rt. The rise of college basketball was a forerunner to the rise pro basketball. The first pro basketball league was formed in 1898, it was called the National Basketball League or NBL. The league did not last due to the inability of the weaker to meet expenses. The two strongest professional teams prior to the days of the NBA, and ABA were the Original Celtics and the New York Renaissance or Rens. The Original Celtics in the 1922-23 season won two hundred four out of two hundred fifteen games. However they disbanded in 1928. The New York Rens was an all black team that dominated professional basketball until the advent of the NBA. The depression hurt many professional basketball teams and this lead to the reformation of the NBL. The NBL was joined by the Basketball Association of America or BAA in1946. The two leagues had a two year war in which each league would try and lure the other's best players away. However the two year war ended when the two leagues merged in 1949. The new league was called the NBA. To promote team parity, the NBA instituted the college draft. The teams would select in inverse order of the final standings so that the worst teams got the first picks. Then in the 19554-55 season three radical rules changed the pro game. First, the twenty four second shot clock was implemented. Second, a bonus free throw was awarded to a team anytime the opposing team commits more than six fouls. Lastly, two free throws were awarded for any backcourt foul. The NBA took its place as the third most popular major sport in America in the late 1950s. Basketball continued to grow but at a slow pace due to its lack of TV coverage. Then in 1967 George Mikan, a former great NBA player formed the ABA or the American Basketball Association. The ABA generated a lot of interest in basketball with their young high flying stars like Julius Erving and George Gervin. Each year the two leagues waged war competing for the top c...
