The NBA, or the National Basketball Association, is a professional sporting league that showcases some of the best basketball talent in the world. With 30 teams competing in the league each year, the NBA operates on a unique system that combines regular season games, playoffs, and a championship tournament to determine the ultimate winner.
This North American-based league is considered the premier basketball league in the world, enrapturing fans from all over the globe each year with its exciting, fast-paced gameplay. Let's learn more about the organisation of teams, games, tournaments, and more!
What is the NBA?
As you know, “NBA” stands for National Basketball League. It was founded in 1949 when the Basketball Association of America (BAA) and the National Basketball League of 1937 (NBL) merged into one entity and was renamed the NBA. It’s important to note that the NBA considers the history of the BAA to also be part of NBA history, so many consider the start of the NBA to be in 1946 when the BAA was established. The first president of the BAA/NBA was Maurice Podoloff and the NBA MVP trophy still sports his name as a show of respect.
The purpose of the NBA was to expand the reach of basketball games across the United States to both big cities and smaller towns so more fans could enjoy live games. The BAA had connections to large venues in big cities, but the NBL had objectively better players. When the two forces combined, suddenly more exciting games with more skilled players could be witnessed in more places around the country.
The NBA now serves as a facilitator for organising all the games, drafts, and more that teams need to collaborate on in order to have a successful sports association.
How Many Teams Are in the NBA?
The NBA consists of 30 teams: 29 American teams and 1 Canadian team. The teams are sorted into two conferences: the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference.
Furthermore, each conference is made of three divisions which are the different regions in the conference’s territory.
Western Conference
Northwest Division
Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves, Oklahoma City Thunder, Portland Trail Blazers, Utah Jazz
Pacific Division
Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix Suns, Sacramento Kings
Southwest Division
Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets, Memphis Grizzlies, New Orleans Pelicans, San Antonio Spurs
Eastern Conference
Atlantic Division
Boston Celtics, Brooklyn Nets, New York Knicks, Philadelphia 76ers, Toronto Raptors
Central Division
Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers, Detroit Pistons, Indiana Pacers, Milwaukee Bucks
Southeast Division
Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Hornets, Miami Heat, Orlando Magic, Washington Wizards
How Many Players Are on an NBA Team?
Each NBA team roster can have a maximum of 15 players. Only 12 players can participate in one game. The amount of each type of player (guard, forward, and centre) on the team can vary depending on the type of strategy that the team likes to use during games.
Even though there are only 3 main positions in basketball, over time, more specialised positions have come about. The five most common types of player positions are point guard, shooting guard, small forward, power forward, and centre. Many players benefit from guidance provided by an experienced basketball coach.
Furthermore, there are even more unofficial sub-types of each main position!
For example, primary and secondary ball handlers, shot creator, slasher, athletic finisher, versatile big, and post scorer, just to name a few!
How The NBA Schedule is Organised
Since there are so many teams and games played per season in both the regular season and the championship season, understanding the schedule can be rather confusing. Here are the basics to help you wrap your head around the NBA’s jam-packed calendar.
How Many Games Are There in a Regular Season?
Every NBL regular season contains 82 games per team and runs from October to April. 82 games per team across 30 teams means there are 1,230 matches in one season!
Not much has been announced for the 2024-25 season yet, but one source, NBA insider Shams Charania, has stated that the season is anticipated to begin on October 22, 2024, and conclude on April 13, 2025.
Each team plays 3 or 4 games against each opponent in their conference for a total of 56 in-conference games. Teams also play against the other teams in their division 4 times. Each team will also play each team in the other conference twice.
How Many Games Are There in the Tournament Season?
The playoffs and finals take place after the regular season ends, running from late April to June.
Since the championship is an elimination-based contest, the number of games depends on how many games it takes for teams to get knocked out of the running.
How Does the NBA Tournament Work?
The teams eligible for the postseason playoffs are the top eight teams in each conference, meaning there are a total of 16 teams competing for the championship. The eligible teams are the ones that have the best ratios of wins to losses from the regular season.
