On April 23, 1946, the East Pennsylvania Basketball League was officially established, a six-team league with six teams from Pennsylvania in the cities of Wilkes-Barry, Hartselton, Allentown, Lancaster, Reading and Polsville.

In 1948, the East Pennsylvania Basketball League would be renamed the Eastern Professional League, and in 1978 it was renamed the Continental Basketball Association League, abbreviated as the Continental Basketball Association, abbreviated as the CBA, and the abbreviation of China's professional basketball league.

Due to the NBA's dominance, the CBA in the United States has not been bigger, and there were only 14 teams at its peak, which is a small professional league, and the CBA in the United States has been operating poorly, often making no money, and the rotation of the team is also very frequent. Before the emergence of the NBA Development League, many NBA teams would run CBA teams in the United States, so the CBA in the United States is also considered a development league of the NBA.

In 1999, NBA star Isaiah Thomas spent $10 million to acquire the CBA in the United States, and this Isaiah Thomas is not the "strongest 175 on the surface" that fans are familiar with, but the "smiling assassin" in the "50 superstars".

In 2001, the NBA was established as the development league NBDL, and the CBA in the United States declared bankruptcy. Later, although he was briefly resurrected for a few years, he was not able to survive in the end.

Although the CBA is a small league, it has had a lot of innovations, especially in the 80s, after the CBA began to cooperate with the NBA, it became a guinea pig for the NBA to experiment with new rules.

One of the most well-known rules of the CBA in the United States is the "seven-point system", in which a total of seven points are awarded to the two participating teams in each game, with the winner getting three points and the team scoring more points in each quarter getting one point. At the end of the season, teams are ranked not by their record, but by their seven-point score.

The CBA in the United States has also implemented a kind of "three-point system" overtime rules, that is, in overtime, which team takes the lead in surpassing the opponent by three points, that team will win, in the eyes of modern people, under this rule, the team that gets the ball can solve the game with a three-point shot, but in that era when the three-point shooting rate was extremely low, no one really rushed to fight for a three-point shot. It wasn't until 1987 that the CBA changed the overtime rules to the current five-minute overtime.

In future NBA games, the reasonable collision zone under the basket first began with the CBA, but later the CBA abandoned this rule, and the NBA used it.

There is also the rule that after a three-point shot is fouled, three free throws are also used by the CBA in the United States. In the first few years of the three-point line, fouls were only given for shooting fouls outside the three-point line, and the three-free throw rule was introduced into the NBA after it was adopted in the CBA.

In addition, in order to attract more fans, the CBA has also carried out some interesting promotions and promotions, such as in the 80s, the CBA in the United States had a "refund guarantee" mechanism, if fans left the game in the first quarter, they could refund their tickets. There is also a 100-mile season pass, which allows fans to watch any U.S. CBA game within a 100-mile radius of their hometown.

In the future, the NBA has a very common halftime activity, that is, to find a fan, shoot a ball in the midfield, if you can throw it in, you will get tens of thousands of dollars in bonuses, the NBA official will also dedicate a fan midcourt pitching 100 steps through Yang highlights every year, and this activity is the United States CBA that began in 1984, when the United States CBA held a "million dollar CBA super shot" activity, at halftime to select a fan to pitch at three-quarters of the field, If you put it in, you will get a prize of $1 million, but this event has been running for two years, and no fans have won the prize.

Chen Qiang did not panic when he learned the news of the establishment of the East Pennsylvania Basketball League. Chen Qiang still knows something about this league, because the abbreviation of this league is CBA, which is the same as the domestic professional league, so Chen Qiang in his previous life once specifically checked the relevant information of this league, and he knew that the American CBA would not become a climate in the end.

The East Pennsylvania Basketball League is not a concern, but Chen Qiang is more worried about whether the Basketball Association of America, or BAA, will be established in two months.

The BAA is the predecessor of the NBA, which was founded in June 1946, changed its name to the NBA three seasons later, and gradually developed into one of the four major sports leagues in the United States.

The historical BAA league Boston Celtics boss Walter Brown initiated the establishment, and now Walter Brown and his Boston Celtics have already been pulled into his camp by Chen Qiang, without Walter Brown's initiative, Chen Qiang feels that the BAA league should not be established.

