The Origins of Basketball: 1891-1945
December 1891
Dr. James Naismith invents basketball at the International YMCA Training
School in Springfield, Massachusetts.
1896
One of the earliest known professional basketball games is played in
Trenton, New Jersey.
1898
The National Basketball League begins play, becoming one of the earliest
attempts to establish an organized professional basketball league.
1920s-1930s
Professional basketball develops through barnstorming clubs, industrial
teams and regional leagues throughout the United States.
1937
The
National Basketball League
begins play. Several NBL franchises and players would later become
important parts of the NBA.
Birth of the BAA and NBA: 1946-1949
June 6, 1946
The
Basketball Association of America
is founded. Maurice Podoloff is named league president.
November 1, 1946
The BAA begins play when the
New York Knickerbockers
defeat the
Toronto Huskies
68-66 at Maple Leaf Gardens. The contest is now recognized as the
first game in NBA history.
A promotion offered free admission to anyone taller than Toronto's
6-foot-8 George Nostrand.
1947
Wat Misaka plays for the New York Knicks, becoming the first non-white
player in BAA history and the first player of Asian descent in the league.
January 11, 1947
The BAA prohibits zone defense.
April 22, 1947
The
Philadelphia Warriors
defeat the
Chicago Stags
four games to one to win the first BAA championship.
1948
The Minneapolis Lakers, Rochester Royals, Fort Wayne Pistons and
Indianapolis Kautskys/Jets move from the NBL to the BAA, strengthening
the BAA before the eventual consolidation of the leagues.
August 3, 1949
The BAA and remaining
NBL
teams combine to form the National Basketball Association. The new NBA
begins with 17 teams and Maurice Podoloff as president.
Integration, the Shot Clock and the Rise of the NBA: 1950-1959
April 23, 1950
The
Minneapolis Lakers
become the first franchise to win consecutive championships in the
NBA era.
April 25, 1950
The Boston Celtics select Chuck Cooper, making him the first Black player
drafted by an NBA team.
May 24, 1950
Nat "Sweetwater" Clifton signs with the New York Knicks and becomes the
first Black player to sign an NBA contract.
October 31, 1950
Washington Capitols forward Earl Lloyd becomes the first Black player to
appear in an NBA regular-season game.
November 22, 1950
The
Fort Wayne Pistons
defeat the Minneapolis Lakers 19-18 in the
lowest-scoring game in NBA history.
March 2, 1951
The East defeats the West 111-94 at Boston Garden in the first
NBA All-Star Game.
1951
The Rochester Royals defeat the New York Knicks to win the NBA
championship, the only NBA title in the franchise history that later
became the Sacramento Kings.
1952
The NBA widens the foul lane from six feet to 12 feet in an effort to
limit the dominance of large centers such as George Mikan.
April 12, 1954
The Minneapolis Lakers complete their third consecutive championship.
1954-55
The NBA introduces the 24-second shot clock, developed by Syracuse
Nationals owner Danny Biasone and general manager Leo Ferris. The rule
dramatically increases the pace of the professional game. The NBA also
introduces a team-foul penalty that awards free throws after a team's
sixth foul of a quarter.
1955
The Syracuse Nationals win their first NBA championship, defeating the
Fort Wayne Pistons in seven games.
April 9, 1959
The
Boston Celtics
win the first championship of what becomes an NBA-record eight
consecutive titles.
Russell, Wilt, Expansion and the ABA: 1960-1969
January 25, 1960
Philadelphia Warriors center
Wilt Chamberlain
grabs an NBA-record 55 rebounds against the Boston Celtics.
1961
The Chicago Packers join the NBA. The franchise later becomes the
Washington Wizards.
March 2, 1962
Wilt Chamberlain scores an NBA-record
100 points
for the Philadelphia Warriors against the New York Knicks in Hershey,
Pennsylvania.
1961-62
Oscar Robertson of the
Cincinnati Royals
averages 30.8 points, 12.5 rebounds and 11.4 assists, becoming the first
NBA player to average a triple-double for an entire season.
1964
The NBA widens the foul lane from 12 feet to 16 feet.
April 28, 1966
Boston wins its eighth consecutive NBA championship, the longest
championship streak in NBA history.
1966
The
Chicago Bulls
join the NBA, giving Chicago its third NBA/BAA franchise.
