premise: The New York Knicks dissolved the National Basketball Association (NBA).
hypothesis: New York Knicks . The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Association ( NBA ) as a member of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference . The team , established by Ned Irish in 1946 , was one of the founding members of the Basketball Association of America ( BAA ) , which became the NBA after merging with the rival National Basketball League ( NBL ) in 1949 .