Continental Basketball Association

The Continental Basketball Association is the grand daddy of pro hoops worldwide. The CBA, founded in 1946, is the oldest professional basketball league in the world, predating the NBA by just a few months. Considered minor league play, the CBA fields ten teams, located primarily in the Midwestern US with names like the Albany (New York) Patroons, Atlanta Krunk, and the Minot (North Dakota) Skyrockets. Most CBA players try to use the league as a launching pad into the NBA, about 600 have succeeded. It also serves as the training ground for officials and coaches who want to make the jump to the big leagues.

The CBA is the "World's Oldest League," dating its origins back to April 23, 1946, when it was called the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League (1946-47). The league began with six franchises - five in Pennsylvania (Wilkes-Barre, Hazleton, Allentown, Lancaster and Reading) and a sixth team in New York (Binghamton, who later moved in mid-season to Pottsville, Pa.). In 1948, it was renamed the Eastern Professional Basketball League. Over the years, it would later add franchises in several other Pennsylvania cities, including Williamsport, Scranton and Sunbury, as well as place teams in New Jersey (Trenton, Camden, Asbury Park), Connecticut (New Haven, Hartford, Bridgeport), Delaware (Wilmington) and Massachusetts (Springfield).