The Issue of "Caps" in Salaries for NBA

The History of National Basketball Association:

James Naismith is credited for creating the game of basketball in 1891; the sport was not organized until 1946. World War II created havoc and destruction through out the world. Sports promoters were searching for a new form of entertainment where it would catch the spectator's imagination. The search was narrowed down to three sports that were played widespread during the time such as baseball, horseracing and boxing. Horseracing was strictly restricted where as Baseball was well established since 1903. Boxing provided the stage for sports growth. Due to the ever-growing interest in boxing owners in many major cities build venues for local bouts, attracted a very less majority of fans and this resulted in empty stands. During the 1930's the owner of the Madison square garden looked to college basketball to fill the dates (Ringold, 2000).

With the success of college basketball attracting many sports this led to the establishment of the professional league. The NBA was found in New York City on June 6, 1946 as Basketball Association of America (BAA). The league adopted the name National Basketball Association in the fall of 1949.

National Basketball Players Association:

With the formation of NBA, many promoters looked to build Professional Basketball League to compete with the National Basketball Association. The first major league to compete with the NBA was American Basketball League which began operating in 1961. Though the league survived only a year it had a significant impact. Competing with the NBA meant drafting good players which resulted in paying players more and providing additional benefits. The players trying to strengthen their position decided to unionize and in 1962 formed the National Basketball Players Association. The Association was relatively weak and ineffective, until attorney Lawrence Fleisher was hired to direct in 1962 (Staudohar, 19998). By 1967, the first collective bargaining in sports had been negotiated.

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