nba is the National Basketball Association, the world’s highest level of competitive basketball for men. The league was founded in 1946 and has its headquarters in New York City.
The NBA has 30 teams, divided into two conferences of five teams each. Teams play each other twice a year, in regular season games and playoffs. The league also holds a number of special events, such as the All-Star Game and the Finals.
In the early days of the NBA, legendary players like Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell became household names. The modern game took shape in the late 1950s, when the league introduced the 24-second shot clock, which increased the pace of play and fan interest.
Since then, the NBA has continued to develop into a global sport, fueled by superstar talent such as Michael Jordan and LeBron James. In the 2010-11 season, James and his teammates Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade formed the Big Three, which went on to win four straight championships before losing in a rematch with Dirk Nowitzki’s Dallas Mavericks in 2014.
Each team is permitted up to six timeouts during regular play. If a team uses more than that amount, they will be charged with a technical foul.
A player is credited with an assist if their pass leads directly to a made basket by one of their teammates. Assists are also known as dimes, dishes, or backdoor cuts. A player is usually credited with a double-double if they have accumulated double digit numbers in two different statistical categories, such as points and rebounds.
There is a brief pause in the NBA schedule each February for the All-Star Game, which features the top players in the league. There are also a number of other events held during All-Star Weekend, including the Three-Point Contest and the Skills course. In addition, a select number of players participate in the All-Star Slam Dunk Contest.
The NBA playoffs consist of a series of best-of-seven games to determine the champion. The top eight teams from each conference advance to the playoffs, where they are seeded accordingly. The first round pits the No. 1 seed from each conference against the No. 8 seed from the other conference, and so on. The winner of the final round, a best-of-seven series between the victors of each conference, is crowned the NBA champion and awarded the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy.
The NBA is the largest men’s professional basketball league in North America and the world, and is based in New York City, with its international offices located in Atlanta, Georgia. The league was formed in 1946 as the Basketball Association of America (BAA). The NBA is governed by the Board of Governors, which is composed of representatives from each member team. The NBA is considered an association under state law, meaning that it is a legal entity that owes fiduciary duties to its members and can be sued for breach of those duties.