NBA Timeline

  • First BAA Championship

    First BAA Championship
    This was the first time there were championships. Now they became more complex for the same goal. Back then it was an 8 team tournament that was single elimination best-of-three series. Now it's a 16-team tournament with the best of five series.
  • BAA was formed.

    BAA was formed.
    This was the beginning of professional basketball in the United States. BAA stands for Basketball Association of America.
  • BAA was formed.

    BAA was formed.
  • First BAA Championship

    First BAA Championship
  • It became the NBA no longer the BAA

    It became the NBA no longer the BAA
    The BAA agreed to merge with the NBL, creating the National Basketball Association (NBA). Six remaining NBL teams joined with the ten BAA teams; the Indianapolis Jets and the Providence Steamrollers folded prior to the absorption. This started the expansion of NBA teams.
  • NBA was Intergrated

    NBA was Intergrated
    The 1950-51 season marked the start of the league's racial integration, with three men serving together as pioneers. Chuck Cooper of the Boston Celtics was the first African-American player drafted by an NBA team. Now any race on ethnicity can play in the NBA.
  • First NBA All-Star Game

    First NBA All-Star Game
    This was the first time there was an All-Star game. This is when you select a few of the best players in the league to play each other. Now the NBA profits around 250 million dollars from the All-Star Game.
  • Highest Scoring Game Ever

    Highest Scoring Game Ever
    This was when Wilt Chamberlin set a record that will probably never be broken. Wilt scored 100 points in one game which is still yet to be broken, or even sniffed by any player. Every year players strive to hit this goal.
  • Hall of Fame is formed

    Hall of Fame is formed
    This was when the Naismith Hall of Fame was formed. This is where basketball players, even those not in the NBA, can join. To this day being inducted is almost every hooper's dream or goal, and we still use it.
  • The First NBA Dunk Contest

    The First NBA Dunk Contest
    The National Basketball Association – the one that played with a red, white, and blue ball – held the first dunk contest in 1976. Now the dunk contest is a staple in the All-Star weekend.
  • Dallas Mavericks were added.

    Dallas Mavericks were added.
    Still, during the 1979 NBA All-Star Game weekend, NBA commissioner Larry O'Brien announced the league would add two new teams in the 1980–81 season. Now the Mavs are a championship-winning organization.
  • The Three-Point Line was Created

    The Three-Point Line was Created
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    The league didn't adopt the 3-pointer until 1979--Magic Johnson and Larry Bird's rookie season. While certain college basketball conferences experimented with it in the early '80s, the NCAA didn't universally implement a 3-point line until 1986, with high school basketball following suit a year later. Now the three-point shot is the most popular shot now.
  • First NBA Lottery

    First NBA Lottery
    The New York Knicks were the first winner of the lottery in 1985. They selected Georgetown University standout Patrick Ewing with their first overall pick. However, speculation arose that the NBA had rigged the lottery so that the Knicks would be assured to get the first pick. This is so you can't just lose for the number 1 pick, it is a chance.
  • First 3 Point Contest

    First 3 Point Contest
    Boston Celtics icon Larry Bird infamously won the first three editions of the competition beginning in the 1985-86 campaign. Now every year new shooters want to win the three-point contest to prove their shooting skills.
  • Highest scoring playoff game

    Highest scoring playoff game
    Michael Jordan has put up the most points in a playoff game, with 63 points in Game 2 of the 1986 First Round against the Celtics.
  • NBA Lockout

    NBA Lockout
    The 2011 NBA lockout was the fourth and most recent lockout in the history of the National Basketball Association. Team owners began the work stoppage upon the expiration of the 2005 collective bargaining agreement. The 161-day lockout began on July 1, 2011.
  • The NBA Bubble

    The NBA Bubble
    The bubble was a $190 million investment by the NBA to protect its 2019–20 season, which was initially suspended by the pandemic on March 11, 2020. The bubble still had playoffs and a championship. Now any other pandemic we know we can just do this again.