The National Basketball Association is a professional basketball league in the United States and Canada that consists of 30 teams. The league is one of the major professional sports leagues in the world, and is the premier men’s basketball league. With over two million fans worldwide, the NBA is a popular and highly competitive sport to watch.
During its first decade, the NBA had seventeen teams and a wide variety of arenas. However, the league was plagued with financial troubles and rapidly declined in size. In the next six years, it dwindled to eight teams. During this time, financial problems plagued the league and NBL teams in smaller markets. Frank Zollner, the owner of the Fort Wayne Pistons, saved the league from financial ruin and kept the league’s teams together.
The NBA is a professional sport and has two conferences. Each conference contains 15 teams. A team can play up to five players at any given time. Players are not necessarily assigned positions based on their skill levels. They are given a position based on their roles on the court. Some players play in multiple positions while others play in one position at a time.
The NBA also focuses on revenue sharing. The league’s revenue sharing system is designed to address the inequity between teams in big and small markets. Teams pool their annual revenue and the high-grossing teams redistribute some of the money to lower-grossing teams. The league also has a salary cap that ensures that every team has at least 70% of the average revenue in their market.
Each team in the NBA plays 82 games during the regular season. Teams compete with each other in their conference and in the playoffs. There are eight playoff spots. Teams with the best record in their division are automatically given a playoff spot. Other teams can qualify for the postseason as wildcards. However, the stakes are much higher in postseason play than during the regular season.
Following the regular season, the NBA holds its annual All-Star Game. The top vote-getters in each conference are named captains of their respective conference, and the remaining 14 All-Stars are chosen by coaches. During this game, the sixth man of the year, the best player off the bench, and the best first-year player are chosen. In addition to these awards, the Game MVP is awarded to the team that puts on the best performance during the game.
In the early 1980s, the NBA was plagued with money-losing franchises and dwindling television ratings. However, under the leadership of David Stern, the league began to bounce back. Stern’s efforts helped make the league the international entertainment it is today. Stern used aggressive marketing techniques to promote star players like Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, and Magic Johnson. He also implemented salary limits for players and expanded the All-Star festivities.
The NBA has a rich history. Michael Jordan played in the league from 1984-1998. The Chicago Bulls broke up in 1998 and the Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs were the next two teams to win the title. The Lakers then won three straight titles in the 2000s with Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant. However, the Lakers lost in the 2004 Finals to the Detroit Pistons.