The Basketball Association of America (BAA) was a professional basketball league in North America, founded in 1946. The league merged with the National Basketball League (NBL) in 1949, forming the National Basketball Association (NBA), which became one of the four major North American professional sports leagues, which include Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Football League (NFL), and the National Hockey League (NHL). The BAA played three seasons with a total of 16 teams participating. The Philadelphia Warriors won the inaugural BAA championship in 1947, followed by the Baltimore Bullets and the Minneapolis Lakers in 1948 and 1949 respectively. Six teams from the BAA are still active in the NBA as of the 2009 10 season