How did the National Basketball Association form in 1949?

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Taking flight — Basketball Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls leaping into the air during the slam-dunk competition at NBA All-Star weekend in Chicago, February 6, 1988.

The National Basketball Association (NBA) was formed in 1949 through the merger of two rival professional organizations: the National Basketball League (NBL), which was founded in 1937, and the Basketball Association of America (BAA), which was founded in 1946.12

This merger followed a costly two-year feud between the two leagues. The BAA, organized under the guidance of Walter A. Brown, had sought to establish professional basketball as a major league sport by emphasizing player skill, securing financial support, and implementing contract reserve rules to protect teams from raiding. By combining their resources and franchises, the two organizations established the NBA as the premier professional basketball league in the United States.23