Stories and Lifestyle

National Basketball Association NBA

Show, spectacle, and athletic achievement The National Basketball Association is the most famous basketball league in the world. As measured by the changing history of professional basketball in the US, the NBA is relatively old, it has been around since 1949. 29 teams from the US and Canada belong to it, they are fighting for the NBA championship every year in two regional leagues (Eastern and Western Conference) with two divisions. During the regular season, each teams has 84 games. The finals are in play-off mode.

Beginnings of basketball The history of modern basketball dates back to 1891, when sports teacher James Naismith was instructed to develop a sports game for the students of the Young Men's Christians Association Training School in Springfield for the long winter months.

Basket Ball (still written in two words back then) had only 13 rules. The greatest difference to the game today: a simple soccer ball was used to play and the baskets were closed at the bottom, so that the ball had to be retrieved from the basket with the help of the ladder after each successful score. In addition, the players were not allowed to move with the ball. Only gradually were the rules changed and expanded. The invention of dribbling, for example, allowed the players to move across the field with the ball. From 1906 the baskets were steel hoops with an open net attached and around 1942 special basket balls were introduced. The game became more and more like the basketball we know today. Basketball's history of success started almost immediately after it had been invented by Naismith - it was played in Christian youth organizations, the army, and at universities. In 1901, the first college basketball league was founded at the East Coast, the New England Intercollegiate Basketball League.

Professional basketball in the US The roots of professional basketball date even further back. Already in 1898 the National Basketball League (NBL) was founded in New Jersey, after players had already been playing for money in 1896. At the beginning, the NBL consisted of six teams that were all from New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Great basketball players were Ed Wachter who played 1,800 professional games and Barney Sedran who won the championship ten times in 15 years. Great teams in the beginning of professional basketball were the Buffalo Germans and the Original Celtics. The first successful nationwide professional league was the American Basketball League (ABL) between 1925 and 1931. Well-known teams from that period are the New York Renaissance and the Harlem Globetrotters. In the mid-30s a new professional league was founded, called NBL again just like the league from the end of the 19th century. As a competitor of NBL, the Basketball Association of America (BAA) was founded in 1946. Between 1948 and 1949, the NBL teams joined the BAA. In 1949 the new professional league National Basketball Association (NBA) was founded. Ever since the season of 1950/51 the NBA is playing with two divisions, that became the Eastern and Western Conference after the season of 1969/70.

Founding time of the National Basketball Association The early development of NBA was dominated by the Minneapolis Lakers who made five NBA titles under the leadership of center George Mikan and trainer John Kundla (1949, 1950, 1952 and 1954). However, the really best team of the early years of the NBA were the Boston Celtics who dominated the league for 13 years between the early 50s and late 60s. In 1957 and from 1959 to 1966 and in 1968 and 1969 they won the NBA championship. Great basketball players of that time were point guard Bob Cousy and winger Bob Pettit who made a remarkable average of 26.4 points epr game during his career. However, the most important Celtics player of those years was probably center Bill Russell who made an average of 15.1 points and 22.5 rebounds per game during his 13-year career. Another exceptional NBA player was Wilt Chamberlain, who played for the Philadelphia Warriors, the San Francisco Warriors (after the team had been moved to San Francisco in 1962), the Philadelphia 76ers, and at last for the Los Angeles Lakers. In 1962 he made 100 points in one game and in the season 1961/62 he made an average 50.4 points per game.

NBA crisis In 1967 the NBA found a rival in the American Basketball Association (ABA). The ABA teams preferred a more spectacular style than the NBA teams. A characteristic of the ABA were also the red-white-blue (colors of the American flag) balls they used.

Some ABA teams succeeded in attracting NBA players with lucrative contracts. The probably best and best-known player of the ABA was Julius Erving who later, after the end of the ABA in 1976 and the transfer of a few teams to the NBA, also had great success in the National Basketball Association.

In the late 70s the NBA suffered a crisis that manifested itself in a loss of interest in the audience on-site and in front of the TV. Loss of profits were the consequence. It was only the stronger public interest in a new and young generation of players that revived interest in the NBA. Examples are players such as Magic Johnson and Larry Bird who both changed from college basketball to the NBA in 1979 and revived their teams Los Angeles Lakers (Johnson) and Boston Celtics (Birds). Under the leadership of Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar the Lakers won the NBA championship five times in the 80s (1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988). Bird and the Celtics succeeded three times (1981, 1984, 1986). The dominating team of the late 80s were the Detroit Pistons (title in 1989 and 1990) under the leadership of Isiah Thomas and Dennis Rodman.

The dream team and international success The NBA and their best players finally won public renown when the International Olympic Committee decided to admit professional players to the basketball competition of the Olympic Games. The NBA released their players for that and formed the dream team of the best NBA players that dominated the basketball competition of the Olympic Games of 1992 in Barcelona and won the gold medal. With alterations to the team, the dream team was able to repeat the success in Atlanta in 1996.

The NBA today During the 90s as well basketball became more and more popular. Players such as Hakeem Olajuwon, Charles Barkley, David Robinson, Karl Malone, John Stockton, and Shaquille O'Neal were popular both inside the US and outside of it. The NBA's showpiece of the 90s were the Chicago Bulls with Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan. For many people, Jordan, who ended his career in 1998, is the best basketball player of all times due not only to his skills but also his talent as an entertainer. His professional career started in 1984 with the Chicago Bulls who had some athletic difficulties at the time. With Michael Jordan as a showpiece the Chicago Bulls won the NBA championship a total of six times (1991 and 1993, 1996 and 1998). There are even German players in the NBA by now: the best-known among them is probably Detlef Schrempf who played for the Seattle Supersonics for many years and had a contract with the Portland Trailblazers in the 1999/2000 season.

Outlook Some people are speculating that after Michael Jordan ended his career and Charles Barkley's retirement after a serious injury in December 1999 the NBA is facing difficult times again. Many observers believe that the NBA doesn't have enough stars and great players that made the game great in the 80s and 90s. In addition, a large part of the audience has been lost due to lengthy discussions about players' wages and a shortened season 1999/2000.

The official NB website: www.nba.com