The National Basketball Association is a professional basketball league based in the United States and Canada. It features 30 teams. It is the premier league for men’s basketball in the world. Teams from all over the country compete for a chance to be called the league’s champion. Here are some facts about the NBA.
The NBA started in 1946 with 11 teams. Its size has increased over time and today the league has 30 teams, including one in Canada. The NBA is a business, and as a result, each team receives a share of its income. This revenue is a percentage of the salary cap that each team earns.
Each year, the NBA makes around $6 billion. Of that money, about $3 billion goes directly to the players. Since there are 491 NBA players, this means that every player receives an average salary of $3 billion. This is about 51% of the total revenue generated by the NBA. This figure is staggering.
The NBA was originally called the Basketball Association of America, but later changed its name to the NBA. This league merged with the National Basketball League in 1949, and in 1967, the NBA and ABA competed for basketball fans. They later merged. The NBA has 30 teams today. The playoffs will feature two games each against teams from each conference.
In the postseason, the eight and seventh seeds must win at least one of their first two games to advance to the next round. The teams that finish ninth and tenth must win two consecutive games. Then, the rest of the postseason will proceed as usual. The 2021-22 NBA season will begin on 10/19/21 and will conclude on 4/10/22. There will be a Play-In tournament in 2020, which determines the 7th and eighth seeds of the playoffs.
Training camps for the NBA start in late September. These camps allow the coaching staff to evaluate players and scout their strengths and weaknesses. Teams then make a 12-man active roster and a three-man inactive list. They may also assign players with less than two years of experience to the NBA G League. Preseason exhibition games take place in non-NBA cities, leading up to the regular season in late October.
The league has seen some great players emerge over the years. LeBron James, Chris Bosh, and Dwyane Wade led the Miami Heat to four straight Finals appearances. These players became known as the “Big Three” and won championships during this period. Despite the success of these teams, the NBA struggled to sign African American players.
The NBA’s media rights are increasingly lucrative. The league recently agreed to a nine-year, $24 billion media rights deal with Turner Sports and ESPN. This deal will cost the league $2.6 billion dollars annually and will cover broadcast rights until the 2024-25 season.