HOME HOW NBA BECAME BUSINESS? MLB NFL CONTACT HOW NBA BECAME MULTIBILLION-DOLLAR BUSINESS? It was in 1946 that the NBA adventure started, 55 years after the invention of basketball by Dr. Naismith. Over the years, the league has become world-famous, and its stars are as rich and famous as Hollywood stars. The games are broadcast in more than 200 countries, and the All-Star Game is the fifth most popular media event in the world. The NBA has also acquired the status of a multi-billion-dollar company with formidable marketing. The basketball legend Made in NBA has been forged over the years behind players who have dreamed of entire generations: George Mikan, the first “Big Man” in history, Russell and his eleven champion rings, Chamberlain, the man of all records, Magic, the inventor of show time and many others. And of course Michael Jordan, the tallest, who became the most beloved sportsman on the planet in the 1990s. The NBA was beginning to be an essential part of the history of the sport, with its teams and its stars. However, in 1967 a new league called the American Basketball Association (ABA) was created. Larry Bird and Magic Johnson The following year, Moses Malone of the Sixers becomes for the third time in four years the best rebounder, and Gervin is again the best scorer in the league. The Lakers, with the help of one of their star players Pat Riley, acquire the title against the Sixers in a grand finale. Philadelphia was the favorite team. Coming from winning twelve of the last 13 games Moses Malone and Julius Erving were surely a decisive element to achieve such victories. Still, the low injury by two major players in the Sixers McAdoo and Worthy surely made tip the balance to the Los Angeles Lakers who would keep the title with a 4-2 result. Moses Malone is named MVP. Moses Malone The 1983-84 season will see the Celtics face again against the Lakers in an unforgettable finale. The Celtics would win the series 4 to 3, and BIRD was co-named MVP. In 1985, the Lakers will have their revenge, and in six games, they conquer the championship. This victory ends eight Lakers defeats in the Finals against Boston. Other great moments of the season were the arrivals of Akeem Olajuwon to Houston and Michael Jordan to Chicago. Chicago Stadium is already under the charm of its new player. Jordan ends up averaging 28.2 points per game and is elected Rookie of the year. The following 1985-86 season, Jordan would not see action for a long time due to a foot injury. The Celtics acquire their sixteenth title with Larry BIRD at the top of their career. He will convert 24 points, 9.7 rebounds and 9.4 assists per game in the playoff. Dominique Wilkins, aka “The Human Highlight Film,” finishes the best scorer in league with 30.3 points on average. A great classic will close the 1986-87 season: Lakers vs. Celtics. Magic flies this time in the debates. Already MVP of the regular season also gets the MVP of the Finals after having averaged 26.2 points and 13 assists per game. But another player also gave a lot to talk about in the season. With 37.1 points on average, Michael Jordan pockets the title of the best scorer. The following year Jordan once again acquires the title of the best scorer with 35 points per game. But Chicago is eliminated in the conference semifinals against the Detroit Pistons. The Pistons may not, however, prevent a new Lakers title, they’re fifth in eight years. At the end of this season, Michael Jordan On October 6, 1993, the most flattered superstar on the planet, Michael Jordan, also leaves the tabs. He will throw into baseball without knowing success. The 1994 and 95 titles are acquired by Houston Rockets of Hakeem Olajuwon. Hardly against the New York Knicks (4-3), and more comfortably against the Orlando Magic (4-0), who had Chamberlain and Shaquille O’Neal in their ranks. For the following year, Jordan returns 17 games before the end of the regular season and will allow the Bulls to enter the conference semifinals. In 1995 everyone wonders if Jordan could return to his best level again. The answer was immediate. The Bulls acquire Dennis Rodman and record 72 victories, absolute record, erasing the mac as established by the Lakers in the 1971-72 season. Jordan keeps the MVP titles of the regular season, MVP of the Finals against Seattle, and MVP of the All-Star Game, in addition to finishing as the best scorer for the seventh time in his career. This season also marks the expansion of the NBA outside the American borders. Two franchises are created in Canada, in the cities of Toronto and Vancouver. For the 50 years of the NBA, the Bulls acquire their fifth title defeating the Utah Jazz in the finale that would end 4 to 2. The Bulls make 69 victories with what equals the Lakers’ mark in 1972. A commemorative ceremony is also organized this year with the 50 best players in NBA history. The 1997-98 season marks the second three-time Bulls championship who defeat the Utah Jazz again in the final 4 to 2. The games were very close, and the Bulls always made a difference in the final moments of the game. Jordan retires from the courts in the best way, obtaining his sixth champion ring and becoming the best of all time. Rodman and Pippen also leave the ranks of the team. The kingdom of the Chicago Bulls had come to an end. PARADISERECSPORT.COM