February 1967
The
American Basketball Association
is organized with
George Mikan
as its first commissioner.
1967
The NBA expands with the
San Diego Rockets
and
Seattle SuperSonics.
October 13, 1967
The ABA plays its first regular-season game as the
Oakland Oaks
defeat the Anaheim Amigos 134-129.
February 1968
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame opens its first permanent
facility in Springfield, Massachusetts.
1968
The NBA expands to 14 teams with the addition of the
Milwaukee Bucks
and
Phoenix Suns.
May 5, 1969
Bill Russell and the Celtics win Game 7 of the NBA Finals over the Lakers.
It is Boston's 11th championship in 13 seasons and Russell's final game.
1969
Jerry West becomes the first winner of the NBA Finals Most Valuable
Player Award and remains the only Finals MVP selected from the losing
team.
Expansion, the ABA Merger and the Three-Point Line: 1970-1979
1970
The NBA expands to 17 teams with the Buffalo Braves, now the
Los Angeles Clippers,
the
Cleveland Cavaliers
and the
Portland Trail Blazers.
January 7, 1972
The
Los Angeles Lakers
defeat the
Atlanta Hawks
134-90 to complete an NBA-record 33-game winning streak.
1973
The New York Knicks defeat the Los Angeles Lakers to win their second
NBA championship.
1974
ABA/USA is recognized as the United States representative within FIBA.
1974
The NBA adds the
New Orleans Jazz,
bringing the league to 18 teams.
August 1974
Moses Malone signs with the
Utah Stars
of the ABA directly out of high school, becoming the first modern
professional basketball player to jump directly from high school to a
major professional league.
April 30, 1975
Larry O'Brien
becomes NBA commissioner, succeeding Walter Kennedy.
June 17, 1976
Four ABA franchises—the
San Antonio Spurs,
Indiana Pacers,
Denver Nuggets
and
New York Nets—
join the NBA as the ABA ceases operations. The NBA expands to 22 teams.
July 7, 1978
The NBA approves an unusual franchise ownership exchange. Irv Levin
acquires the Buffalo Braves and relocates them to San Diego, where they
become the Clippers, while John Y. Brown and Harry Mangurian take control
of the Boston Celtics.
1978-79
The NBA experiments with a three-referee officiating system.
1979-80
The NBA adopts the three-point field goal, three years after the ABA
ceased operations.
October 12, 1979
Boston Celtics guard Chris Ford makes the first three-point field goal
in NBA regular-season history.
1979
Magic Johnson and Larry Bird enter the NBA, beginning a rivalry that
helps drive the league's growth during the 1980s.
Magic, Bird, Jordan and Global Growth: 1980-1989
1980
The
Dallas Mavericks
join the NBA as the league's 23rd franchise.
May 16, 1980
Rookie Magic Johnson starts at center for the injured Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
and records 42 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists as the Lakers defeat
Philadelphia to win the NBA championship.
December 13, 1983
The Detroit Pistons defeat the Denver Nuggets 186-184 in triple overtime
in the
highest-scoring game in NBA history.
February 1, 1984
David Stern becomes the NBA's fourth commissioner, succeeding Larry
O'Brien.
1984
Michael Jordan is selected third overall by the Chicago Bulls in one of
the most influential drafts in NBA history.
April 5, 1984
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar passes Wilt Chamberlain to become the NBA's all-time
career scoring leader during a game against the Utah Jazz in Las Vegas.
May 12, 1985
The New York Knicks win the first NBA Draft Lottery and later select
Patrick Ewing with the No. 1 overall pick.
1985
The NBA Finals switch permanently from the 2-2-1-1-1 format to 2-3-2.
The league later returns to 2-2-1-1-1 for the 2014 Finals.
1985
The NBA Draft is shortened from 10 rounds to seven rounds.
April 13, 1986
The Boston Celtics complete a 40-1 home regular-season record, one of the
greatest home-court seasons in NBA history.
April 20, 1986
Michael Jordan scores a then-playoff-record 63 points against the Boston
Celtics.
April 22, 1987
The NBA awards expansion franchises to
Charlotte,
Miami,
Minnesota
and
Orlando.
October 1987
The first McDonald's Championship is held in Milwaukee, bringing NBA and
international clubs together in an organized international competition.
