The NBA is the most popular professional sports league in the world. There are also other leagues in Europe and Asia, but the NBA is regarded as the best and most successful. It has several international players, including LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Kevin Durant.
The league consists of twenty-six teams from the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The NBA is dominated by the Western Conference, which includes the Los Angeles Lakers, San Antonio Spurs, and Phoenix Suns. The Eastern Conference, on the other hand, features the Boston Celtics, New York Knicks, and Philadelphia 76ers.
Each team plays 82 games during the regular season, which begins in October and ends in April. A team’s record determines their playoff position and their home court in the postseason. The top eight teams in each Conference advance to the postseason, and other teams can enter as wildcards.
In the regular season, the teams play a series of games against each other in their conferences, which are made up of four divisions. Each division has a home and a road schedule that includes a total of 30 games against each other.
A team’s record is calculated by taking the team’s average number of points scored per game. If a team has the best record in its division, they are awarded the first seed. This means that their first series will have home-court advantage, even if they play against the second or third seeds in their division.
After the regular season, a Draft Lottery takes place. This is a competition to choose the players who will form the next team’s roster. The top 14 teams that did not qualify for the playoffs will participate in this competition.
The lottery is decided by ping-pong balls drawn at an audited event in the spring. The first three balls are drawn, determining the order of selection. These three picks are followed by the other teams in reverse order of their regular-season records.
Each player in the NBA must meet certain standards to be eligible for selection. These include height, weight, and years of experience.
In addition to these standards, a team is not allowed to have more than 37 people on their roster (including players, coaches, trainers, strength coaches, equipment managers, security and front-office personnel). If a player tests positive for drugs or alcohol, he will be immediately suspended from the NBA.
One of the most famous players in history is Michael Jordan. He is credited with bringing basketball around the world and has helped it grow.
Many other players are also regarded as legends in the NBA. These include Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal, and LeBron James.
The NBA is a highly competitive and difficult league to win. This is partly due to the fact that it has a very detailed set of rules. However, the league is still a fair competition, and most games are played without any problems. There have been a few cases where the games and series have been “rigged” in some way, but for the most part, the NBA is fairly fair.