Teams such as the Philadelphia Warriors, Fort Wayne Pistons, Rochester Royals, Washington Congress, Buffalo Bisons, Baltimore Bullets and other teams have all been BAA teams in history, and now they have all been poached by Chen Qiang, and it is said that the BAA league will no longer exist in this time and space.

……

It's rookie tryout season again. There are five times more rookies who signed up for the draft this year than last year!

Among the 10 million veterans, there are always some basketball masters, and basketball is very popular in the U.S. military, so many young veterans feel that they are very good at basketball, so they come to sign up for the NBA draft.

During World War II, young Americans basically chose to join the military if they were not admitted to college, and when high school graduates were discharged, they were just in their early 20s. A large number of soldiers were discharged at the same time, and the labor force in the market became abundant, which made it difficult for most veterans to find a suitable job in a short period of time. For veterans with excellent physical fitness, it is better to try to be an athlete than to find a job with no future.

As a result, 1946 was the year of the explosion of sports in the United States, not only basketball, but also other sports suddenly flooded with athletes, new sports leagues appeared, and the existing sports leagues were expanded.

At the rookie group tryout held at Madison Square Garden, Chen Qiang saw George McCann again, who had graduated from college and planned to participate in this year's NBA draft, so he came to participate in the rookie tryout. And Bob Curlan, the other protagonist of "Titans", really didn't plan to participate in the NBA draft, he still chose to work in an oil company.

Sitting in the audience, Chen Qiang said while observing the players on trial: "George McCann should be the champion this year, I don't know which team will be so lucky to take George McCann." ”

Edward Ireland, who was next to him, leaned towards Chen Qiang's side and said softly: "Actually, we have a one-third chance that we can take George McCann." ”

"We had a mediocre record last year, but we were the sixth pick, so how could we take George McCann, who is one of the top basketball stars in college, and all the teams are staring at him." Chen Qiang said.

"You're right, but there have been some surprises in recent years, when Dolph Shayce, a talented high school student at DeWitt Clinton Middle School, signed up for this year's draft, and it is said that New York University has promised him a scholarship, but he still chose to become a professional player." Edward Ireland spoke.

"Dolph Shayce!" Chen Qiang was shocked, he knew this name, the top interior player in the NBA in the fifties, averaged 25+14 data per game at his peak, and was later selected as one of the top 50 superstars in the NBA.

"Such a great man, how can he come to the NBA draft." Chen Qiang said secretly in his heart.

For the team, they want to be able to select quality players, but they want to select talented players, and talent is more important than strength. Although George McCann has proven his strength in college, George McCann only participated in the draft after graduating from college, and this year's George McCann is 22 years old, and his technical aspects have been finalized and his plasticity is not high.

And Dolph Shayce, who has just graduated from high school, is only 18 years old, and he is also known as a "genius high school student", which seems to outsiders to be simply full of talent attributes, like an unpolished piece of jade.

This is like the 2003 NBA draft, Wade, Bosh and Anthony, who won high numbers in college, won many honors, and proved their strength, but the candidate for the champion is undoubtedly James who ran as a high school student, even if he is selected 10,000 times, James will win the champion, because James has the strongest talent.

In the 40s, there was still a suspicion of big players, and teams were worried that a man like George McCann, who was nearly seven feet tall, would have a hard time adapting to the professional game.

"So, this year's top pick is likely to be the talented high school kid Dolph Shayce, but even then, we're a little far from George McCann in the draft, right? He will be picked in second or third place. Chen Qiang said.

"There were a lot of veterans coming into the draft this year, and there were a couple of great guys among them, and they did really well." Edward Ireland spoke.

"Can you compare to George McCann?" Chen Qiang asked a little puzzled.

"It's not a type, there's no way to compare, George McCann is a big guy like that, it's not every year. But those powerful veterans are really good, they are very tough to play balloons, and they don't need to bother to cultivate, they can be directly used as the team's timely combat power. Edward Ireland spoke.

