The NBA, or National Basketball Association, has been a dominant force in basketball for decades. During the 1980s, it was the golden age of the league. It was a time of great tension and struggles. The Lakers and Celtics were dominating the court and a number of other teams were in turmoil. Some of the greatest stars of the decade included Elvin Hayes, Moses Malone, Artis Gilmore, and Pete Maravich.
In the 1990s, the Bulls had six NBA championships, while the Lakers had three. In the 2000s, the Lakers began to dominate once again. Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal won three titles in a row. They also broke up the Chicago Bulls’ championship roster in the summer of 1998.
The league has also faced EuroLeague teams in exhibition matches. These matches are contested every year. Currently, the league consists of thirty teams and plays in the Eastern and Western conferences. The league has a shot clock that lasts twenty-four seconds. If a team fails to score a field goal within that amount of time, play is stopped.
The NBA started out as a way for NHL owners to make money when they weren’t playing. It later merged with the National Basketball League. At the time of the merger, the NBA had seventeen franchises. It then grew to fourteen teams from 1966 to 1968. In 1988, it added 11 new teams.
One of the biggest changes in the NBA during this period was the addition of a second conference. Each team plays in either the East or West, with two games against each of the other two teams in each conference. They also play a home and road game each season. This is known as the intraconference schedule.
The Eastern Conference is composed of thirteen teams, while the Pacific Time Zone includes five teams. The first and second seeds are the highest seeds, and the third and sixth seeds are the lowest. In the playoffs, the top four seeds play each other. The second seed plays the seventh seed, and the third seed plays the sixth. In the end, the first team to win the regular season receives the first pick in the draft.
The NBA is known for its large arenas. The San Antonio Spurs, Cleveland Cavaliers, Milwaukee Bucks, and the Los Angeles Lakers have won championships in the NBA. The Seattle Sonics and Phoenix Suns were added to the league.
The Western Division of the NBA was riddled with financial troubles. The Utah Jazz were the closest to being ruined during this time. Some of the teams that were part of this division, such as the Phoenix Suns, moved to Houston. Others, like the Syracuse Nationals, were moved to Philadelphia.
The league’s roots can be traced back to 1891. The game was first played in Springfield, Massachusetts. The league’s roots are also traced to the East Coast and Canada. In the early years, players played in smaller gymnasiums and used armories.