What does NBA stand for?

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

NBA