On November 1, 1946, the New York Knicks beat the Toronto Huskies (better name than Raptors) in the first-ever game in what would become the NBA. Ossie Schectman scored the first basket, briefly making him the top scorer in professional basketball history. You can read it all in his profile.

His profile also mentions that his Knicks team was full of Jews... but it doesn't tell us what happened to those Jews. Schectman, for instance, only lasted a year with the Knicks.

Ralph Kaplowitz didn't even get that, as he was sold mid-year to Philadelphia. Ditto Nat Militzok/Toronto and Hank Rosenstein/Providence (Rhode Island had an NBA team?). Leading scorer Sidney "Sonny" Hertzberg was traded four games into his second season. Leo Gottlieb lasted the longest, but after two years, all of Knick Jews were gone. Why?

The answer is quite simple: antisemitism. New York's crowd started to turn on their own Jewish players. Yes, this is New York we are talking about, the home of the largest Jewish population outside of then-non-existent Israel. We're as surprised as you are.

After the Knicks jettisoned all their Jews, they have spent the rest of their history as also-rans. It took a Jewish coach, Red Holzman, to bring the club two titles in the early 1970s. They haven't won anything since.

Somewhat ironic, don't you think?