Eastern Division
LeagueNational Basketball Association
SportBasketball
Inaugural season1946–47 BAA season
Ceased1969–70 NBA season
Replaced byEastern Conference
Last
champion(s)		New York Knicks (3rd title) (1970)
Most titlesBoston Celtics (9 titles)

The Eastern Division was a division in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and its forerunner, the Basketball Association of America (BAA). The division was created at the start of the 1946–47 BAA season,[1] when the league was created, and was then kept as one of the divisions when BAA merged with the National Basketball League (NBL) to create the NBA on August 3, 1949.[2] The division existed until the 1970–71 NBA season when the NBA expanded from 14 to 17 teams and realigned into the Eastern and Western conferences with two divisions each.[3]

Teams

TeamCityYearFromYearToCurrent division
JoinedLeft
Baltimore Bullets (original)Baltimore, Maryland1948Western Division1954Folded—
Baltimore Bullets (now the Washington Wizards)Baltimore, Maryland1966Western Division1970Central DivisionSoutheast Division
Boston CelticsBoston, Massachusetts1946§1970Atlantic DivisionAtlantic Division
Cincinnati Royals (now the Sacramento Kings)Cincinnati, Ohio1962Western Division1970Central DivisionPacific Division
Detroit PistonsDetroit, Michigan1967Western Division1970Midwest DivisionCentral Division
Milwaukee BucksMilwaukee, Wisconsin1968—†1970Midwest DivisionCentral Division
New York KnicksNew York City, New York1946§1970Atlantic DivisionAtlantic Division
Syracuse Nationals (1949–1963)
Philadelphia 76ers (1963–present)		Syracuse, New York
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania		1949—*1970Atlantic DivisionAtlantic Division
Philadelphia Warriors (now the Golden State Warriors)Philadelphia, Pennsylvania1946§1962Western DivisionPacific Division
Providence SteamrollersProvidence, Rhode Island1946§1949Folded—
Toronto HuskiesToronto, Ontario1946§1947Folded—
Washington CapitolsWashington, D.C.1946
1948		§1947
1951		Western Division
Folded		—
Notes
  • § founding BAA team
  • † denotes an expansion team.
  • * denotes a team that merged from the National Basketball League (NBL)

Team timeline

Milwaukee BucksDetroit PistonsBaltimore Bullets (1963–1973)Cincinnati RoyalsSyracuse NationalsBaltimore Bullets (1944–1954)Washington CapitolsToronto HuskiesProvidence SteamrollersPhiladelphia WarriorsNew York KnicksBoston Celtics

Division champions

^ Had or tied for the best regular season record for that season
SeasonTeamRecordPlayoffs result
1946–47Washington Capitols^ 49–11 (.817)Lost Semifinals
1947–48Philadelphia Warriors 27–21 (.563)Lost BAA Finals
1948–49Washington Capitols 38–22 (.633)Lost BAA Finals
1949–50Syracuse Nationals^ 51–13 (.797)Lost NBA Finals
1950–51Philadelphia Warriors 40–26 (.606)Lost Division semifinals
1951–52Syracuse Nationals 40–26 (.606)Lost Division finals
1952–53New York Knicks 47–23 (.671)Lost NBA Finals
1953–54New York Knicks 47–23 (.671)Lost Division semifinals (round-robin)
1954–55Syracuse Nationals^ 43–29 (.597)Lost Division finals
1955–56Philadelphia Warriors^ 45–27 (.625)Won NBA Finals
1956–57Boston Celtics^ 44–28 (.611)Won NBA Finals
1957–58Boston Celtics^ 49–23 (.681)Lost NBA Finals
1958–59Boston Celtics^ 52–20 (.722)Won NBA Finals
1959–60Boston Celtics^ 59–16 (.787)Won NBA Finals
1960–61Boston Celtics^ 57–22 (.722)Won NBA Finals
1961–62Boston Celtics^ 60–20 (.750)Won NBA Finals
1962–63Boston Celtics^ 58–22 (.725)Won NBA Finals
1963–64Boston Celtics^ 59–21 (.738)Won NBA Finals
1964–65Boston Celtics^ 62–18 (.775)Won NBA Finals
1965–66Philadelphia 76ers^ 55–25 (.688)Lost Division finals
1966–67Philadelphia 76ers^ 68–13 (.840)Won NBA Finals
1967–68Philadelphia 76ers^ 62–20 (.756)Lost Division finals
1968–69Baltimore Bullets^ 57–25 (.695)Lost Division semifinals
1969–70New York Knicks^ 60–22 (.732)Won NBA Finals

