NBA Key Milestones

From Hoopedia

Contents 1 1800's 2 1940's 3 1950's 4 1960's 5 1970's 6 1980's 7 1990's 8 2000's

1800's

• December 1891—Dr. James Naismith, an instructor at the Springfield Men’s Christian Association Training School (now Springfield College) in Springfield, Mass., invents the game of basketball.

• 1896--—The first known professional basketball game is played, in Trenton, NJ.

1940's

• June 6, 1946--—The Basketball Association of America, the forerunner of the National Basketball Association, is founded at the Commodore Hotel in New York. Maurice Podoloff is the league’s first president.

• November 1, 1946—The Basketball Association of America begins play as the New York Knicks defeat the Toronto Huskies 68-66 in Toronto. Any fan taller than Huskie center George Nostrand (6-8) got in free.

• January 11, 1947—The Basketball Association of America outlaws the use of zone defenses.

• April 22, 1947—Philadelphia beats Chicago 83-80 to claim the first championship of the BAA, four games to one.

• August 3, 1949—Six surviving teams from the midwest-based National Basketball League join the Basketball Association of America. The resulting 17-team league is renamed the National Basketball Association, with Maurice Podoloff as president.

1950's

• April 23, 1950—The Minneapolis Lakers become the first team to win back-to-back NBA championships by defeating Syracuse in six games.

• March 2, 1951—The East defeats the West 111-94 in the first All-Star Game, held at Boston Garden.

• 1952—The NBA widens the foul lane from six to 12 feet.

• April 12, 1954—The Minneapolis Lakers become the first team to win three NBA championships in a row by defeating Syracuse 87-80 in Game 7.

• 1954-55—The NBA adopts two playing rules that revolutionize the game of basketball: the introduction of the 24-second clock and the awarding of a penalty shot following a team’s fifth foul in any one period.

• October 30, 1954—The 24-second clock is used in an NBA game for the first time in Rochester, N.Y., the host Royals beating the Boston Celtics 98-95.

• April 9, 1959—The Boston Celtics win their first of eight consecutive NBA championships with a 118-113 victory over Minneapolis for a four-game sweep of the NBA Finals.

1960's

• October 19, 1960—Relocated to the West Coast after 13 years in Minneapolis, the Lakers open their inaugural season as the Los Angeles Lakers with a 140-123 loss at Cincinnati.

• 1961—The Chicago Packers enter the NBA as an expansion team, the league’s ninth franchise, only to move to Baltimore two years later.

• March 2,1962—Wilt Chamberlain scores an NBA record 100 points in a 169-147 Warrior win over the New York Knicks in Hershey, PA.

• September 1, 1963—Walter Kennedy succeeds Maurice Podoloff as the president of the NBA. The job title changed to commissioner in 1967.

• 1964—The NBA widens its foul lane from 12 to 16 feet.

• April 28, 1966—The Boston Celtics win their eighth straight NBA title, the longest streak in league history.

• 1966—The third NBA team to call Chicago home, the Bulls, enters the league as its 10th franchise.

• February 1, 1967—The formation of the American Basketball Association (ABA) is announced at a press conference at the Carlyle Hotel in New York. George Mikan is named commissioner of the league, scheduled to begin play in October 1967.

• 1967—San Diego and Seattle enter the NBA as the league’s 11th and 12th franchises.

• October 13, 1967—The ABA opens its inaugural season as the Oakland Oaks beat the Anaheim Amigos 134-129.

• February 17, 1968—The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame opens in Springfield, Mass., on the Springfield College campus, where the game was invented by Dr. James Naismith.

• 1968—The NBA expands to 14 teams with the addition of Milwaukee and Phoenix.

• May 5, 1969 – Bill Russell and the Boston Celtics end their spectacular run of 11 NBA titles in 13 seasons by outlasting the Los Angeles Lakers 108-106 in Game 7 of the 1969 NBA Finals.

1970's

• 1970—Expansion franchises begin play in Buffalo, Cleveland, and Portland, bringing the number of NBA teams to 17.

• January 7, 1972—The Los Angeles Lakers beat Seattle124-98 to finish the season at 69-13, the best record in NBA history.

• 1974—ABA/USA officially forms to become the United States’ representative in FIBA, the International Basketball Federation.

• March 7, 1974—New Orleans becomes the NBA’s 18th franchise, bought by a nine-man group for $6.15 million.

• August 1974—Moses Malone signs with the Utah Stars of the ABA to become the first professional basketball player of the modern era to go directly from high school to the pros.

