FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS

The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the four major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada. It is the premier men’s professional basketball league in the world.^[1]

The league was founded in New York City on June 6, 1946, as the Basketball Association of America (BAA). It changed its name to the National Basketball Association on August 3, 1949, after merging with the competing National Basketball League (NBL). The NBA’s regular season runs from October to April, with each team playing 82 games. The league’s playoff tournament extends into June. As of 2020, NBA players are the world’s best paid athletes by average annual salary per player.

The NBA is an active member of USA Basketball (USAB), which is recognized by the FIBA (International Basketball Federation) as the national governing body for basketball in the United States. The league’s several international as well as individual team offices are directed out of its head offices in Midtown Manhattan, while its NBA Entertainment and NBA TV studios are directed out of offices located in Secaucus, New Jersey.

The Milwaukee Bucks are the reigning champions, having beaten the Phoenix Suns 4–2 in the 2021 Finals.

TODAY’S ALMANAC

1490s

• 1492: CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS SET SAIL FROM SPAIN WITH NIÑA, PINTA, AND SANTA MARIA, IN SEARCH OF A WESTERN SEA ROUTE TO ASIA

1840s

• BORN 1847: JOHN CAMPBELL HAMILTON-GORDON (CANADIAN GOVERNOR GENERAL)

1850s

• 1852: FIRST INTERCOLLEGIATE BOAT RACE

1880s

• 1880: AMERICAN CANOE ASSOCIATION FORMED, LAKE GEORGE, NEW YORK

1900s

• BORN 1900: JOHN T. SCOPES (FINED $100 IN 1925 FOR “TEACHING EVOLUTION” IN TENNESSEE)

1910s

• 1918: DISTINGUISHED FLYING CROSS FOR WILLIAM BISHOP ANNOUNCED

1920s

• 1923: AT 2:47 A.M., CALVIN COOLIDGE WAS SWORN IN AS PRESIDENT BY HIS FATHER AT VERMONT HOMESTEAD
• DIED 1924: JOSEPH CONRAD (WRITER)
• BORN 1926: TONY BENNETT (SINGER)

1930s

• 1937: THE FIRST OKAPI IMPORTED INTO U.S. WENT ON DISPLAY, BRONX ZOO, N.Y.C.

1940s

• BORN 1940: MARTIN SHEEN (ACTOR)
• BORN 1941: MARTHA STEWART (HOMEMAKING GURU)
• 1949: NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION FORMED FROM MERGER

1950s

• BORN 1959: JOHN C. MCGINLEY (ACTOR)

1960s

• DIED 1964: FLANNERY O’CONNOR (AUTHOR)

1970s

• BORN 1977: TOM BRADY (FOOTBALL PLAYER)
• BORN 1979: EVANGELINE LILLY (ACTRESS)

1980s

• 1980: TOM YAWKEY INDUCTED INTO NATIONAL BASEBALL HALL OF FAME
• 1988: LIGHTNING EVIDENTLY TRIGGERED THE FIRE ALARM IN AN OFFICE BUILDING NEAR FORT COLLINS, COLORADO, WHICH CAUSED THE INHABITANTS TO EVACUATE – WITHOUT THEIR KEYS. WHILE LOCKED OUT, 16 WERE INJURED, MOST BY THE MARBLE-SIZE HAIL AND WIND GUSTS PRODUCED BY THE THUNDERSTORM.

2000s

• DIED 2006: ELISABETH SCHWARZKOPF (SOPRANO)

COURTESY www.almanac.com