The NBA is the world’s premier professional basketball league with a rich tradition of game-changing plays, storied rivalries, personal sagas and team dynasties. The NBA brings together fans and communities around the globe through the common bond of basketball, while promoting key social issues such as education, community development and health and wellness.
The season begins with training camps in late September, during which teams evaluate their players (especially rookies), scout other teams’ rosters and prepare for the regular season. Each team has a 12-man active roster and a 3-man inactive list that they will begin the season with. The league also conducts a series of preseason games, with most taking place outside the United States.
Each of the league’s 30 teams play 82 games each regular season, including 56 games against other teams in their own conference (20 at home and 20 on the road) and 24 against other conferences (18 at home and 12 on the road). The All-Star break is scheduled for Feb. 17-22, 2023 and the NBA Finals are played in June.
In addition to the NBA’s prestigious global TV and radio broadcast rights, the NBA is proud of its burgeoning digital media business, which includes its award-winning app, digital studios and OTT platforms. NBA Digital is one of the largest and most engaged sports media brands in the world, with more than 2.3 billion likes and followers across all of its team and player social channels.
When the NBA introduced the 24-second shot clock in 1954, the idea was to encourage shooting and discourage stalling by forcing teams to make a decision on whether to shoot or pass the ball. The rule proved to be a success and has been in use ever since.
A key component of the NBA’s mission is its community outreach program, NBA Cares. The league’s global social responsibility platform partners with renowned community-based organizations to address a variety of topics, including education, youth and family development, community outreach and health and wellness.
In addition, the NBA supports the efforts of its international teams to connect with fans and the community through local events and community programs. The NBA and its teams have donated more than $225 million through the program to date.
The WNBA’s eight-year CBA, signed in 2020, charts an innovative new course for the league and its female players, with increased compensation, improved player experience and enhanced career development opportunities. In addition to founding Changemaker Deloitte, NIKE and AT&T are inaugural NBA partners supporting this vision for the future of women’s pro sports.
Each spring, the 14 teams that did not qualify for the playoffs enter a lottery — composed of ping-pong balls drawn in an audited event — to determine their draft order. The first three ping-pong balls drawn decide the top three picks. The remaining picks are allocated in reverse order of regular-season finish. Teams can move up or down in the draft order with trades.