The next year, the Lakers were persuaded to switch to the Basketball Association of America (BAA), which had established itself in bigger cities than the NBL and played its games in larger arenas like the Boston Garden and New York City's Madison Square Garden (Thornley). ... The Lakers 1949 BAA championship is recognized as an official NBA championship since the BAA is considered to be the direct lineal ancestor of today's NBA, whereas their 1948 NBL championship is not acknowledged by the NBA. ... This move made the Lakers the NBA's first West Coast team. ... Kobe would emerg...

• Word Count: 4030
• Approx Pages: 16
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School