What do you think?
Rate this book
The Rise of the National Basketball Association
Today's National Basketball Association commands millions of spectators worldwide, and its many franchises are worth hundreds of millions of dollars. But the league wasn't always so successful or glamorous: in the 1940s and 1950s, the NBA and its predecessor, the Basketball Association of America, were scrambling to attract fans. Teams frequently played in dingy gymnasiums, players traveled as best they could, and their paychecks could bounce higher than a basketball. How did the NBA evolve from an obscure organization facing financial losses to a successful fledgling sports enterprise by 1960? _x000B__x000B_Drawing on information from numerous archives, newspaper and periodical articles, and Congressional hearings, The Rise of the National Basketball Association chronicles the league's growing pains from 1946 to 1961. David George Surdam describes how a handful of ambitious ice hockey arena owners created the league as a way to increase the use of their facilities, growing the organization by fits and starts. Rigorously analyzing financial data and league records, Surdam points to the innovations that helped the NBA thrive: regular experiments with rules changes to make the game more attractive to fans, and the emergence of televised sports coverage as a way of capturing a larger audience. Notably, the NBA integrated in 1950, opening the game to players who would dominate the game by the end of the decade: Bill Russell, Elgin Baylor, Wilt Chamberlain, and Oscar Robertson. Long a game that players loved to play, basketball became a professional sport well supported by community leaders, business vendors, and an ever-growing number of fans._x000B_
- GenresSports
247 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 13, 2012
1 person is currently reading
13 people want to read
About the author
David George Surdam
11 booksDavid George Surdam is a professor of economics and the David W. Wilson Business Ethics Fellow at the University of Northern Iowa.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
January 4, 2019
I liked this book from the perspective it was written. I felt that was a strong business angle to the book. It gave me a different perspective of the NBA. Hopefully, give those that read the book a better perspective of the growing pains the league went though to be what it is today.
August 24, 2020
Great read, even though it's not my favorite topic. I do enjoy little-known history, however, and even those Sunday morning sports shows that depict recent sports history (ie, the 1971 Super Bowl saga, or something like that) are interesting in their own way. I was very amused to discover that the disappointing gymnasiums in the setting of Will Farrell's basketball comedy were not too far off!
Sports fans and history fans will enjoy this book. Well-written, engaging topic for many people.
Sports fans and history fans will enjoy this book. Well-written, engaging topic for many people.
August 18, 2012
“The Rise of the National Basketball Association” chronicles the story of the NBA’s evolution from an economic perspective. But even though this book is grounded in academic principles, it’s an engaging read for anyone interested in the history of professional sports.
It’s amazing to reflect on how far professional basketball has come in sixty-six years (the Basetball Association of America, which morphed into the NBA, was founded in 1946). Baseball, football and hockey have all been on the scene for decades longer. Well into the 1950s, the NBA was still anchored in cities like Ft. Wayne, Syracuse and Rochester, fine communities, but not ones that come to mind when one thinks of the term “major league.” That the NBA of the mid-fifties even existed was a testimony to the tenacity and vision of a handful of men—plus a degree of luck.
As David G. Surham makes clear in these pages, things could have easily gone in a different direction. Had the NBA adopted a revenue-sharing plan, for example, it might have kept the weakest franchises alive—a development that would have been counter to the league’s long-term interests.
By the late 1950s, the arrival of a new generation of African-American stars, heralded by Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Oscar Robertson and Elgin Baylor; the move of the league into more larger markets and growing exposure on national television meant the days of struggle were over. Magic Johnson and Larry Bird were still a quarter of a century in the future, but it was clear that the NBA was here to stay.
It’s amazing to reflect on how far professional basketball has come in sixty-six years (the Basetball Association of America, which morphed into the NBA, was founded in 1946). Baseball, football and hockey have all been on the scene for decades longer. Well into the 1950s, the NBA was still anchored in cities like Ft. Wayne, Syracuse and Rochester, fine communities, but not ones that come to mind when one thinks of the term “major league.” That the NBA of the mid-fifties even existed was a testimony to the tenacity and vision of a handful of men—plus a degree of luck.
As David G. Surham makes clear in these pages, things could have easily gone in a different direction. Had the NBA adopted a revenue-sharing plan, for example, it might have kept the weakest franchises alive—a development that would have been counter to the league’s long-term interests.
By the late 1950s, the arrival of a new generation of African-American stars, heralded by Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Oscar Robertson and Elgin Baylor; the move of the league into more larger markets and growing exposure on national television meant the days of struggle were over. Magic Johnson and Larry Bird were still a quarter of a century in the future, but it was clear that the NBA was here to stay.
August 22, 2015
Interesting history of the NBA.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews