On November 1, 1946, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the Toronto Huskies hosted the New York Knickerbockers at Maple Leaf Gardens, in a game the NBA now refers to as the first game played in NBA history. The Basketball Association of America was founded in 1946 by owners of the major ice hockey arenas in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States and Canada. 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 NBA is an active member of USA Basketball (USAB), which is recognized by FIBA (also known as the International Basketball Federation) as the national governing body for basketball in the United States. NBA players are the world's best paid athletes by average annual salary per player. The NBA's regular season runs from October to April, with each team playing 82 games. It changed its name to the National Basketball Association on August 3, 1949, after merging with the competing National Basketball League (NBL).

The league was founded in New York City on June 6, 1946, as the Basketball Association of America (BAA). It is one of the four major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada, and is widely considered to be the premier men's professional basketball league in the world. The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a men's professional basketball league in North America, composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada).

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