If you’re an avid basketball fan, you know the NBA has a rich history of superstar players. From Magic Johnson and Larry Bird to Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan, some of the sport’s most memorable figures have left an indelible mark on the game. Others, like LeBron James and Stephen Curry, have completely revolutionized the NBA.
The league, which has 30 teams, is divided into two 15-team conferences: the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference. The current divisional alignment was introduced in the 2004-05 season. Each team plays its rivals in its conference twice, plus one cross-conference match-up. There is also a regular-season tournament and the NBA Finals.
Each year, teams are allowed to hire new talent via the NBA Draft or by signing Free Agents. The NBA Draft is a once-a-year event where representatives from all 30 teams convene to choose their preferred rookie talents. Sometimes, teams choose Draftees with the intention of keeping them long-term, while others may steal them from competitors in order to make a trade later on.
During the regular season, each NBA team plays each other a set number of times (usually 82) and tracks their stats. The top 8 teams in each conference qualify for the Playoffs. Teams are ranked according to their performance during the regular season, with the best teams earning the top seeds in each conference and the worst teams securing the bottom seeds. The Playoffs are a best-of-seven series, with the first team to win four games moving on to the next round.
In addition to the regular season, there is an NBA In-Season Tournament that determines the 7th and 8th seed in each conference. This tournament adds intrigue to the regular season, which can often feel monotonous and tedious—especially when a star player is sitting out more nights than usual.
There are a variety of different ways to keep up with the NBA, including through its official website and social media channels. The NBA’s YouTube channel, for example, has over three million subscribers. It features a wide range of video content, from highlights to interviews to featurettes, as well as daily news and updates.
NBA history
The NBA is a 77-year-old organization born from innovation. In June 1946, Boston Garden owner Walter Brown realized that major ice hockey arenas were mostly empty on most nights and could be used for basketball instead. He founded the Basketball Association of America, which in 1949 merged with the National Basketball League to form the National Basketball Association.
The NBA is the world’s largest sports league and has a wide global reach. Its members are based in more than 50 countries and territories, and the NBA’s teams compete in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Germany, Australia, France, Japan, and Russia. The NBA has a unique legal structure that makes it an “association of teams” under state organization law, which implies that the member team-owners owe fiduciary duties to each other and can be sued for breaching those duties.