The NBA is one of the most popular sports leagues in the entire world. It’s also extremely popular in the United States, in particular in the Black community.
According to a 2023 study, 70.4 percent of NBA players were African American. This might not come as much of a surprise to many fans today. But what if I told you there was a time when no people of color were allowed to play in the league?
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The NBA’s segregated history
The NBA officially became a league on August 3, 1949. This was when the merger of the Basketball Association of America (BAA) and the National Basketball League (NBL) occurred.
The NBA still uses the history of the BAA, so they see the league as being founded on June 6, 1946. At the time, the NBA was like the rest of the country: segregation ran wild.
The sports world was partially ready and shocked when Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier for baseball on April 15, 1947. Did you know that just three months after Robinson’s historic debut, the NBA made its own racial history?
The New York Knicks selected Wataru “Wat” Misaka in the 1947 draft, which was held on July 1. Misaka was of Japanese descent, and fans noticed.
They booed him and called him all sorts of ignorant names. This included his own home team fans, by the way. Misaka only played in three games and averaged 2.3 points on 23.1% shooting.
Misaka was cut mid-season but did not attribute this to racism. He believed the Knicks simply had too many guards on the roster and he drew the short straw.
Nonetheless, Misaka was out of the league, and it became completely white once again. It would stay this way until April 25, 1950.
The NBA pioneers: Chuck Cooper, Earl Lloyd, Nat Clifton
The 1950 NBA Draft would change the league forever. While teams were behind the scenes stating who they planned to select, Boston Celtics owner Walter Brown said he wanted to draft Chuck Cooper, and this caused negative reactions.
Other team officials told Brown he shouldn’t draft Cooper since he was Black. This prompted a famous response from the Celtics owner:
“I don’t give a damn if he’s striped or plaid or polka-dot, Boston takes Charles Cooper of Duquesne!”
Cooper became the first Black player selected in an NBA Draft. He was selected 13th overall.
This wouldn’t be the last of history being made on April 25, 1950. Earl Lloyd was selected in the draft by the Washington Capitols, who chose him with the 101st overall pick.
Lloyd then made history on October 31, 1950, when he became the first African American to play in an official NBA game. Lloyd scored six points while grabbing 10 rebounds in the game.
Cooper and Lloyd greatly helped push equality into the NBA, but they weren’t the only ones. Nathaniel “Sweetwater” Clifton, a Harlem Globetrotter star, made history by becoming the first African American player to sign an NBA contract and play for a team on May 24, 1950.
There has been some controversy over Clifton being the first or second Black player to sign an NBA contract. Some sources claim he was, others give it to lesser-known Harold Hunter.
By checking the facts, Hunter appears to be the first to sign a contract, which was a training camp contract. The problem was Hunter was cut before playing a game or actually making the team.
Clifton signed with the New York Knicks, made the team, and played in the league. Hence, why Clifton is usually credited with being the first.
There is another first for Clifton that’s undisputed: becoming the first African American to play in an NBA Finals.
So, as we fans get ready for more exciting playoff basketball tonight, let’s stop to remember the pioneers of the league. Without them, the NBA wouldn’t be what it has become today.
