From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Eastern Division was a division in the
National Basketball Association (NBA) and its forerunner, the
Basketball Association of America (BAA). The division was created at the start of the
1946–47 BAA season ,
[1] when the league was created, and was then kept as one of the divisions when BAA merged with the
National Basketball League (NBL) to create the NBA on August 3, 1949.
[2] The division existed until the
1970–71 NBA season when the NBA expanded from 14 to 17 teams and realigned into the
Eastern and
Western conferences with two divisions each.
[3]
Teams
Team
City
Year
From
Year
To
Current division
Joined
Left
Baltimore Bullets (original)
Baltimore, Maryland
1948
Western Division
1954
Folded
—
Baltimore Bullets (now the
Washington Wizards )
Baltimore, Maryland
1966
Western Division
1970
Central Division
Southeast Division
Boston Celtics
Boston, Massachusetts
1946
§
1970
Atlantic Division
Atlantic Division
Cincinnati Royals (now the
Sacramento Kings )
Cincinnati, Ohio
1962
Western Division
1970
Central Division
Pacific Division
Detroit Pistons
Detroit, Michigan
1967
Western Division
1970
Midwest Division
Central Division
Milwaukee Bucks
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
1968
—†
1970
Midwest Division
Central Division
New York Knicks
New York City, New York
1946
§
1970
Atlantic Division
Atlantic Division
Syracuse Nationals (
1949 –
1963 )
Philadelphia 76ers (
1963 –present)
Syracuse, New York
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1949
—*
1970
Atlantic Division
Atlantic Division
Philadelphia Warriors (now the
Golden State Warriors )
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1946
§
1962
Western Division
Pacific Division
Providence Steamrollers
Providence, Rhode Island
1946
§
1949
Folded
—
Toronto Huskies
Toronto, Ontario
1946
§
1947
Folded
—
Washington Capitols
Washington, D.C.
1946
1948
§
1947
1951
Western Division Folded
—
Notes
Team timeline
Division champions
^
Had or tied for the best regular season record for that season
Titles by team
Team
Titles
Season(s) won
Boston Celtics
9
1956–57 ,
1957–58 ,
1958–59 ,
1959–60 ,
1960–61 ,
1961–62 ,
1962–63 ,
1963–64 ,
1964–65
Syracuse Nationals /
Philadelphia 76ers
6
1949–50 ,
1951–52 ,
1954–55 ,
1965–66 ,
1966–67 ,
1967–68
Philadelphia Warriors (now the
Golden State Warriors )
3
1947–48 ,
1950–51 ,
1955–56
New York Knicks
3
1952–53 ,
1953–54 ,
1969–70
Washington Capitols
2
1946–47 ,
1948–49
Baltimore Bullets (now the
Washington Wizards )
1
1968–69
Season results
References