According to abbreviationfinder, NBA stands for National Basketball Association. The National Basketball Association is a professional league that unites twenty-nine men’s basketball teams from the United States of America and one from Canada. NBA, which is deservedly considered the strongest basketball organization in the world, is one of the “big four” of the most popular professional sports leagues in the United States (along with NFL – American football, MLB – baseball and NHL – ice hockey).
By the middle of the 20th century, there were dozens of professional basketball teams in America, but there was no organization to unite them. Various leagues came and went until the Basketball Association of America (BAA) was formed on June 6, 1946. The BAA included eleven teams that played in the East and West divisions. The first game of the new league took place on November 1, 1946 in Toronto between the Toronto Huskies and the New York Knickerbockers (now the New York Knicks). The winner of the inaugural Basketball Association of America championship was the Philadelphia Warriors (modern-day Golden State Warriors).
On August 3, 1949, the league received its current name, the National Basketball Association. The number of its participants has repeatedly changed (the smallest number of teams was in the NBA from 1953 to 1961 – eight); teams moved from city to city; some fell apart, but new ones were created instead. In the late sixties – the first half of the seventies of the last century, the NBA competed for the right to be the best basketball league in America with the American Basketball Association (ABA) created in 1967. In 1976, the NBA and ABA merged, which greatly strengthened the league and made the championship much more spectacular and interesting.
There are now thirty teams in the National Basketball Association, divided into two conferences: the East (Eastern Conference NBA) and the West (Western Conference NBA). In turn, each of the conferences is divided into three divisions of five teams, in the East it is the Atlantic (Atlantic), Central (Central) and Southeast (Southeast) divisions, and in the West – Northwest (Northwest), Pacific (Pacific) and Southwestern (Southwest).
The season in the National Basketball Association begins in September, when the teams gather for training camps. In October, several friendly matches are held and in the last week of the month the regular season begins (regular season), which lasts almost half a year, until mid-April. During this time, each team plays eighty-two matches; half at home and half away. Traditionally, since the league’s inception, one of the NBA games has been played on Christmas Day. On this festive day, some of the best teams and players in the league take to the court, so it is not surprising that “Christmas matches” always attract huge audiences of fans.
In the middle of the season, in February, the league holds the NBA All-Star Weekend. A number of spectacular events are held over the course of three days, including the Celebrity Match (in which players, artists, musicians, and other famous people who have completed their sports careers), the Rising Stars Match (that is, newcomers), the League Stars Game development” (“junior” basketball league that prepares athletes for the NBA), competitions of three-point (long-range) throws and slam dunks (slam dunk, throws into the basket from above). The highlight of the weekend is the All-Star Game) – a match between the best players of the Eastern and Western conferences, and the participants of the “East” and “West” teams are determined by voting by the fans (old squads) and coaches (reserves). Although the results of the “all-star” meeting in no way affect the results of the NBA championship, this event is always very popular with American basketball fans.
In the second half of April, after the end of the regular season, the top sixteen teams in the league begin a series of knockout games – playoffs. Eight teams from each conference advance to the playoffs: six division winners and ten teams with the best win-loss ratio.
| NBA (National Basketball Association) roster | ||||
| Division | Team | Year of team creation | Year of joining the league | City (nearest major city), state |
| Eastern Conference (Eastern Conference) | ||||
| Atlantic | Boston Celtics (Boston Celtics) |
1946 | Boston, Massachusetts | |
| Brooklyn Nets (Brooklyn Nets) |
1967 | 1976 | Brooklyn, New York City, New York | |
| New York Knicks (New York Knicks) |
1946 | Manhattan, New York City, New York | ||
| Philadelphia 76ers (Philadelphia 76ers) |
1946 | 1949 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | |
| Toronto Raptors (Toronto Raptors) |
1995 | Toronto, Ontario, Canada | ||
| Central | Chicago Bulls (Chicago Bulls) |
1966 | Chicago, Illinois | |
| Cleveland Cavaliers (Cleveland Cavaliers) |
1970 | Cleveland, Ohio | ||
| Detroit Pistons (Detroit Pistons) |
1941 | 1948 | Auburn Hills (Detroit), Michigan | |
| Indiana Pacers (Indiana Pacers) |
1967 | 1976 | Indianapolis, Indiana | |
| Milwaukee Bucks (Milwaukee Bucks) |
1968 | Milwaukee, Wisconsin | ||
| Southeastern | Atlanta Hawks (Atlanta Hawks) |
1946 | 1949 | Atlanta, Georgia |
| Charlotte Hornets (Charlotte Hornets) |
1988 | Charlotte, North Carolina | ||
| Miami Heat (Miami Heat) |
1988 | Miami, Florida | ||
| Orlando Magic (Orlando Magic) |
1989 | Orlando, Florida | ||
| Washington Wizards (Washington Wizards) |
1961 | Washington DC | ||
| Western Conference (Western Conference) | ||||
| Northwestern | Denver Nuggets (Denver Nuggets) |
1967 | 1976 | Denver, Colorado |
| Minnesota Timberwolves (Minnesota Timberwolves) |
1989 | Minneapolis, Minnesota | ||
| Oklahoma City Thunder (Oklahoma City Thunder) |
1967 | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma | ||
| Portland Trail Blazers (Portland Trail Blazers) |
1970 | Portland, Oregon | ||
| Utah Jazz (Utah Jazz) |
1974 | Salt Lake City, Utah | ||
| Pacific | Golden State Warriors (Golden State Warriors) |
1946 | Oakland, California | |
| Los Angeles Clippers (Los Angeles Clippers) |
1970 | Los Angeles, California | ||
| Los Angeles Lakers (Los Angeles Lakers) |
1947 | 1948 | Los Angeles, California | |
| Phoenix Suns (Phoenix Suns) |
1968 | Phoenix, Arizona | ||
| Sacramento Kings (Sacramento Kings) |
1923 | 1948 | Sacramento, California | |
| Southwestern | Dallas Mavericks (Dallas Mavericks) |
1980 | Dallas, Texas | |
| Houston Rockets (Houston Rockets) |
1967 | Houston, Texas | ||
| Memphis Grizzlies (Memphis Grizzlies) |
1995 | Memphis, Tennessee | ||
| New Orleans Pelicans (New Orleans Pelicans) |
2002 | New Orleans, Louisiana | ||
| San Antonio Spurs (San Antonio Spurs) |
1967 | 1976 | San Antonio, Texas | |
