I remember the first time I stumbled upon the story of the world's oldest basketball league while researching sports history archives. It was like discovering a hidden chapter in the history of sports that most people had completely overlooked. The National Basketball League (NBL) predates the NBA by over a decade, having been established way back in 1937 when basketball was still finding its footing as a professional sport. What fascinates me most isn't just the dates and statistics - though I'll share some of those with you - but the human stories that emerged from those early days of professional basketball.
The early NBL teams played in conditions that would shock modern NBA fans. Imagine players competing on courts with irregular dimensions, sometimes with pillars right in the middle of the playing surface! The Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons, who would later become the Detroit Pistons we know today, were originally sponsored by a piston manufacturing company. Their owner, Fred Zollner, was so committed to his team that he'd sometimes personally drive the team bus to away games. This reminds me of that beautiful Filipino phrase from my research: "Silent lang, pero alam mo yung kung kailangan mo siya, handa siyang mag-deliver." It perfectly captures the spirit of those early basketball pioneers - quiet professionals who consistently delivered when it mattered most.
One player who embodied this spirit was Bob McDermott, who I consider one of the most underrated players in basketball history. He won four MVP awards in the NBL, which is absolutely incredible when you think about it. The league operated with teams scattered across America's industrial heartland - cities like Oshkosh, Sheboygan, and Anderson that don't typically come to mind when we think of basketball today. These teams were often backed by local industrial companies, creating this beautiful connection between factory workers and professional athletes that simply doesn't exist in modern sports.
The style of play was dramatically different from what we see today. Players shot two-handed set shots instead of jump shots, and the game moved at what would feel like a glacial pace compared to today's high-flying action. Scoring was much lower - a typical game might end with both teams in the 50s or 60s, whereas today we regularly see teams scoring over 100 points. The three-point line didn't exist, and the physicality was something else entirely. I've watched archival footage where players would basically tackle each other without fouls being called - it was a completely different era of basketball.
What really gets me emotional is thinking about how the NBL eventually merged with the Basketball Association of America in 1949 to form the NBA we know today. Only four NBL teams made the transition: the Minneapolis Lakers (who became the Los Angeles Lakers), Rochester Royals (Sacramento Kings), Fort Wayne Pistons (Detroit Pistons), and Indianapolis Olympians. The merger meant that many beloved community teams simply vanished from professional basketball. I can't help but feel we lost something special when those small-market teams with their deep community roots disappeared from the highest level of the sport.
The legacy of the NBL lives on in ways most fans don't even realize. The 24-second shot clock, one of the most important innovations in basketball history, was actually tested in the NBL before being adopted by the NBA. George Mikan, who many consider basketball's first true superstar, developed his game in the NBL before becoming an NBA legend. The league also pioneered integration, with African American players like Pop Gates and Dolly King playing professionally years before Jackie Robinson broke baseball's color barrier. These are the stories that make me passionate about sports history - they're not just about games, but about social progress and human courage.
I recently visited the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and was disappointed by how little space was dedicated to the NBL's contributions. There were maybe two small displays mentioning the league that predated the NBA by twelve years. It's a shame because understanding where basketball came from helps us appreciate where it's going. The NBL's emphasis on team play over individual stardom, its connection to industrial communities, and its willingness to innovate - these qualities feel particularly relevant today as the NBA grapples with how to balance entertainment with authentic competition.
The more I learn about the NBL, the more I appreciate the foundation it laid for modern basketball. Those players earned maybe $5,000-$8,000 per season (equivalent to about $50,000-$80,000 today), traveling by bus between industrial towns, playing for communities rather than massive television audiences. They were the original "quiet professionals" who delivered when it counted - that same quality Enriquez described so perfectly. Next time you watch an NBA game, remember that beneath the glitz and global fame lies this humble beginning, this legacy of workers and communities coming together through the simple love of bouncing a ball.
