Basketball: Its Origin and Development

Keith Thompson

Upon its establishment in 1946 the NBA – via its forerunner the Basketball Association of America – became the 21st professional basketball league to be formed in the U.S., and the one that would outlast all the others. In addition, since 1896 when professional basketball began in Trenton, New Jersey thousands of players have competed in a pro game, and generated countless hours of debate as to who the best players are in the history of the sport. In fact, precisely 3572 players and 439 All-stars have graced the courts of the NBA and the American Basketball Association when it was in operation between 1967 and 1976. And until now there has never been a truly scientific method of evaluating their performances on a basketball court, and determining who is the all-time best. Finally, after 109 years, such a measure has been created. This book, Heroes of the Hardcourt: Ranking Pro Basketball’s 100 Greatest Players identifies and profiles the 100 greatest players to play...

John F. Grabowski

Coming into the NBA as an expansion team in 1966, the Bulls experienced many years of frustration before Michael Jordan and company made them the team of the '90s, winning six NBA championships in the decade.

Charley Rosen

Return to basketball's salad days, when the boys were green and the money didn't matter. On November 1, 1946, in the NBA's (then called the BAA) first game ever, as the visiting New York Knickerbockers defeated the Toronto Huskies, the first point in the history of the NBA was scored by the Knicks' Oscar “Ossie” Schectman. It was the point that launched more than six million points to come, and Ossie did it, like all of his team members, for a mere $60 and a passionate love of the game. Who could have guessed back then that this fledgling league of 11 ragtag teams would one day grow into the billion-dollar international phenomenon that it is today? In The First Tip-Off, veteran basketball writer Charley Rosen takes you back to the NBA's humble beginnings, when a colorful cast of characters laid the foundation for the empire that is today's NBA. With riveting writing, he gives you a prime seat courtside for every memorable two-handed underhand layup and hook shot of...

Robert D. Bradley

Robert Bradley's The Compendium of Professional Basketball (Second Edition) is a must-have for all fans of professional basketball in North America! Detailing the rise of professional basketball from its earliest days in the late 1800s to the current day, The Compendium of Professional Basketball is every basketball fan's dream: an incredible collection of facts, standings, histories and statistics for all leagues, men's and women's, major and minor, defunct and active. This amazing book includes: Detailed chronologies of the men's and women's major leagues dating from the 1890s; The NBA, the ABA, the old BAA and ABL are included! Of the women's leagues, the WBL, the ABL and the WNBA are included; Capsules of each season including important dates, complete standings and playoff scores; Complete records for all major men's and women's teams; Complete history of the playoffs; Award winners and All-Star teams; Player movement and significant trades; All-time rosters, both men's and...

Kyle Wright

What NBA team was the greatest ever? For basketball fans, that question can lead to widespread debate. Sports journalist and basketball enthusiast Kyle Wright has created a new and unique computer formula to rank every team in NBA history. Coining it as the POST formula, Wright assigns ratings to all NBA teams based on how they stack up to other comparable teams during any year—from the number of wins and losses to points scored and points allowed. The result is a complete ranking that takes you from number one to number 1,153.