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NBA at the top of its game
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November 1, 1996: 8:59 p.m. ET
Association has been around for fifty years, but the most recent are golden
From Correspondent Sean Callebs
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - It all began on November 1, 1946. The New York Knickerbockers played the Toronto Huskies in the debut game of the National Basketball Association.
The basket was the same height as it is today but, from a business perspective, it was a different game. (444K QuickTime movie)
The Knicks' top player earned $8,000 a season and there was a $60,000 salary cap on the entire team.
The game advanced in the next 30 years. Greats like Bob Cousy dazzled fans with his passing. Wilt Chamberlain was an unstoppable scorer. But the league struggled financially until the arrival of the Los Angeles Lakers' Magic Johnson and Larry Bird of the Boston Celtics.
An equally important player, though not on the court, has been NBA Commissioner David Stern, according to NBA hall of famer Julius Irving. (190K WAV) or (190K AIFF)
Nothing has been the same since. Attendance is up. NBC is currently paying $750 million for television rights over four years.
More money has meant astronomical salaries. The Los Angeles Lakers' Shaquille O'Neal has a seven-year contract worth $120 million and Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls will get $25 million for next season alone.
Louis Oppenheim, marketing analyst for Athletes and Artists, sees the NBA as a marketing miracle.
"They've created a demand for the product by making people look at the individual athlete and think this is a one-of-a-kind super player," he said.
"When you start with that, there becomes almost a movie star image of these guys and that's what has really taken and brought it to a new level."
So far for the NBA, success has been a slam dunk. 
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