The NBA is one of the most popular sports leagues in the world, and features some of the best players in history. The league’s regular season runs from October to April, with each team playing 82 games. The playoffs are then held, culminating in the NBA Finals, a best-of-seven series between the top teams of each conference. The NBA is known for its high-scoring games and has produced some of the most famous basketball players in history, including Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, and more.
The NBA is a global sports league, with its games and events broadcast in more than 200 countries and territories in more than 40 languages. The league also has international offices and plays regular season and exhibition games abroad. The NBA is also the biggest basketball league in terms of revenue, with its teams generating around $1.25 billion in the 2017-18 season.
Each year, the NBA divides its thirty-two teams into two conferences based on geographic location, with each conference consisting of six divisions of five teams. The top eight teams in each conference automatically qualify for the playoffs. Then, the top-ranked team in each division is seeded first, followed by the next-ranked team and so on. The top-two seeds in each division get a bye into the second round.
If the top-two seeds in each conference finish with the same record, tiebreaker criteria are used to determine their final rankings. These include head-to-head record, better overall winning percentage, and more. The NBA’s playoff format also includes home-court advantage in each round, and the top seed always plays a lower-ranked team in the first series.
This year, the NBA is expanding its global presence with an expanded television schedule and increased marketing outreach to promote its games. In addition to boosting ratings in key markets, the expansion is expected to help boost revenue for the NBA’s teams and owners. Global business currently accounts for about 10% of total NBA team and league revenue, a person familiar with the matter said.
The NBA features a wide range of international players, from rising stars like Denver Nuggets forward Nikola Jokic and Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo to veterans such as San Antonio Spurs center Marc Gasol. This year, 125 international players appeared on opening night rosters, and the league has a larger group of foreign-born players than ever before. This includes players from the United States, Canada, Mexico, France, Germany, Greece, Serbia, Russia, Israel, and other countries. Many of these players have become fan favorites and are a big reason for the league’s continued popularity around the world.