TheBasketball Association of America (BAA) was a professionalbasketball league in North America, founded in 1946. Following its third season, 1948–49, the BAA merged with theNational Basketball League (NBL) to form theNational Basketball Association (NBA).^[1]

ThePhiladelphia Warriors won the inauguralBAA championship in 1947, followed by theBaltimore Bullets and theMinneapolis Lakers in 1948 and 1949, respectively. Six teams from the BAA remain in operation in the NBA as of the2024–25 season, three that co-founded the league in 1946 (Boston Celtics,New York Knicks, and Philadelphia Warriors) and three that joined it from the NBL in 1948 (Fort Wayne Pistons, Minneapolis Lakers, andRochester Royals). Theinaugural BAA season began with 11 teams, of which four dropped out before the second season. One team joined from theAmerican Basketball League (ABL) to provide 8 teams for 1947–48 and four NBL teams joined to provide 12 for 1948–49. The records and statistics of the BAA and NBL prior to the merger in 1949 are considered in official NBA history only if a player, coach or team participated in the newly formed NBA after 1949 for one or more seasons.^[2][3]

The NBA generally claims the BAA's history as its own. For example, atNBA History online its table of one-line "NBA Season Recaps" begins 1946–47 without comment.^[4] It celebrated "NBA at 50" in 1996, with the announcement of its 50 Greatest Players among other things.^[5]

When the BAA was founded, there were two established professional leagues in the United States: theAmerican Basketball League (ABL) in the East, founded in 1925 and revived in 1933 after briefly going on hiatus in 1931, and theNational Basketball League (NBL) in Midwestern industrial cities, founded in 1937. However, most of the ABL and NBL teams played in small arenas, and in some cases even ballrooms or high school gymnasiums.Walter Brown, owner of theBoston Garden, believed that major ice hockey arenas, which sat empty on many nights, could be put to profitable use hosting basketball games when there were no ice hockey games to be played.^[6] To put this theory into practice, the BAA was founded in New York City on June 6, 1946. The remaining founding members were represented by:Madison Square Garden sports promoterNed Irish;Philadelphia Arena sports promoterPeter Tyrell;Uline Arena owner Mike Uline;Arthur Wirtz, owner ofChicago Stadium andSt. Louis Arena;Detroit Olympia ownerJames D. Norris;Cleveland Arena sports promoterAlbert C. Sutphin;Maple Leaf Gardens managing directorFrank Selke;Duquesne Gardens entertainment executiveJohn Harris; andRhode Island Auditorium ownerLouis Pieri. The already-serving president of theAmerican Hockey League (AHL)Maurice Podoloff was appointedpresident of the BAA, becoming the first person to simultaneously lead two professional leagues^[7]—Joseph Carr had been president of the ABL from 1925 to 1928 while also overseeing theNational Football League (NFL), but the NFL and ABL seasons did not overlap.^[8] Additionally, two other representatives that were intended to represent inaugural BAA teams inBuffalo andIndianapolis in James Allinger and Dick Miller were also present at the founding meeting to discuss everything regarding the actual league's existence (including a potential name change), but Allinger confirmed he had no real plans to host a team in Buffalo for at least the BAA's inaugural season and Miller felt compelled to fold his team before even playing a single game near the end of the meeting due to a combination of fierce competition of professional teams already in the state of Indiana by this time thanks to the number of teams already previously established in the NBL (including a threat of one of those teams potentially moving into the BAA later on), pricing issues for acquiring players, and not having the necessary wood for a portable basketball court at theIndiana State Fairgrounds Coliseum. This later led to the BAA suspending operations for those two teams for a year before folding them completely without them playing a single game in the league.^[9][10]

The owners of the BAA, while experienced businessmen, had little experience owning basketball teams.^[11] The league started with 11 teams, which played a 60-game regular season. This was followed by theplayoffs and thefinal series to determine the league winner.^[7]

Although there had been earlier attempts at professional basketball leagues, including theAmerican Basketball League (ABL) and the NBL, the BAA was the first league that attempted to play primarily in large arenas in major cities, such asMadison Square Garden andBoston Garden.^[12] At its inception, the quality of play in the BAA was not significantly better than in competing leagues, or among leading independent clubs such as theHarlem Globetrotters. For instance, both the 1948 and 1949 titles were won by teams that had played in other leagues during the previous year, theBaltimore Bullets in 1948 and theMinneapolis Lakers in 1949.^[13][14]

The league started with 11 teams, which were divided into two divisions, theEastern Division and theWestern Division. Each team played 60 or 61 regular season games. The best three teams from each division advanced to theplayoffs. The two division winners received first-roundbyes and qualified directly to the semifinals, while the two second-place teams and two third-place teams competed in thebest-of-3 quarterfinals, followed by the semifinals. The final series was also played in abest-of-7 format.

