The NBA is a national basketball league with 30 teams. Each team plays 82 games over the course of a regular season. During the postseason, each team competes against other teams in their conference for a spot in the playoffs. Usually, the winner of each conference advances to the finals where they will fight for a Larry O’Brien championship trophy.
The NBA has changed a lot since its founding in 1946. In that time, the league has added new franchises and expanded to include the Denver Nuggets and the San Antonio Spurs. However, eight of the original nine franchises are still operating today. Most are in the western half of the United States, with two teams in Los Angeles and one in Canada. Other NBA franchises have moved to larger cities, such as the Phoenix Suns, the St. Louis Hawks, and the Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lakers.
The NBA started out as the Basketball Association of America (BAA) in 1946. After the BAA’s merger with the National Basketball League in 1949, it was renamed the NBA. It also added new franchises such as the Chicago Bulls and the Indianapolis Pacers. While the NBA and BAA are similar in name, they are very different in the way that they operate.
One major difference is the number of players per team. Traditionally, each team had just 15 players, but the NBA has recently allowed teams to have up to 16. Since there are so many players, a coaching staff will typically scout which players will fit best into their roster. This is usually done through a training camp. A full team is comprised of at least 12 players, with the rest of the roster including three inactive players.
The NBA also has a tournament called the Play-In Tournament. It determines the seventh and eighth seeds for the playoffs. Two games are played against each opponent in each round, with the winner advancing to the Finals.
In addition to the regular season, the NBA has an annual All-Star Game. Each year, coaches and players from the league vote on the best player in each conference. There are fourteen All-Stars in total. Of these, the top vote-getters are given captains for each conference. These captains are responsible for choosing the other 12 All-Stars.
The best performing player on a team is awarded the MVP. Likewise, the best player coming off the bench is awarded the Sixth Man of the Year Award. Lastly, the league’s best defender is awarded the Defensive Player of the Year Award.
The league has a number of rules, some of them very complex. For instance, each team has a 24-second shot clock. If a team fails to score a field goal in the first 24 seconds of a game, it is stopped. Also, the shooting arc is 9 inches.
The NBA also has a tiebreaker system, which is used as needed. There are also rules that allow a team to move up or down in order to improve its chances of winning. Additionally, a team can assign players with less than two years of experience to the NBA G League.