On August 3, 1949, the National Basketball Association (NBA) was born after a merger of the Basketball Association of America and the National Basketball League, encompassing 17 organizations that ranged geographically from Boston to Denver. Two reigning champions-the George Mikan-led Minneapolis Lakers and the small-town Anderson Packers-were vying for NBA supremacy, with teams from Syracuse, Rochester, New York, Chicago, and Indianapolis hoping to take both teams down. This history illuminates the icy executive relations in the relentless march toward integration, as well as other elements that characterized the new organization. From Tony Lavelli's halftime accordion and Chicago Stags owner John Sbarbaro's Capone-era mob ties to tales of antisemitism, systemic racism, and prisoners of war, the book provides insight into pro basketball in the post-World War If period.