Chen Qiang couldn't help but think of the future David Robinson, he participated in the NBA draft in 1987, when he made it clear that he would go to the Navy to serve for two years after the draft, but the Spurs who held the top pick thought that David Robinson was worth their wait, so the Spurs chose David Robinson, it turned out that the Spurs' choice was not wrong, and the two-year experience in the Navy did not delay David Robinson's growth, nor did it hinder David Robinson from becoming a top 50 NBA superstar.

Edward Ireland pointed to a young man about 1.85 meters tall on the field, and then introduced: "That guy is a veteran who just came back from the Pacific, 20 years old this year, Texas, he was an all-rounder in high school, he graduated from high school and joined the Navy two years ago, and he was going to go to college, but he heard that we had a draft, so he came to give it a try." This guy shoots accurately, and I asked him where he learned to shoot, and he told me that he learned how to shoot when he was in the Navy. ”

"Oh, what's his name?" Chen Qiang asked casually.

"Bill, as for what your last name is, let me think about it......" Edward Ireland said for a moment, but opened the small notebook in his hand, found the other man's name, and then replied: "His name is Bill Sharman!" ”

"Another 50 superstar! George McCann, Dolph Shayce, and Bill Sharman, how these 50 superstars are like cabbage. Chen Qiang sighed in his heart.

Bill Sharman is a core member of the Celtics dynasty and is known for his accurate shooting as an outside player. After retiring as a player, Bill Sharman served as head coach for the Warriors and Lakers, and helped the Lakers win a championship.

Historically, Bill Sharman joined the Navy after graduating from high school, participated in World War II, retired in 1946 and entered the University of Southern California, was selected by the Washington Congress in 1950, signed with the Boston Celtics after the dissolution of the Washington Congress, won four NBA championships, was selected to the All-Star team eight times, and was selected as one of the NBA's top 50 superstars.

Now that Chen Qiang has established the NBA early, Bill Sharman did not go to college after retiring from the Navy, but tried to participate in the NBA draft. Relying on accurate shooting, it instantly attracted the attention of many teams.

Edward Ireland went on to explain: "I've analysed the situation and not all teams want to get a big centre, and the teams ahead of us, there are two teams that are very likely to pick George McCann, so that's why I said we have a 1 in 3 chance of picking him up. ”

Chen Qiang nodded silently, and then commanded: "If we have the opportunity to choose George McCann, don't miss him!" ”

Basketball in the forties was still in the barbaric era, people did not realize the power of the super center, and the value of the center was not high, until George McCann redefined the center, everyone will know what a terrifying existence the super center is on the court!

"By the way, there's one more thing." Edward Ireland continued: "I have a friend who wants to come to the team as an assistant coach. ”

"What's the matter?" Chen Qiang opened his mouth to ask questions.

"His name is John Wooden, he's 36 years old, he lives in Indiana, he used to play in the NBL, and he won the NBL scoring title in 1933, when I was already a basketball promoter, and I met him at that time. John Wooden retired as a high school teacher and was also the school's basketball, baseball, and tennis coach. After the outbreak of war, he was drafted into the army, served for three years as a captain in the navy, and was discharged this year. He had planned to return to Indiana to continue as a teacher, but I heard that I was now the manager of the Knicks, so I came to try my luck and see if I could become an assistant coach of the team. Edward Ireland explained slowly.

Chen Qiang didn't have the heart to listen to Edward Ireland's introduction at all, and the name that Edward Ireland said still flashed in his mind: John Wooden!

"How did you bring this great god here!" Chen Qiang said secretly in his heart.

There have been many great coaches in the history of the NBA, such as "Cardinal" Auerbach, such as "Zen Master" Phil Jackson, such as "God Arithmetic Four" Riley...... But to ask who is the greatest coach in basketball history, many Americans will name John Wooden.

John Wooden led UCLA to 10 NCAA championships in 12 years, including a seven-game winning streak; He once created a terrifying 88-game winning streak; He has not tasted defeat in four consecutive seasons; As both a player and a coach, John Wooden has been inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame, an honor only three to have received; He has a win rate of over 80% in his coaching career; The John Wooden Award, which symbolizes the NCAA Player of the Year, is named after him.

There is no doubt that John Wooden is a true legend in the game of basketball!

Now, this legendary coach actually came to Chen Qiang to seek a job as an assistant coach, and Chen Qiang suddenly felt that this was really pie in the sky!

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