On November 1, 1946, atMaple Leaf Gardens inToronto, theToronto Huskies hosted theNew York Knickerbockers, which the NBA now regards as the league's first official game.^[15] In the opening game of the BAA,Ossie Schectman scored the opening basket for the Knickerbockers.^[16] The Eastern Division winner, theWashington Capitols, who had the best record with 49 wins, were defeated in the best-of-7 semifinal by the Western Division winner, theChicago Stags. The Stags advanced to thefinals along with thePhiladelphia Warriors who defeated theNew York Knickerbockers in the other semifinal. The Warriors won the inauguralBAA championship by winning the series 4–1.^[12][17][18]

The first year had many problems. In arenas shared with hockey teams, some arena owners simply put a wooden basketball floor over the ice. This caused some games to be cancelled due to puddles on the floor. In addition, some owners would not heat their buildings, leading fans to bring blankets to the games and players to wear gloves. Attendance averaged just 3,000 per game. Teams with large leads would stall by having players dribble the ball for long periods. The owners discussed trying a 60-minute game and even doing "innings" where each team would have the ball for a certain period of time.^[19] In addition, the teams in the league were financially weak.^[20] However, the BAA still had fans eager to see former college stars play.^[21]

From the beginning, the league aspired to be a major league. The league also differed from its rival, the NBL: the BAA played a 48-minute game instead of a 40-minute game, and allowed players to play until they committed six fouls as opposed to five. The league formation did not alarm team owners in the NBL until some NBL players switched to the BAA.^[22]

Before the season started, theCleveland Rebels,Detroit Falcons,Pittsburgh Ironmen andToronto Huskies folded, leaving the BAA with only seven teams. TheBaltimore Bullets joined the league from theABL, and were assigned to the Western Division along with theWashington Capitols to even the divisions. Prior to the start of the season, the league held its inauguralcollege draft on July 1, 1947.^[23] Each team played 48 regular season games. The Eastern Division was won by the Philadelphia Warriors, the West by the St. Louis Bombers.^[13]

The1948 Playoffs followed the same format as the previous year. The Eastern Division winner, thePhiladelphia Warriors defeated the Western Division winner,St. Louis Bombers. In thefinals, the Warriors were defeated by the Bullets 4–2.^[13][24][25]

Prior to the start of the season, four teams from theNBL, theFort Wayne Pistons,Indianapolis Jets,Minneapolis Lakers and theRochester Royals, joined the BAA. This caused a surge in talent as players such asGeorge Mikan were now playing in the BAA.^[14] With twelve teams, the league was realigned into two six-team divisions. Each team played 60 regular season games. The Eastern Division was won by theWashington Capitols who had 38 wins, while the Western Division was dominated by the two new teams, the Royals and the Lakers who had 45 and 44 wins respectively.^[26]

The1949 playoffs were expanded to include eight teams. The four best teams from each division contested in divisional semifinals anddivisional finals to find each division winners. The two division winners then advanced to theBAA Finals. The divisional semifinals and finals were played in a best-of-3 format while the final series were played in the best-of-7 format. The Lakers defeated the Royals to become the inaugural Western Division winner. In the other divisional final, the Capitols defeated theNew York Knicks to become the inaugural Eastern Division winner. The Lakers then won the finals by defeating the Capitols 4–2.^[14][26][27]

On August 3, 1949, the BAA agreed to merge with the NBL, creating the National Basketball Association (NBA). Seven NBL teams, including the expansion teamIndianapolis Olympians, joined with the ten BAA teams; theIndianapolis Jets and theProvidence Steamrollers folded prior to the merger. In total, the new league had 17 teams located in a mix of large and small cities, as well as large arenas, smaller gymnasiums, and armories.^[7][28] Prior to the merge, the league held the1949 college draft on March 21, which was the last event held under the name BAA.^[23]

The NBA later adopted the BAA's history and statistics as its own but did not do the same for NBL records and statistics.^[4][5][29]

Eastern Division^[12]

Western Division^[12]

Eastern Division^[13]

Western Division^[13]

Eastern Division^[14]

Western Division^[14]

The All-BAA Team was an annual BAA honor bestowed on the best players in the league following every season. The All-BAA Team was composed of two five-man lineups—a first and second team, comprising a total of 10 roster spots. The players were selected without regard toposition.^[50]

• NBA History at NBA.com
• BAA history NBAHoopsonline

• Basketball Association of America
• Basketball leagues in Canada
• 1946 establishments in the United States
• Sports leagues established in 1946

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