The first professional basketball league in the world. Centered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the league's teams stretched from New York City to Central New Jersey, through the Philadelphia area and down to Wilmington, Delaware. The league began operations with the 1898–99 season. The league was originally intended to consist of two separate geographic districts, one based in Philadelphia and the other in New York City. The New York district never got off the ground, however.

It changed its name to National Basketball League (NBL) in 1937 in an attempt to attract a larger audience.

After the 1948-49 season, its twelfth, it merged with the Basketball Association of America (BAA) to create the National Basketball Association (NBA). The successor league starting in 1950 was the National Professional Basketball League (NPBL). The remaining National Basketball League (NBL) teams reformed and changed the name to the National Industrial Basketball League (NIBL).

The National Industrial Basketball League (NIBL) was founded in 1947 to enable U.S. mill workers a chance to compete in basketball. The league was founded by the industrial teams (teams sponsored by the large companies and made up of their employees) belonging to the National Basketball League (NBL) that did not join the National Basketball Association when the NBL merged with the Basketball Association of America.

National Professional Basketball League (NPBL) was created in 1950 as a successor league to the National Basketball League (NBL). NBL that year merged with the Basketball Association of America (BAA) to create the National Basketball Association (NBA)

The league recognized the changing sponsorship of the teams away from the large industrial companies and renamed it the National AAU Basketball League (NABL)

The North American Basketball League began play in 1964–1965 with five charter franchises, some of whom had been members of the Midwest Professional Basketball League from 1961 to 1964. The Chicago Bombers, Grand Rapids Tackers, Muskegon Panthers, Pontiac Nationals and Twin City Sailors began play in 1964 as charter members.

The league folded after the 1967-1968 season

In 1966, the National Alliance of Basketball Leagues (NABL) organized the National Amateur Athletic Union Basketball League, with the league's champions playing at FIBA's Intercontinental Cup, as the North American Champions.

The North American Basketball League is not a continuation of the National Alliance of Basketball Leagues, but both leagues have the same abbreviation: NABL. It is a continuation of another NABL (North American Basketball League) which played in 1964-1968

The last year the league played was 2021 on a very limited season due to government restrictions because of covid pandemic. But then the league discontinued.

This is a professional league for 16-20 year old players who seek a spot in the NBA draft without college basketball.