NBA Historic Timeline By D'Juantre Johnson Period: Mar 18, 1950 to Mar 21, 1951 1st African American player in NBA Apr 12, 1954 Minneapolis Lakers win 5th title in 6yrs. Apr 13, 1954 Boston Celtics win their 1st championship Apr 9, 1959 Celtics win 1959 title Apr 2, 1962 Wilt Chamberlain scores 100 points in a single game Sep 7, 1963 J. Walter Kennedy named president of the NBA May 7, 1972 Los Angeles Lakers defeat NYK in 1972 NBA Finals Oct 12, 1978 3 point field goal introduced Nov 7, 1978 Larry Bird & Magic Johnson start their rookie seasons Oct 12, 1979 Chris Ford scores NBA first 3 Point Field-Goal