The birth of the modern NBA : pro basketball in the year of the merger, 1949-1950 / Josh Elias.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Elias, Josh, 2000- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Basketball--United States--History.

Basketball.

National Basketball Association--History.

National Basketball Association.

Physical Description:

v, 239 pages: illustrations ; 26 cm

Other Title:

Birth of the modern National Basketball Association

Place of Publication:

Jefferson, North Carolina : McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, [2024]

Summary:

"On August 3, 1949, the National Basketball Association was born, comprising 17 organizations that ranged geographically from Boston to Denver and culturally from Manhattan to Sheboygan. The league being the result of a merger, there were two different reigning champions vying for NBA supremacy between the George Mikan-led Minneapolis Lakers and the small-town Anderson Packers, with teams from Syracuse, Rochester, New York, Chicago, and Indianapolis all hoping to upset the apple cart enough to take both teams down. This history of the BAA-NBL merger that created the NBA demonstrates that, amid icy executive relations that reflected the league's larger cultural clash between bustling East Coast metropolises and quiet Midwestern towns, the relentless march toward integration sneaking up quicker than expected on the segregated league, and the Second World War still distinctly visible in the rearview mirror and America's involvement in Korea closer than it may have appeared, it was what lay just beyond basketball that mattered. From Tony Lavelli's halftime accordion, Lee Knorek's airport escapades, and Chicago Stags owner John Sbarbaro's Capone-era mob ties to tales of antisemitism, systemic racism, and prisoners of war-with cameos from Jackie Robinson, Chuck Connors, and President Gerald Ford-the book brings back to life, in its totality, the NBA as it was nearly 75 years ago in the year of the merger"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

The first game, the merger, and no possible chance agreement

Origins, Naismith, and a childhood game called duck on a rock

Ferris, Duffey, and the undertaker for the underworld

Black basketball, the New York Renaissance, and Sidat-Singh Is not a Hindu

Trade season, the BAA, and three and a half million dollars

The Celtics, the new year, and you just can't play basketball with glasses on

The minor league debate, the future of the league, and Is president Podoloff doing a good job?

Sales and trades, the playoff picture takes shape, and are coaches People?

Baltimore vs. Boston vs. Philadelphia, a crowd of just 700, and King Fulks

The playoffs

The finals

Expulsion and integration.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Online version: Elias, Josh, 2000- Birth of the modern NBA

ISBN:

9781476694177

1476694176

OCLC:

1412001393

Publisher Number:

99996782761