In response to the relatively slow pace of games, the NBA introduced a 24-secondshot clock. The shot clock revitalized the game and scoring skyrocketed league-wide.
TheBaltimore Bullets dropped out of the NBA and folded on November 27, 1954, after playing 14 games (record 3 wins 11 losses), the last time (as of 2025) that an NBA franchise has folded; these games and all statistics were deleted from the NBA's records. The NBA would return to Baltimore when theChicago Zephyrs relocated there as the "new" Bullets for the1963–64 season, though the franchise would relocate to Washington in1973, where they remain today as theWashington Wizards.
As a result of Baltimore having folded, the NBA schedule was redrafted so each team now played 12 games against divisional opponents, and 9 games against the four teams in the other division, for a total of 72 games.
