The 1948–49 BAA season was the third and final season of the Basketball Association of America. The 1949 BAA Playoffs ended with the Minneapolis Lakers winning the BAA championship, beating the Washington Capitols in six games in the BAA Finals.
The NBA recognizes the three BAA seasons as part of its own history so the 1948–49 BAA season is considered the third NBA season. Following the season, the BAA and National Basketball League merged to create the National Basketball Association or NBA.
Notable occurrences Four National Basketball League teams (Fort Wayne, Indianapolis, Minneapolis and Rochester) joined the BAA for the 1948–49 season. As a result of these new teams being added from the rivaling NBL into the newer BAA, the Eastern Division would see the new defending BAA champion Baltimore Bullets alongside the Washington Capitols either joining or returning to that division, while the four former NBL teams would join the Chicago Stags and the St. Louis Bombers as the four other teams to enter the recreated Western Division for this season. The BAA/NBA would have their first ever game with two teams scoring over 100 points against each other in the same match, with the Indianapolis Jets scoring 110 points and the Providence Steamrollers scoring 107 points on November 20, 1948 in Providence, Rhode Island for an Indianapolis Jets victory.
+Coaching changesOff-season Team 1947–48 coach 1948–49 coach Boston Celtics Honey Russell Doggie Julian Providence Steamrollers Nat Hickey Ken Loeffler St. Louis Bombers Ken Loeffler Grady LewisIn-season Team Outgoing coach Incoming coach Chicago Stags Harold Olsen Philip Brownstein Fort Wayne Pistons Carl Bennett Curly Armstrong Indianapolis Jets Bruce Hale Burl Friddle
Final standings
Playoffs
Statistics leaders + Category Player Team Stat Points George Mikan Minneapolis Lakers 1,698 Assists Bob Davies Rochester Royals 321 FG% Arnie Risen Rochester Royals .423 FT% Bob Feerick Washington Capitols .859
Note: Prior to the 1969–70 season, league leaders in points and assists were determined by totals rather than averages.
BAA awards All-BAA First Team: G Max Zaslofsky, Chicago Stags G/F Bob Davies, Rochester Royals C George Mikan, Minneapolis Lakers F Jim Pollard, Minneapolis Lakers F Joe Fulks, Philadelphia Warriors All-BAA Second Team C Arnie Risen, Rochester Royals C Bob Feerick, Washington Capitols F/C Bones McKinney, Washington Capitols G Ken Sailors, Providence Steamrollers G John Logan, St. Louis Bombers BAA Rookie of the Year G/F Howie Shannon, Providence Steamrollers
See also List of NBA regular season records 1948–49 NBL season, the corresponding season of the NBL just prior to its merger with the BAA.
References