The NBA did not desegregate until the late 1950’s roughly 5 years after baseball had fully Integrated. Nat “Sweetwater” Clifton and Earl Lloyd were the first African Americans to be over Drafted in the second round by the Boston Celtics. Beforehand there were African American Teams, in the 1904 they were called black fives. They were branches outside of the YMCA, During the black fives era the teams emerged out of the cities: New York, Washington, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Cleveland. The teams were affiliated with churches, social clubs and newspapers. These teams were created and funded in many ways, because of the Jim crow Laws that prevented any other color other than whites to play on a college or pro level. African Americans