On November 1, 1946, the New York Knickerbockers beat the Toronto Huskies [called that because of their numerous Husky, beer-bellied players] in the first NBA game, 68-66. All of the players were strangely wearing their underwear in public and this custom continues until this very day. The Knickerbockers were led by guard Leo Gottlieb, a Jew [whose real name name was אריה] who scored 14 points in the game played before 7,090 fans at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto. This was before Jews realized that they have no business playing pro basketball and instead should be owning teams or buying real estate and nursing homes. Leo's children got the message and didn't follow in his footsteps.
Although they lost to the Knickerbockers (now known as the Knicks), the Huskies had the game's highest scorers: big men Ed Sadowski (18 points) and George Norstrand (16 points). The latter was the center of a marketing campaign to draw fans to the game—a newspaper ad offered free admission for any fan who stood taller than the 6-foot-8 Norstrand. The more vertically challenged fans bought tickets that ranged from 75 cents to $2.50. One fan was arrested for coming on stilts to get the free admission.
In 1946, the NBA (National Basketball Association) was known as the BAA (Basketball Association of America). It became the NBA in 1949 after it merged with the NBL (National Basketball League). Too bad it is not known today as the BAANBLNBA.
In 1946, the league was composed of 11 franchises, only two of which—the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks—remain in the same location today. The Huskies were the only Canadian team in the league, whose players all were white. The first black player in the league was Earl Lloyd [no relation to Earl Monroe but the grandfather of George Floyd whose father added the "F" to their name for tax purposes], who debuted on October 31, 1950. Then other black people got the message and realized that this is potentially a VERY lucrative profession for them.
The world has never been the same since.
The Knickerbockers finished the season third in the Eastern Division with a 32-27 record. The Huskies finished 22-38, last in the Eastern Division. The Philadelphia Warriors won the league title. They later moved to Golden State but in their first season none of the players showed up b/c none of them could figure out where "Golden State" is located.
