The nba is the premier professional basketball league in North America. It features the best players, extraordinary play, and awe-inspiring spectacles. It is also an immensely popular sport worldwide. The NBA has grown from a small niche sports league to one of the most popular in the world, thanks to players like Larry Bird and Magic Johnson who revolutionised the game and brought it into the mainstream.
The first step to becoming a basketball expert is to understand the basics of the game. The game is played between two teams of five players each, including two guards, two forwards and a center. During the game, teams can substitute players in and out of the lineup, to allow for fresh legs and strategic adjustments. The goal is to score more points than the other team. Each quarter of a game lasts 12 minutes, and if there is no winner after four quarters, the game goes to overtime. The game is won by the team with the most points at the end of overtime.
During the regular season, each team plays every other team in the conference twice, once at home and once away. The top eight teams in each conference qualify for the playoffs, and then the top four in each conference advance to the conference finals, a best-of-seven series. The team that wins the conference finals becomes champion of the entire league, and receives the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy. Each player and major contributor on the winning team receives a championship ring.
Each year, the league hosts a draft in which teams compete to acquire rookie talent. It is the main way that NBA teams can hire new players (the other ways are through the G League and signing Free Agents). On draft night, each team takes turns choosing Draftees in their designated order, and they may choose to keep a player they have already selected or steal a talented player from a competitor.
In addition, there is a salary cap that limits the amount a team can spend on its roster each year. Any team that exceeds the cap is subject to a fine. The NBA also has a system of player movement, which allows the best players to switch teams to pursue the most lucrative contracts.
The league also uses a jump ball to determine possession at the beginning of each period and at certain stoppages in play. The loser of the jump ball must pass the ball to a teammate within 24 seconds, known as the shot clock, or give up possession. Overt deception by a defender, such as falling to the ground to exaggerate contact, is called flopping and is penalised at all levels of the game. Teams can use a coaches’ challenge to review in-game calls, but they forfeit their timeout if the challenge is unsuccessful. In addition, the NBA can punish a team for sitting its stars for rest purposes during nationally televised games.