The BAA, NBL & the Merger That Created the NBA - With Josh Elias

Sports historian Josh Elias stops by for a deep unraveling of the often misunderstood story behind the 1949 merger that created the National Basketball Association (NBA) as we know it today.  Drawing from his historically essential 2024 book The Birth of the Modern NBA: Pro Basketball in the Year of the Merger, 1949-1950, Elias takes us back to the pivotal moment when the Basketball Association of America (BAA) and the National Basketball League (NBL) merged, uniting disparate big-city teams with small-town clubs - and setting the stage for professional basketball’s future in the US. We dive into the tensions between East Coast metropolises and Midwestern industrial towns; the unexpected power struggles between the last BAA champion (and superstar George Mikan-led) Minneapolis Lakers and the final NBL winning Anderson (Indiana) Packers; and the NBA's early challenges with segregation, cultural divides, and an uncertain post-WWII American economy. Elias also shares some of the wildest and most fascinating anecdotes from his research, including mob-connected team owners, bizarre halftime performances, airport mishaps, and brushes with history-making figures like Jackie Robinson, Chuck Connors, and even a young pre-politics Gerald R. Ford. Step back in time to revisit the NBA’s chaotic, colorful, and often overlooked first season - one that shaped the league for generations to come.  + + +   SUPPORT THE SHOW: Buy Us a Coffee: https://ko-fi.com/goodseatsstillavailable "Good Seats" Merch: https://www.teepublic.com/?ref_id=35106 SPONSOR THANKS (AND SUPPORT THE SHOW!): Royal Retros (10% off promo code: SEATS): https://www.503-sports.com?aff=2 Old School Shirts.com (10% off promo code: GOODSEATS): https://oldschoolshirts.com/goodseats 417 Helmets (10% off promo code: GOODSEATS): https://417helmets.com/?wpam_id=3 BUY THE BOOK (AND SUPPORT THE SHOW!): "The Birth of the Modern NBA: Pro Basketball in the Year of the Merger, 1949-1950" : https://amzn.to/41PRnx6 FIND AND FOLLOW: Website: https://goodseatsstillavailable.com/ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/goodseatsstillavailable.com X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/GoodSeatsStill YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@goodseatsstillavailable Threads: https://www.threads.net/@goodseatsstillavailable Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goodseatsstillavailable/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GoodSeatsStillAvailable/