The National Alliance of Basketball Leagues (NABL) (founded 1961) is the descendant of the industrial-based

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

clubs that formed into the National Basketball League (NBL) in the early 1930s.

History

Origins in the 1930s

The league was the brainchild of

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

grocer Irv Kautsky, who sponsored the Indianapolis Kautskys club team, and

Goodyear Tire Company The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company is an American multinational tire manufacturing company founded in 1898 by Frank Seiberling and based in Akron, Ohio. Goodyear manufactures tires for automobiles, commercial trucks, light trucks, motorcycles, S ...

, who originally sponsored the Akron Wingfoots. After a false start in the early 1930s, the league was restarted in

1938 Events January * January 1 ** The Constitution of Estonia#Third Constitution (de facto 1938–1940, de jure 1938–1992), new constitution of Estonia enters into force, which many consider to be the ending of the Era of Silence and the a ...

, with the Wingfoots winning the initial NBL title. By

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, both the Wingfoots and the

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's Non-Skids had suspended play, but other seminal pro teams such as the Ft. Wayne Zollner Pistons (now the Detroit Pistons), Syracuse Nationals (now the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eas ...

), Rochester Royals (now the Sacramento Kings), Minneapolis Lakers (now the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

), and Tri-Cities BlackHawks (now the Atlanta Hawks), all of whom are currently playing in the

NBA 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 major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

, had joined.
After World War II, the fledgling

Basketball Association of America The Basketball Association of America (BAA) was a professional basketball league in North America, founded in 1946. Following its third season, 1948–49, the BAA absorbed most of National Basketball League (NBL) and rebranded as the National Ba ...

was established by arena owners in large cities to try to capture the popularity of the NBL teams from the smaller communities. This attempt failed miserably as 13 of the 16 BAA teams folded. Undaunted, the remaining BAA teams, the

Philadelphia Warriors The history of the Golden State Warriors began in Philadelphia in 1946. In 1962, the franchise was relocated to San Francisco, California and became known as the San Francisco Warriors until 1971, when its name was changed to the current Golden St ...

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

, and

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...

convinced the top NBL teams to join with them and they formed the NBA. Thus, the early NBA was composed mostly of teams brought over from the NBL and three BAA teams.

1947–1961: The creation of the NIBL

The remaining NBL teams reformed and changed the name to the National Industrial Basketball League (NIBL) where teams such as the

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Chicago Jamaco Saints The Chicago Jamaco Saints was a basketball team. They were a part of the National Alliance of Basketball Leagues The National Alliance of Basketball Leagues (NABL) (founded 1961) is the descendant of the industrial-based basketball clubs that f ...

, Akron Wingfoots, Phillips 66ers,

Peoria Cats The Caterpillar Diesels (also later known as the Peoria Cats or Caterpillars) was an amateur basketball team located in Peoria, Illinois and sponsored and run by the Caterpillar Inc. company. The Caterpillars were one of the most successful team ...

, Philadelphia Tapers,

Lexington Marathon Oilers The Lexington Marathon Oilers, or Lexington Marathon Oil, was a professional basketball team. They were a part of the National Alliance of Basketball Leagues The National Alliance of Basketball Leagues (NABL) (founded 1961) is the descendant of ...

and

Cleveland Pipers The Cleveland Pipers were an American industrial basketball team based in Cleveland, Ohio in the 1950s and early 1960s. The Pipers are mostly known for having played in the short-lived American Basketball League from 1961–62. They were also a po ...

thrived as club teams. In the 1960s the league recognized the changing sponsorship of the teams away from the large industrial companies and renamed it the National AAU Basketball League (NABL).

List of champions

{{see also, National Industrial Basketball League 1948 Milwaukee Harnischfegers
1949 Phillips 66ers
1950 Phillips 66ers
1951 Phillips 66ers
1952 Phillips 66ers
1953 Phillips 66ers
1954 Phillips 66ers and Peoria Caterpillars
1955 Phillips 66ers
1956 Phillips 66ers
1957 Phillips 66ers
1958 Phillips 66ers and

Wichita Vickers Vickers Petroleum Company was an oil company founded by John A. (Jack) Vickers, Sr. In 1918, Vickers established a refinery in Potwin, Kansas to process the output of recently discovered oil fields in Butler County. Wichita Vickers basketball B ...

1959 Denver-Chicago Truckers
1960 Phillips 66ers
1961

1961–1963: Decline

During the early 1960s, the Pipers and the Tapers left to join the Hawaii Chiefs, Kansas City Steers, Los Angeles Jets and other teams to form the American Basketball League; when this venture folded, some of these teams returned to the NABL. By the end of the 1970s, the NABL teams elected to adapt touring schedules rather than league schedules and the NABL format was mothballed until it was brought back in the 1990s when many of the legendary teams had been restarted under a new wave of sponsors. Today, the NABL teams are focused on preparing post-college players for the opportunity to play pro basketball overseas.

National Amateur Athletic Union Basketball League (1966–1973)

In 1966, the NABL organized the National Amateur Athletic Union Basketball League, with the league's champions playing at

FIBA The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. Originally known as the (hence FIBA), in 1989 it dropped the word ''amateur'' from its na ...

's Intercontinental Cup, as the North American Champions. The Akron Wingfoots won the title on the three occasions that they represented the country at the FIBA Intercontinental Cup.

List of Champions

1967: Akron Wingfoots
1968: Akron Wingfoots
1969: Akron Wingfoots
1970:
1971:

Lexington Marathon Oil The Lexington Marathon Oilers, or Lexington Marathon Oil, was a professional basketball team. They were a part of the National Alliance of Basketball Leagues The National Alliance of Basketball Leagues (NABL) (founded 1961) is the descendant of ...

1972: Dayton Sanders Stone
1973: Dayton Utopians

Members

The following leagues were members of the NABL in the 90s and noughties. * CBA * IBL * PBL * UBL * WBA Defunct basketball leagues in the United States