Titles by team

TeamTitlesSeason(s) won
Boston Celtics91956–57, 1957–58, 1958–59, 1959–60, 1960–61, 1961–62, 1962–63, 1963–64, 1964–65
Syracuse Nationals/Philadelphia 76ers61949–50, 1951–52, 1954–55, 1965–66, 1966–67, 1967–68
Philadelphia Warriors (now the Golden State Warriors)31947–48, 1950–51, 1955–56
New York Knicks31952–53, 1953–54, 1969–70
Washington Capitols21946–47, 1948–49
Baltimore Bullets (now the Washington Wizards)11968–69

Season results

^ Denotes team that won the BAA/NBA championships
+ Denotes team that lost the BAA/NBA Finals
* Denotes team that qualified for the BAA/NBA playoffs
SeasonTeam (record)
1st2nd3rd4th5th6th7th
  • 1946: the Eastern Division was formed with six inaugural members.
1946–47Washington* (49–11)Philadelphia^ (35–25)New York* (33–27)Providence (28–32)Boston (22–38)Toronto (22–38)
1947–48Philadelphia+ (27–21)New York* (26–22)Boston* (20–28)Providence (6–42)
  • 1948: the Washington Capitols re-joined the division, while the Baltimore Bullets joined from the Western Division.
1948–49Washington+ (38–22)New York* (32–28)Baltimore* (29–31)Philadelphia* (28–32)Boston (25–35)Providence (12–48)
1949–50Syracuse+ (51–13)New York* (40–28)Washington* (32–36)Philadelphia* (26–42)Baltimore (25–43)Boston (22–46)
1950–51Philadelphia* (40–26)Boston* (39–30)New York+ (36–30)Syracuse* (32–34)Baltimore (24–42)Washington (10–25)
  • 1951: the Washington Capitols folded midway through the 1950–51 season.
1951–52Syracuse* (40–26)Boston* (39–27)New York+ (37–29)Philadelphia* (33–33)Baltimore (20–46)
1952–53New York+ (47–23)Syracuse* (47–24)Boston* (46–25)Baltimore* (16–54)Philadelphia (12–57)
1953–54New York* (47–23)Boston* (42–30)Syracuse+ (42–30)Philadelphia (29–43)Baltimore (16–56)
  • 1954: the Baltimore Bullets folded during the 1954–55 season.
1954–55Syracuse^ (43–29)New York* (38–34)Boston* (36–36)Philadelphia (33–39)
1955–56Philadelphia^ (45–27)Boston* (39–33)Syracuse* (35–37)New York (35–37)
1956–57Boston^ (44–28)Syracuse* (38–34)Philadelphia* (37–35)New York (36–36)
1957–58Boston+ (49–23)Syracuse* (41–31)Philadelphia* (37–35)New York (35–37)
1958–59Boston^ (52–20)New York* (40–32)Syracuse* (35–37)Philadelphia (32–40)
1959–60Boston^ (59–16)Philadelphia* (49–26)Syracuse* (45–30)New York (27–48)
1960–61Boston^ (57–22)Philadelphia* (46–33)Syracuse* (38–41)New York (21–58)
1961–62Boston^ (60–20)Philadelphia* (49–31)Syracuse* (41–39)New York (29–51)
1962–63Boston^ (58–22)Syracuse* (48–32)Cincinnati* (42–38)New York (21–59)
1963–64Boston^ (59–21)Cincinnati* (55–25)Philadelphia* (34–46)New York (22–58)
1964–65Boston^ (62–18)Cincinnati* (48–32)Philadelphia* (40–40)New York (31–49)
1965–66Philadelphia* (55–25)Boston^ (54–26)Cincinnati* (45–35)New York (30–50)
1966–67Philadelphia^ (68–13)Boston* (60–21)Cincinnati* (39–42)New York* (36–45)Baltimore (20–61)
1967–68Philadelphia* (62–20)Boston^ (54–28)New York* (43–39)Detroit* (40–42)Cincinnati (39–43)Baltimore (36–46)
1968–69Baltimore* (57–25)Philadelphia* (55–27)New York* (54–28)Boston^ (48–34)Cincinnati (41–41)Detroit (32–50)Milwaukee (27–55)
1969–70New York^ (60–22)Milwaukee* (56–26)Baltimore* (50–32)Philadelphia* (42–40)Cincinnati (36–46)Boston (34–48)Detroit (31–51)

References

  1. ↑ Goldaper, Sam. "The First Game". NBA.com. Archived from the original on May 3, 2019. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
  2. ↑ "NBA is born". History.com. November 16, 2009. Archived from the original on November 11, 2020. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
  3. ↑ "N.B.A. Is Realigned Into Four Divisions". The New York Times. April 24, 1970. Archived from the original on December 12, 2020. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
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