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Like all other sports events, the National Basketball Association was born out of a group of people's passion for basketball. In 1946, a group of sports arena owners founded the Basketball Association of America. It became the first basketball league, which has games in huge arenas found in large cities.
It was in August of 1949 that the BAA merged with the National Basketball League and was later called as the NBA. The league had seventeen franchises that were found in cities and in various sports venues all over the country. In 1950, the NBA's number of franchises went down to 11 and it continued to go down to as low as eight by 1954. These are the Celtics, Knicks, Lakers, Warriors, Kings, 76ers, Hawks, and Pistons. But while contracting during the 1960s, the NBA's small franchises shifted to big ones found in large cities. Some of these shifters were Minneapolis Lakers who moved to Los Angeles Lakers, Syracuse Nationals to Philadelphia, and Philadelphia Warriors to San Francisco.
The NBA will also be remembered for the introduction of the 24-second shot clock. In 1954, the league came up with this rule to encourage their players to shoot and avoid stalling. It also showed diversity among its teams when players like Wataru Misaka, Chuck Cooper, Earl Lloyd, and Nat "Sweetwater" Clifton joined the league. Now, African-Americans comprise 80 percent of players.
In 1967, the NBA encountered a competitor in bidding for the best players. The American Basketball Association managed to snag Rick Barry, who is among the NBA's highest scorers, and some veteran referees like Norm Drucker, John Vanak, Joe Gushue, and Earl Strom. The NBA somehow got even when college football star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar joined the league.
Today's NBA
There are now 30 franchises in NBA and the league continues to grow as it introduces more basketball legends from all over the world. The likes of Yao Ming, Pau Gasol, Dirk Nowitzki, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili have already shown their winning plays from the playoffs to the NBA Finals. Now, watching NBA games has become more exciting with American players playing against international players and more expensive with ticket prices going up.
An NBA ticket for a first row seat is no longer worth $14, so most NBA fans are now practical about buying tickets for live games. They're now forced to spend their money only on games where premier teams like the Chicago Bulls, San Antonio Spurs, Miami Heat, and Los Angeles Lakers play because they think these games with premier teams are definitely worth their money.
These NBA teams have already established their own celebrity status because of their legendary players. Some of them are Los Angeles Lakers' Kobe Bryant, Miami Heat's Dwayne Wade, Chicago Bulls' Luol Deng, Boston Celtics' Paul Pierce, and San Antonio Spurs' Tim Duncan. These elite teams have already won several NBA titles and their games are still the most frequently watched in any season. The number of popular players and famous teams in the bloc only proves that NBA stays as the most sought-after game in the country.
To place a bet with a sportsbook on NBA visit our sportsbook section or continue reading about the national basketball league.
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2008/12/04
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James Battista, 42, was sentenced to 15 months in prison and Thomas Martino, 42, got a year and a day from federal Judge Carol B. Amon in Brooklyn.
Amon said both men and ex-NBA official Timothy Donaghy were liable for $217,000 in restitution to the NBA. Because Amon found the three men had different levels of responsibilities for the amount, their final payouts would individually vary. The NBA had wanted more than $1 million.
Prosecutors said the betting scheme covered about 40 games in the 2006 and 2007 seasons and netted Donaghy up to $30,000 a year for game tips. Amon said Battista corrupted a sports official who should have been above reproach.
Defense attorneys for both men had argued that probation or house arrest would be best. One of Martino's brothers said in a letter to Amon that the aspiring cosmetologist could be the subject of abuse in prison.
Both men choked up as they separately apologized to Amon and accepted responsibility for the gambling scheme.
"I made bad choices and take full responsibility," said Battista, an admitted reformed drug and alcohol abuser. "I want to apologize to my wife, my children and my family."
Martino's eyes teared up as he told Amon how he had suffered the nightmare of publicity of the criminal prosecution.
"I am very sorry it took an event of this nature to wake me up," said Martino, who prosecutor Jeffrey Goldberg has said passed along inside information about NBA games from Donaghy to Battista, who then placed the bets. All three were high school friends.
Amon told Battista to surrender to federal prison officials on Sept. 18 and gave Martino until Oct. 16 to surrender so he could finish his cosmetology studies. Donaghy, 41, is to be sentenced Tuesday. Sentencing guidelines suggest up to 33 months.
:dirol