History of the NBA      A group of team owners met on June 6,
1946,  in New York to talk about a league they would name the
Basketball Association of America.  This meeting was the
beginning of what we know today as the NBA.  This group was
mainly some members of the Arena Association of America.  They
controlled the sporting arenas in the major United States
cities. They had experience with hockey, ice shows, circuses and
rodeos, but never had basketball games been part of the
picture.. Most of them had little experience with the game of
basketball.  World War II had recently ended, and the men felt
that there would be lots of money available for entertainment
purposes.  They looked at the success of college basketball at
Madison Square Garden and in cities like Philadelphia and
Buffalo.  They agreed that a professional league would probably
succeed if they continued to highlight college pros.  As a
result, on June 11, franchises were formed to compete in two
divisions:  East and West.  The East consisted of