It was launched in response to the tremendous upsurge in interest in basketball in the era immediately following World War II and based on the success of the Chicago Gears and its star center, George Mikan.

[1] Today the league is best known for George Mikan, the star center for the Chicago Gears.

After the PBLA's collapse, rights to its players were distributed among NBL teams via a dispersal draft.

The first pick belonged to the new Minneapolis Lakers, the successor to the Detroit Gems, which had finished the previous season 4–40.

The Lakers selected Mikan with the first pick, launching what would become the first dynasty in the NBA's history.