April 26, 1988
The NBA permanently adopts the three-referee system after previously
experimenting with it in 1978-79.
July 1988
The Atlanta Hawks become the first NBA team to play games in the Soviet
Union.
April 1989
FIBA votes to allow professional NBA players to participate in Olympic
basketball.
November 9, 1989
Seattle's Dale Ellis plays 69 minutes in a five-overtime game against
Milwaukee, one of the longest individual appearances in league history.
The Jordan Era and International Expansion: 1990-1999
November 1990
Phoenix and Utah play regular-season games in Tokyo, helping establish
the NBA's growing international presence.
December 30, 1990
Scott Skiles of Orlando records an NBA-record
30 assists
against Denver.
1991
Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls win their first NBA championship,
beginning a run of six titles in eight seasons.
August 8, 1992
The United States
Dream Team,
featuring NBA superstars, wins Olympic gold in Barcelona and becomes one
of the most influential basketball teams ever assembled.
March 24, 1993
Micheal Williams of Minnesota makes his 97th consecutive free throw,
establishing an NBA record.
November 4, 1993
The NBA awards an expansion franchise to
Toronto.
April 27, 1994
The NBA awards an expansion franchise to Vancouver. The
Vancouver Grizzlies
and Toronto Raptors begin play in 1995-96.
1994-95
The NBA temporarily shortens the three-point line to a uniform distance
of 22 feet. The original distance is restored for the 1997-98 season.
February 1, 1995
Utah Jazz guard John Stockton becomes the NBA's
all-time career assists leader.
1995-96
The Toronto Raptors and Vancouver Grizzlies begin play, returning NBA
basketball to Canada.
February 20, 1996
John Stockton becomes the NBA's
all-time steals leader.
April 21, 1996
The Chicago Bulls finish 72-10, establishing a new NBA regular-season
record for victories.
April 24, 1996
The NBA approves the creation of the
Women's National Basketball Association.
The WNBA begins play in 1997.
February 1997
The NBA announces its 50 Greatest Players as part of the league's
50th-anniversary celebration.
October 31, 1997
Violet Palmer becomes one of the first women to officiate an NBA
regular-season game and the first woman to referee a game in a major
U.S. men's professional sports league. Dee Kantner also begins
officiating NBA games that season.
1998-99
A labor lockout delays the NBA season until February. The regular season
is reduced from 82 games to 50.
June 1999
The San Antonio Spurs win their first NBA championship, beginning a run
of five titles between 1999 and 2014.
The NBA Enters a New Century: 2000-2009
2001
The Vancouver Grizzlies relocate to Memphis, becoming the
Memphis Grizzlies.
June 2001
The Washington Wizards select Kwame Brown with the
No. 1 overall pick,
making him the first high-school player selected first overall in an NBA
Draft.
2001-02
The NBA legalizes zone defense and introduces the defensive
three-second rule, significantly changing NBA defensive strategy.
June 2002
The Houston Rockets select China's Yao Ming with the first overall pick
in the NBA Draft. He becomes the first international player selected
No. 1 without previously playing U.S. college basketball.
January 2003
The NBA awards a new franchise to
Charlotte.
The Charlotte Bobcats begin play in 2004-05 and bring the NBA to 30
teams.
June 2003
LeBron James is selected first overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers in a
draft class that also includes Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh and Dwyane
Wade.
November 19, 2004
The Pacers-Pistons game at the Palace of Auburn Hills ends in the
infamous "Malice at the Palace," resulting in major suspensions and
changes to league security procedures.
June 2005
The Milwaukee Bucks select University of Utah center Andrew Bogut first
overall in the NBA Draft. Earlier that year, Utah quarterback Alex Smith
was selected first in the NFL Draft, making Utah the source of both
leagues' No. 1 selections in the same year.
2005-06
Hurricane Katrina forces the New Orleans Hornets to relocate most of
their home schedule to Oklahoma City for two seasons.
January 22, 2006
Kobe Bryant scores 81 points against the Toronto Raptors, the
second-highest individual scoring performance in NBA history.
2007
The NBA introduces a new rule requiring high-school players to be at
least 19 years old and one year removed from the graduation of their
high-school class before entering the draft.
