A History of the First Cities with Basketball

Basketball Cities

Professional basketball began in 1946 with eleven teams. They were the:

* Boston Celtics,
* Chicago Stags,
* Cleveland Rebels,
* Detroit Falcons,
* New York Knickerbockers,
* Philadelphia Warriors,
* Pittsburgh Ironmen,
* Providence Steamrollers,
* St. Louis Bombers,
* Toronto Huskies, and the
* Washington Capitols.

Three of the original teams are still in existence. They are the:
* Boston Celtics,
* New York Knicks, and the
* Golden State Warriors (originally the Philadelphia Warriors).

The Boston Celtics and the New York Knickerbockers are the only two original teams that still play in their original cities. The other teams have either gone out of business or moved to different cities and/or changed names. This article provides a brief introduction to the changes in locales and names of these teams.

Philadelphia to San Francisco to Oakland

The Warriors were one of the original NBA teams. They began their career in Philadelphia.

* 1946, Philadelphia Warriors
* 1962, San Francisco Warriors
* 1971, Golden State Warriors (Oakland)

The move from the east cost to the west coast was very popular in the late 1950's and early 1960's. Baseball began this process when in the late 1950's the Brooklyn Dodgers moved to Los Angeles and the New York Giants moved to San Francisco.

The Philadelphia Warriors won the first NBA championship beating the Chicago Stags four games to two.

Ft. Wayne, Minneapolis, and Rochester

In 1948, Ft. Wayne, Indiana, Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Rochester, New York became home to basketball teams. They were the Ft. Wayne Pistons, the Minneapolis Lakers, and the Rochester Royals.

Pistons

The Pistons began their legacy in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. The team was started by an automobile executive named Fred Zollner. The name reflects the team's automobile heritage.

* 1948, Ft. Wayne Pistons
* 1957, Detroit Pistons

Lakers

When you think of Los Angeles, lakes are not the first thing that come to mind. However, Minnesota is known as the "land of lakes". The Lakers organization began in Minneapolis. They were the NBA's first dynasty.

* 1948, Minneapolis Lakers
* 1960, Los Angeles Lakers