wasn’t LeBron James or Michael Jordan! So who was the first person in the NBA? Read on to find out.
George Mikan
George Mikan was the first person in the NBA. He played for the Minneapolis Lakers and was one of the most dominant players in the league. He was a six-time NBA champion and was named the NBA Finals MVP three times.
First person to be drafted in the NBA
George Mikan was the first person to be drafted in the NBA. He was a 6’10” center who played for the Minneapolis Lakers from 1949 to 1956. He was a four-time NBA All-Star and was named the NBA Most Valuable Player in 1955.
Helped the Minneapolis Lakers win five championships
Mikan was an All-American at DePaul University before being drafted by the Minneapolis Lakers in 1947. He quickly became one of the most dominant players in the league, helping the Lakers win five championships between 1949 and 1954. He was named MVP of the NBA three times and was voted one of the league’s top 50 players of all time in 1996. After his playing career ended, Mikan served as the Lakers’ head coach and general manager. He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1959.
Bill Russell
Bill Russell was the first person in the NBA. He was drafted by the Boston Celtics in the 1956 NBA draft. He played center for the Celtics for 13 seasons. He won 11 NBA championships with the Celtics. He was a five-time NBA Most Valuable Player and a 12-time NBA All-Star. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1974.
Helped the Boston Celtics win eleven championships
William Felton Russell (born February 12, 1934), nicknamed “Bill” or “Russ”, is an American retired professional basketball player who played center for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1956 to 1969. A five-time NBA Most Valuable Player and a twelve-time All-Star, he was the centerpiece of the Celtics dynasty that won eleven NBA championships during his thirteen-year career. Russell and Henri Richard of the Montreal Canadiens are tied for the record of the most championships won by an athlete in a North American sports league. Russell led the University of San Francisco to two consecutive NCAA championships in 1955 and 1956, and he captained the gold-medal winning U.S. national team at the 1956 Summer Olympics.
After graduating from USF, he was selected by the St. Louis Hawks as they used their first round draft pick in 1956, but despite being voted Rookie of the Year honors, he was immediately traded to the Boston Celtics who used their second round draft pick to acquire him. He went on to lead the Celtics to eleven NBA titles – including eight consecutive wins between 1959 and 1966 – becoming one of only two players in history to win that many championships with a single team in North American professional sports history. Along with Henri Richard of the NHL’s Montreal Canadiens, they are tied for having won the most championships by any athlete in North American professional team sports history.
First African American head coach in the NBA
In 1966, Bill Russell became the first African American head coach in the NBA. He was also the first black coach of any professional sport. He coached the Boston Celtics to two NBA championships in 1968 and 1969.
Wilt Chamberlain
Wilt Chamberlain was an American professional basketball player who played for the Philadelphia/San Francisco Warriors, the Philadelphia 76ers, and the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was born on August 21, 1936, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Chamberlain stands 7 feet 1 inch tall, and he was one of the tallest and heaviest players ever.
Averaged 50 points per game in a season
Wilt Chamberlain holds the record for the most points per game in a season. He averaged 50.4 points per game in the 1961-1962 season.
First person to be named MVP of the NBA Finals
Wilt Chamberlain was the first person to be named MVP of the NBA Finals. He was named MVP of the Finals in 1968, when he led the Philadelphia 76ers to a victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. Chamberlain was also named MVP of the regular season that year.
