National Basketball Association

The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league founded on June 6, 1946, as the Basketball Association of America (BAA) in New York City by owners of major ice hockey arenas seeking to utilize vacant venues. On August 3, 1949, the BAA merged with the rival National Basketball League (NBL) to form the NBA, which has since grown into one of the world's premier sports leagues with 30 teams across the United States and Canada. The NBA traces its history to the BAA's inaugural game on November 1, 1946, and later expanded through the 1976 merger with the American Basketball Association.