The 40′ were a turbulent time with World War II and overall economic struggles. Many of the war veterans couldn’t find a job after serving the country and there was a possibility that any of the players would be called for military duty. The lack of players had a strong effect on the league. The public also wasn’t so keen on basketball at first, meaning that the games weren’t attended by many fans.
To understand how professional basketball became a national sport, we have to go back to the beginning and look at the first American basketball leagues.
Professional Sports
At the beginning of the decade, there were attempts to make basketball a professional sport. The American Basketball league was founded in 1925. The league lasted only 30 years due to the Stock Market Crash on Wall Street and the success of their competition.
National Basketball League
The second basketball association was a quite informal group of people, who just enjoyed this sport. The National Basketball League was formed in 1935 as a Midwest Basketball Conference, in 1937 changing its name to be more attractive for the audience. NBL consisted of three corporations, General Electric, Firestone, and Goodyear. All of the teams came from Laurentian Great Lakes’ small businesses. From 1940, NBL’s president was Leo Fisher.
Basketball Association of America
Before 1946, most basketball games were played in empty school gymnasiums or even ballrooms. This didn’t look very professional, so Walter Brown, Boston Garden’s owner, had an idea to use empty hockey arenas. Those arenas were much bigger than locations used before, had more authority, and were situated in major parts of big cities. Brown created the BAA to test his idea and it turned out successful. Soon, the company swallowed the smaller NBL in 1949.
BAA, with Maurice Podoloff as the president, was the league that made basketball history. This was the league that consisted of such teams as Cleveland Rebels, Chicago Stags, Boston Celtics, and Minneapolis Lakers (now, Los Angeles Lakers).
National Basketball Association
August the 3rd, 1949, the National Basketball Association was born. NBA teams consisted of BAA teams merged with NBL teams. This was the beginning of a new era.
What NBA players played in the 40s?
The game of basketball was much different than it is today. The rules were much less strict. There wasn’t a shot clock and a three-point line. The pace of the game was extremely slow and people had trouble not falling asleep during some of the matches. There were still a few players whose great game could wake up even the most bored viewer.
Bob Cousy
Cousy was one of the best players in history, winning six championships with Boston. He played under legendary coach Red Auerbach who used an upbeat style that suited him well as he could create shots on demand without difficulty or fatigue for his teams’ opponents alike.
George Mikan
When you think about the best big men of all time, few names come to mind as quickly and powerfully as George Mikan. Playing under Hall Of Famer Ray Meyer during World War II when they couldn’t recruit new talent due military service requirements or post-college basketball opportunities like today; he led them through victory after victory until finally taking home their only national title ever: The NIT championship of 1945 against pretty much everyone else out there except UCLA who had beaten DePaul earlier.
Mikan really put forth some effort into making sure every shot counts by not settling on any easy layups either during quick attacks against defenses.
Joe Fulks
Ranked number one, Joe Fulks, was the power forward of Philadelphia Warriors (now Golden State Warriors), known as a prominent shooter, named BAA scoring champion, and had his lifetime record of 63 points in one game. He was a great player, one of the first legends to ever come out from basketball.
Ed Sadowski
Ed Sadowski, who played with many teams, had his greatest success as a member of the Boston Celtics, with his average points per game being 19,2. He was named to the All-BAA first team as the first Celtics player ever!
Max Zaslofsky
One of the youngest pro basketball players of that time, Zaslofsky was a leader in free throws and became an All-NBA First Team pick four times! He led the league in scoring and he was the youngest player to do so for over 50 years!
Don Otten
Don Otten, a piece of work, certainly knew the value of entertainment, holding, to this day, the NBA record with 8 personal fouls. He was named the National Basketball League’s Most Valuable Player in 1949.
Al Cervi
Al Cervi’s talent was obvious when he played for NBL’s Buffalo Bisons. But his career and college aspirations were interrupted by the military draft. After he came back from the war, Al Cervi joined Rochester Royals, with whom he stayed only for a few years.
He was an outstanding defensive player and was always assigned to guard scoring beasts of the opposite team.
Conclusion
The history of the NBA is a rich and captivating one. It’s been interesting to see how different teams have risen in prominence over time, as well as how the game of basketball has evolved from its original form. The 40s were an important decade for professional sports, with many teams taking their first steps towards creating what we know today as a thriving industry. With so much success under their belt already, it will be exciting to see what the next few decades have in store for the NBA!
Who was the best NBA player in the 1940s?
Robert McDermott is the most accomplished basketball player of the 1940s, scoring 3,583 points throughout the decade. He was often lauded as one of the best players during this time.
How many teams were in the NBA in 1940s?
The NBA league began with 11 teams playing a 60-game schedule.