2008
The
Seattle SuperSonics
relocate to Oklahoma City and become the
Oklahoma City Thunder.
Seattle retains rights to the SuperSonics name, colors and historical
memorabilia as part of the relocation settlement.
Superteams, Analytics and a Changing NBA: 2010-2019
July 2010
LeBron James announces that he will leave Cleveland and join Dwyane Wade
and Chris Bosh with the Miami Heat, creating one of the most prominent
superteams in NBA history.
2011
An NBA labor lockout delays the start of the 2011-12 season. The league
plays a condensed 66-game schedule beginning on Christmas Day.
2012
The New Jersey Nets relocate to Brooklyn and become the Brooklyn Nets,
returning major professional sports to the borough.
February 1, 2014
Adam Silver succeeds David Stern as the fifth commissioner in NBA
history.
April 29, 2014
The NBA bans Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling for life and
fines him $2.5 million following the release of racist remarks.
2014
The NBA Finals return to the 2-2-1-1-1 home-court format after nearly
three decades using 2-3-2.
2014-15
Stephen Curry wins his first MVP and the Golden State Warriors win their
first championship in 40 years, helping accelerate the NBA's transition
toward high-volume three-point shooting.
April 13, 2016
The Golden State Warriors finish the regular season 73-9, breaking the
1995-96 Chicago Bulls' record of 72 victories.
June 19, 2016
The Cleveland Cavaliers defeat Golden State in Game 7 of the NBA Finals,
becoming the first team to overcome a 3-1 deficit in the Finals and
bringing Cleveland its first NBA championship.
2017
The NBA introduces two-way contracts, allowing teams to move designated
players between NBA rosters and the NBA G League.
2017-18
Nike becomes the NBA's official uniform supplier, and the league
abandons the traditional home-white/road-dark uniform designation in
favor of uniform "editions."
2019
The Toronto Raptors defeat the Golden State Warriors to become the first
NBA team based outside the United States to win the championship.
Pandemic, NBA 75 and the Modern Era: 2020-Present
March 11, 2020
The NBA suspends the 2019-20 season after Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert
tests positive for COVID-19 shortly before a scheduled game in Oklahoma
City. It is the first suspension of an NBA season in progress.
July 30, 2020
The NBA season resumes with 22 teams at the Walt Disney World Resort
near Orlando, Florida, in the closed-campus environment commonly known
as the NBA Bubble.
October 11, 2020
The Los Angeles Lakers defeat the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals to win
the championship at the NBA Bubble.
2020-21
The NBA introduces the Play-In Tournament as a postseason qualification
format involving teams near the bottom of each conference playoff race.
2021-22
The NBA celebrates its 75th Anniversary Season and announces the NBA
75th Anniversary Team, honoring the greatest players from the league's
first 75 years.
December 14, 2021
Stephen Curry passes Ray Allen to become the NBA's career leader in
three-point field goals made.
February 7, 2023
LeBron James passes Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become the NBA's all-time
regular-season scoring leader.
2023
The NBA and National Basketball Players Association agree to a new
collective bargaining agreement that introduces a second salary-cap
apron and new roster-building restrictions for the league's
highest-spending teams.
December 9, 2023
The Los Angeles Lakers defeat the Indiana Pacers to win the inaugural
NBA In-Season Tournament championship in Las Vegas. LeBron James is
named the tournament's first MVP. The tournament championship trophy is
known as the NBA Cup.
June 17, 2024
The Boston Celtics defeat the Dallas Mavericks to win their 18th NBA
championship, moving ahead of the Lakers for the most championships by
a franchise at that time.
2024
The NBA's In-Season Tournament is officially renamed the NBA Cup.
June 22, 2025
The Oklahoma City Thunder defeat the Indiana Pacers 103-91 in Game 7 of
the NBA Finals to win the first NBA championship of the Oklahoma City
era. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is named Finals MVP.
June 13, 2026
The New York Knicks defeat the San Antonio Spurs 94-90 in Game 5 of the
NBA Finals to win the series four games to one. It is New York's third
NBA championship and its first since 1973, ending a 53-year title
drought.
About this timeline: The modern NBA recognizes the history
of the Basketball Association of America beginning in 1946 as part of
its official history. The National Basketball League, American
Basketball Association and other professional leagues are also included
where their history directly influenced the development of the NBA.
