1948–49 Providence Steamrollers season

Draft

Main article: 1948 BAA draft

Roster

Regular season

Season standings

Game log

Awards and records

• Ken Sailors, All-NBA Second Team

Dispersal Draft

Originally, the Providence Steamrollers planned on continuing to play for another season like every other Basketball Association of America team had done at the time, as noted by the 1949 BAA draft showcasing the Steamrollers participating in the event, with them notably selecting Howie Shannon from Kansas State University as the official #1 pick of the final BAA draft ever done before it officially got rebranded as the NBA draft (even though he already played for them during this final season the Steamrollers would ever play in, the Steamrollers joined the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks as teams that would give up a draft pick in the 1949 BAA draft in order to get rookies to play during this final BAA season of play), as well as acquiring Carl Shaeffer from the University of Alabama, Ed Leede from Dartmouth College, Warren Perkins from Tulane University, Ray Corley from Georgetown University, Paul Courty from the University of Oklahoma, Bill Tanzler from the University of Florida, Bob Royer from Indiana State University, and Jack Theolan from DePaul University as the last selections they'd ever have in the third and final BAA draft that they would ever participate in. However, after the Basketball Association of America (BAA) and National Basketball League (NBL) officially merged together to become the National Basketball Association (NBA) on August 3, 1949, the newly formed NBA would purchase up the players from both of the BAA's defunct teams (the Indianapolis Jets and Providence Steamrollers) as a means of buying out both of the BAA's teams that didn't make it to the new merger into the NBA. For the Steamrollers' case, seven of their players would be bought out and sign up for the Boston Celtics in what would officially be considered the first ever NBA season, with Ernie Calverley, Ken Goodwin, Chick Halbert, Ed Leede, Les Pugh, Howie Shannon, and Brady Walker all being received by the Boston Celtics nine days later on August 12, 1949. Not only that, but Warren Perkins was slated to have been traded to the Tri-Cities Blackhawks and Bob Royer was slated to have been traded to the original Denver Nuggets NBL turned NBA team before the start of what can be considered the first proper NBA season.

References

References

1. [https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/PRO/1949.html 1948-49 Providence Steam Rollers]
2. Bradley, Robert D.. (2013). "The Basketball Draft Fact Book: A History of Professional Basketball's College Drafts". Scarecrow Press.
3. "1949 NBA Draft Recap".