Before the 1948-49 season began the Minneapolis Lakers, Rochester Royals, Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons lndianapolis and Indianapolls Kautskys (later renamed the Jets) jumped to the Basketball Association of America. The BAA was already an eight-team league that included franchises in such major markets as New York, Boston, Philadlphia and Chicago. The addition of the four NBL teams now gave the league the big-name play it needed.
The biggest name of all was Mikan, and fans flocked to see him in every BAA city. When the Lakers arrived in New York to face the KKnicderbockers, the marquee at Madison Square Garden read "George Mikan vs. Knicks."
Rochester adn Minneapolis dueled for the top spot in the BAA's western Divison, but the Royals edged out the Lakers by one game, even though the tall, broad-shouldered, and extremely agile Mikan played wiht unstoppable force. His 28.3 points per game led the league and accounted for one-third of the Laker's point production.
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