• April 30, 1975—Larry O'Brien is named the third commissioner of the NBA, succeeding Walter Kennedy.

• June 17, 1976—Four former ABA teams—San Antonio, Denver, New York and Indiana—are admitted into the NBA, raising the league to 22 teams.

• July 7, 1978—The NBA approves a franchise swap in which Buffalo Braves owner John Y. Brown and Harry Mangurian acquire the Celtics, while Celtics owner Irv Levin acquires the Braves. He soon moved them to San Diego to become the Clippers.

• 1978-79—The NBA adds a third referee on a one-year experimental basis.

• 1979-80—The NBA adopts the three-point field goal and votes to eliminate the three referee.

• October 12, 1979—Chris Ford of the Boston Celtics scores the first official three-point field goal in the NBA as the Celtics defeat Houston in Boston Garden.

1980's

• May 1, 1980—Dallas is granted an expansion franchise, bringing the total of NBA teams to 23.

• February 1, 1984—David J. Stern succeeds Larry O'Brien and becomes the fourth commissioner of the NBA.

• May 12, 1984—The New York Knicks win the first-ever NBA Draft Lottery, enabling them to select Patrick Ewing with the first pick in the NBA Draft.

• June 18, 1985—At the annual NBA Draft, the number of rounds is reduced from 10 to seven.

• June 30, 1985—The new Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in downtown Springfield, lMass., is officially dedicated and opened to the public.

• April 13, 1986—The Boston Celtics close out the regular season with a 135-107 win over New Jersey, giving the Celtics a 40-1 record at home. This sets a record for most home-court wins and highest home winning percentage (.976) in a season in NBA history.

• April 22, 1987—The NBA grants expansion franchises to Charlotte, Miami, Minnesota and Orlando, raising the number of teams to 27. Charlotte and Miami would join the league in the 1988-89 season, while Minnesota and Orlando would join in 1989-90.

• October 23-25, 1987—The first McDonald’s Open is played in Milwaukee involving the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks, the Soviet Union’s National Team and the Italian League champion, Tracer Milan. This is the first tournament involving NBA teams to be sanctioned by FIBA.

• June 28, 1988—At the annual NBA Draft, the number of rounds is reduced from seven to three.

• July 25, 1988—The Atlanta Hawks become the first NBA team to play the Soviet Union as they defeat the Soviet Georgia All-Stars 85-84 in an exhibition game.

• April 8, 1989—FIBA conducts vote in Munich to admit NBA players to participate in international games, including the Olympic Games and the World Championship of Basketbal. The final total was 56 countries in favor of opening the competition, 13 opposed and one abstaining.

• June 27, 1989—At the annual NBA Draft, the number of rounds is reduce from three to two.

• October 12, 1989—The NBA becomes a member of ABA/USA, the nation’s representative in FIBA. ABA/USA changes its name to USA Basketball.

1990's

• November 2, 1990—The Phoenix Suns defeat the Utah Jazz at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gym in Japan in the first regular-season game played outside North America by any major professional sports league.

• December 21, 1991—The game of basketball observes it centennial.

• June 24, 1992—The city of Portland becomes the first city besides New York to host the annual NBA Draft.

• August 8, 1992—In Barcelona, Spain, the USA Olympic Men’s Basketball Team, nicknamed the Dream Team, defeats Croatia 117-85 for the gold medal. This is the first time NBA players are allowed to compete in the Olympics.

• June 20, 1993—The Chicago Bulls become the first team in 27 years to win three consecutive championships with a 99-98 Game 6 victory over the Phoenix Suns.

• November 4, 1993—The NBA Board of Governors awards an expansion team to Toronto, Canada, bringing the total of teams to 28.

• April 27, 1994—The NBA Board of Governors awards an expansion franchise to Vancouver, Canada, raising the number of NBA teams to 29. Both Toronto and Vancouver will begin play in the 1995-96 season.

• October 29, 1996 – A list of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History (as voted by a distinguished basketball panel) is released.

• November 1, 1996 – The NBA officially celebrates its 50th birthday, tipping off a season-long celebration.

• December 17, 1996 – A list of the Top 10 Coaches in NBA History (as voted by a media panel) is released.

• January 7, 1997 – A list of the Top 10 Teams in NBA History (as voted by a media panel) is released.

• February 9, 1997 – The 50 Greatest Players in NBA History are honored at the NBA All-Star Weekend in Cleveland.

2000's