The Cleveland Rebels were a basketball team in the Basketball Association of America (BAA), a forerunner of the modern National Basketball Association (NBA), based in Cleveland .
5-645: The Rebels were an inaugural franchise in the BAA's first season . In their only season , the team went 30–30, finishing 3rd in the Western Division and losing in the first round of the playoffs, two games to one to the New York Knickerbockers , in its only season before going out of business on June 9, 1947. The Rebels included notable early pro stars Big Ed Sadowski and Kenny Sailors . Cleveland would not have another team in what would become
10-801: A 60-game schedule. The postseason tournament (the 1947 BAA Playoffs ) at its conclusion, ended with the Philadelphia Warriors becoming the first BAA Champion, beating the Chicago Stags 4 games to 1 in the BAA Finals . Following its third, the 1948–49 season, the BAA and National Basketball League merged to create the National Basketball Association or NBA. The NBA recognizes the three BAA seasons as part of its own history, sometimes without comment, so
15-567: The Toronto Huskies also folded following the season, making a total of four teams folding before the BAA's second season. There were no byes. Western and Eastern champions Chicago and Washington immediately played a long semifinal series with Washington having home-court advantage. Chicago won the sixth game in Washington one day before Philadelphia concluded its two short series with other runners-up. Note: Prior to
20-680: The 1946–47 BAA season is sometimes considered the first NBA season. By 1951, only three original BAA teams were still in the NBA: the Boston Celtics , New York Knicks and Philadelphia Warriors (now in San Francisco as the Golden State Warriors ). All members of the inaugural Western Division had folded by 1950, with three of them lasting one season ( Detroit Falcons , Pittsburgh Ironmen , Cleveland Rebels ). In addition,
25-692: The NBA until the Cavaliers joined the league in 1970 . Note: W = wins, L = losses, % = win–loss % The following players are the all-time roster of the Cleveland Rebels. The following two coaches are the only two coaches of the Cleveland Rebels. 1946%E2%80%9347 BAA season The 1946–47 BAA season was the inaugural season of the Basketball Association of America . The league launched with 11 teams playing
#213786