NBA basketball teams compete in one of the world’s most competitive professional sports leagues. The league has a strong global presence with its games and shows broadcast in more than 200 countries and territories in 40 languages. The NBA also has a commitment to social responsibility through the NBA Cares program, which works with internationally recognized youth-serving organizations to support education and health-related causes.
There are 30 teams in the NBA, divided into two conferences of 15 each. The regular season consists of 82 games, with each team playing three or four of the other 29 teams in their conference and five of the other 15 intraconference division rivals (56 total games). The All-Star Game is played between the halfway point of the first half of the regular season and the beginning of the second half. The NBA Finals, a best-of-seven series between the winners of each conference, is held annually in June. The winning team receives the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy and each player and coach on that team gets a championship ring.
The NBA has a unique roster construction system that limits the amount of money teams can spend on player salaries, called a salary cap. This helps maintain a competitive balance in the league and keeps the wealthiest teams from dominating the competition. The NBA is also one of the few professional sports leagues that has a draft, in which new players are selected by lottery.
Basketball is a fast-paced sport. There’s a 24
From the beginning, NBA basketball has been a place for innovation and pioneering breakthroughs. It was the first major pro league to integrate, with African American players joining several teams in 1950. NBA teams have also shaped the nation’s culture through their cities and states of origin: the Brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia 76ers in New York, the Chicago Bulls in Illinois, the San Antonio Spurs in Texas, and the Los Angeles Lakers in California.
The NBA is known for its great players and storied rivalries, personal sagas and team dynasties. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird became iconic figures during the 1980s, while Michael Jordan and LeBron James revolutionized the league in the 2000s, leading their teams to six titles each.
Each season, the top eight teams in each conference reach the playoffs. They are seeded based on their record, with the number 1 seed playing the eighth-seeded team in the first round, and so on. The top two seeds from each conference advance to the Finals, which are a best-of-seven series that alternate between the home and away team. The final series pits the winner of the Eastern Conference against the winner of the Western Conference.