The NBA is one of the most popular sports leagues in the world, with a fan base that spans generations and borders across the globe. Founded in 1949, the NBA has grown from 17 teams to the 30 that compete today. The league is divided into Eastern and Western conferences, each with three divisions of five teams. All teams play each other twice in a season, and the top team in each conference advances to the playoffs. The Boston Celtics have won the most championships in the league’s history, with 18 titles.
The nba has evolved over the years to become the fastest-paced and most exciting major league in North America. The introduction of the shot clock in the 1970s, for example, increased the speed of the game and prompted teams to use more three-point shots. The league has also been the birthplace of many superstar players, from Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to Michael Jordan and LeBron James.
As the NBA has expanded, so too have its controversies. In the 1970s, the NBA drew attention to itself with stories of its players’ drug abuse and criminal behavior. The late author Richard Cobbs wrote that the NBA’s most valuable assets, its stars, came from “unstable families in inner-city ghettoes and seem incapable of handling their newfound wealth.” The league was a dangerous place, with players “so streetsmart they know every angle on getting women and drugs” and having “sophistication just below that of a hardened convict.”
Those days are long gone. The modern NBA media, which prides itself on being progressive and youthful, considers the views of its players far more than it did in the seventies. It’s not uncommon now for an NBA coach or player to express a political view on social media, and the league has responded in a variety of ways.
Whether that’s changing its rules to allow players to take time off for the NFL season or creating an in-season tournament for teams that miss out on the playoffs, the league is always seeking new ways to attract fans to its marathon 82-game schedule and make it easier for them to stay invested throughout the whole year.
The NBA took a step toward that goal last year, when it created a “Play-In” to give teams that finish between seventh and 10th in the regular season a chance to earn one of the final two playoff spots in each conference. The idea was to draw in casual fans who might otherwise wait until the postseason to tune in. It also prolongs the competitiveness of several teams that might otherwise tank for a better draft pick, thus keeping them engaged until the postseason begins. The format has proven wildly successful, and will likely be used again next season. But it’s still not enough to stop the steady flow of controversy in the NBA.