The Basketball Association of America (BAA) began the first basketball season in 1946. In 1949, the BAA agreed to merge with the National Basketball League to become the National Basketball Association (NBA). In the beginning, there were seventeen franchises in the nation. However, in 1950 the franchises were consolidated to eleven. In 1950, the NBA became integrated and accepted the first African-American players. Chuck Cooper joined the Boston Celtics, Nat “Sweetwater” Clifton joined the New York Knicks, and Earl Lloyd joined the Washington Capitols. The Minneapolis Lakers won the first NBA championship in 1950.

The NBA was at its smallest point in 1954 when it had just eight franchises, all eight of which remain today. These are the Knickerbockers, Celtics, Warriors, Lakers, Royals/Kings, Pistons, Hawks, and Nationals/76ers. 1954 also saw the introduction of the 24-second shot clock to increase the tension of the game.

The NBA played a six-team format until 1967 when it expanded by adding two teams. This expansion was in response to the founding of the American Basketball Association (ABA) in an attempt to tie the best cities together. The following year, the division semifinals were changed to a best-of-seven playoff. Two additional teams each were added in 1975 and 1977. In 1976, the NBA reached an agreement with the ABA, which added four ABA franchises to the NBA, bringing the total to 22.

The current sixteen-team tournament did not start until 1984. The first round was later changed to a best-of-five playoff, to accommodate the new teams. It wasn’t until 2003 that the first round became the best of the seven we have today. During the final season of 2004 to 2005, the NBA underwent additional changes. There are now thirty NBA franchises and the division structure has been realigned. There are now three divisions with five teams each.