There are four phases to the post-season NBA tournament:
- First Round
- Conference Semifinals
- Conference Finals
- NBA Final
In each round, the winners are determined by who wins the best of seven games. This means that the first team to win four games per matchup moves on to the next matchup. So it can take from four to seven games for a winner to be determined per matchup. The games are played according to the 2-2-1-1-1 rule.
In the First Round, each conference has its 8 teams play each other. Teams are matched like so:
The team that is seed 1 plays against seed 8, seed 2 plays seed 7, seed 3 plays seed 6, and seed 4 plays seed 5.
After the Conference Semifinals, the pattern repeats, leaving only four teams in the running, two from each conference.
In the Conference Finals, they again compete in the best-of-seven format with the 2-2-1-1-1 rule so that there is only one remaining team in each conference.
In the last stage of the postseason, the NBA Final, the top team from each conference will compete in the best-of-seven format again.
The champions are the team that is the first to win four games in that final matchup.
What Is the 2-2-1-1-1 Format?
This shorthand refers to the distribution of home games vs away games in a playoff matchup.
2: The first two games are played on the home court of the team with the better regular-season record or higher seed.
2: The next two games are played on the home court of the opposing team.
1: The fifth game (if necessary - remember, the first team to win four games advances) is played again at the home court of the team with the better record.
1: The sixth game (if necessary) is played at the opposing team's home court.
1: The seventh and final game (if necessary) returns to the home court of the team with the better record.
Where to Watch NBA Games
NBA games are broadcast on television in more than 200 countries around the globe. They are also available live and on-demand on NBA League Pass online all around the world.
With League Pass, you can even stream four games at once with a split-screen view!
To watch NBA games on TV in Australia, you can get ESPN, the channel that broadcasts the games, on Foxtel, Kayo Sports, or Fetch. If you're looking to improve your skills off the court, you might consider checking out basketball classes near me.
What is the NBA Draft?
The NBA draft is where most new players pin their hopes on getting onto a team and into the league. If a player meets the requirements, they can apply to be in the draft, and teams can decide if they want to take the player onto their roster.
Who is Eligible for the Draft?
For US citizens, players must be at least 19 years old and one year removed from high school to qualify.
For international players, they must simply be at least 22 years old.
For all players, if they had previously been signed to a professional international team and are over 19, they are eligible.
All players must also go through the process of applying for the draft and submitting paperwork.
When is the 2024 NBA Draft?
The Draft will be held on 26-27 June 2024. This is where all 30 NBA teams will be able to choose which promising new players they want on their teams. But, the teams select new players in a specific order determined by their regular-season records and a lottery.
What is the Draft Lottery?
The 30 NBA teams must decide in which order they get to pick players. The top 16 teams who qualified for the playoffs will pick last, in order from least to most regular-season wins.
The bottom 14 teams that didn’t get into the playoffs enter a lottery for a chance at being able to pick first, second, and third.
The Lottery is comprised of ping-pong balls that are randomly selected, which determines who gets a boosted chance to pick in the Draft.
Three of the 14 teams will be assigned first, second, and third pick, respectively. Then, the remaining 11 teams will have a turn to pick. Just like for the 16 playoff-qualifying teams, they will be in order from least successful to most successful.
There are two rounds of picks in the draft. In the second round, all teams simply pick in order from least to most successful regular-season stats.
When is the 2024 Draft Lottery?
The 2024 Draft Lottery will be held on 12 May 2024.
The NBA has a lot of rules; it has to! In order to run as large and expensive an organisation, there simply must be many systems in place to help facilitate basketball games and seasons, championships, and a fair, agreed-upon method for recruiting new players.
Hopefully, you understand a little bit more about how the NBA helps to keep all 30 North American basketball teams running smoothly as they do what they want to do most - play basketball! For those in Melbourne aiming to play professionally, engaging in basketball coaching melbourne can be a great start.
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