The NBA is celebrating its 75th anniversary this season and we thought we’d step back in time and take a look at the very first game in the history of the league. That game was played on November 1st, 1946.

It goes without saying that the game is completely different than it was seventy-five years ago. From Paul Azrin to Anthony Davis, the game has evolved significantly. Not only do fans watch the game itself, they’re able to immerse themselves in the league. They can watch the likes of ESPN, on which experts and former players constantly preview, analyse, and debate. Fans also enjoy a flutter on the game, with sports betting, and gambling, in general, being such big business today. Even the online casino industry creates casino slots inspired by the sport. So yes, today’s NBA is more than just a game.

The NBA’s first game

Well, it wasn’t technically the first NBA game as the league was called the BAA. The momentous occasion took place at Toronto’s Maple Leaf Garden, with the Toronto Huskies hosting the New York Knicks. The Knicks edged out the Huskies in a surprisingly high-scoring affair, 68-66. The league featured only 11 teams back then, and that was the only game played on that particular day.

The game lasted 48 minutes and was played over four quarters of 12 minutes, which is the same as today. However, the league had yet to introduce the shot clock rule, which wasn’t brought into the game until almost 10 years later. 

The Knicks scored first, making the very first basket in the history of the NBA. That honour belonged to a man by the name of Ossie Schectman, who scored with a layup. Toronto’s Ed Sadowski scored 18 points, the most of any player in the game. Not bad, considering he was also the head coach. Leo Gottlieb led the Knicks with 14 points in the loss. 

The game welcomed 7,090 fans, and anyone taller than George Nostrand (the Huskies’ 6”2 Center) was allowed to enter for free. It was all part of the promotion. For those under that height, ticket prices ranged from 75 cents to 2.5 dollars.

Wow, “Ossie Schectman,” “Ed Sadowski,” “George Nostrand,” and “Leo Gottlieb” they really had some 1946 names too.

The game also featured the NBA’s first-ever international player to take to the court, with Hank Biasatti being one of five international players over the two teams’ rosters. Biasatti must have been one impressive athlete, as he also pitched in the Major Leagues.

The Knicks ended with a 33-27 record that year, along with a trip to the playoffs. The Huskies, on the other hand, only finished 22-38 and missed out on the first postseason. The championship was won by the Philadelphia Warriors. The Knicks are one of three franchises to have participated in all 75 NBA seasons. The other two are the Golden State Warriors (via Philadelphia) and the Boston Celtics.

Today Versus Then

There isn’t much about today’s league that bears similarity with how it was back then. Ticket prices have changed (of course). So has fan attendance. And even the name of the league is different – it used to be known as the Basketball Association of America. Let’s take a look at some of these changes in more detail.

Fan Attendance While the game attracted an attendance of 7,090 people, the league achieves far higher numbers today, with the NBA being one of the most-watched sports in America. The average attendance in the 2019-20 season was 17,750.

Scores Remember the 68-66 score in that first game? The league average for points scored in the 2020-21 season was 112.1 points per game. The team with the highest average were the NBA champions, the Milwaukee Bucks, with 117.7 points per game.

Player Size Back in those days, the game’s tallest player was the aforementioned George Nostrand, at 6”8. That’s close to the average height of today’s players. The tallest player in the league right now is Tacko Fall. The third-year player for the Boston Celtics stands at 7”6. He has a wingspan of 8”4, so his arms are approximately 4 feet each. Fall became a fan favorite with the Celtics last season. He now plays for the Cleveland Cavaliers.