National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association nba

National Basketball Association to seventeen franchises located in a mix of large and small cities, as well as large arenas and smaller gymnasiums and armories. In 1950, the NBA consolidated to eleven franchises, a process that continued until 1954, when the league reached its smallest size of eight franchises, all of which are still in the league (the Knickerbockers (Knicks), Celtics, Warriors, Lakers, Royals/Kings, Pistons, Hawks, and Nationals/76ers).
While contracting, the league also saw its smaller city franchises move to larger cities. The Hawks shifted from "Tri-Cities" (the area now known as the Quad Cities) to Milwaukee and then to St. Louis; the Royals from Rochester to Cincinnati, the Pistons from Fort Wayne, Indiana to Detroit.
Although Japanese-American Wataru Misaka technically broke the NBA color barrier in the 1947-48 season when he played for the New York Knicks, 1950 is recognized as the year the NBA integrated with the addition of African American players by several teams including Chuck Cooper with the Boston Celtics, Nat "Sweetwater" Clifton with the Knicks, and Earl Lloyd with the Washington Capitols. Today, more than fifty years later, the NBA is made up of players of many different races, with diverse backgrounds and cultures. The majority (80%) of NBA players today are African American.
During this period, the Minneapolis Lakers, led by Hall of Fame center George Mikan, won five NBA Championships and established themselves as its first dynasty.
To liven up play, the league introduced the 24-second shot clock in 1954. This was due to the fact that many teams were holding on to the ball for as long as possible whenever they had the lead, resulting in low scoring and boring games. An violation of the 24 second shot clock would result in an instant turnover.
In 1956, rookie center Bill Russell joined the Boston Celtics (he was traded for Ed Macauley, a perennial all star, and Cliff Hagan, a future all star), who already featured guard Bob Cousy and coach Red Auerbach, and went on to lead the club to eleven NBA titles in thirteen seasons. Center Wilt Chamberlain entered the league in 1959 and became the most dominant individual star of the 1960s, setting new records in scoring and rebounding, although he was unable to get past Russell's stacked Celtics the majority of the time. Russell's rivalry with Chamberlain became one of the great individual rivalries in the history of team sports.
Through this period, the NBA continued to strengthen with the shift of the Minneapolis Lakers to Los Angeles, the Philadelphia Warriors to San Francisco, and the Syracuse Nationals to Philadelphia, as well as the addition of its first expansion franchises.
In 1967, the league faced a new external threat with the formation of the American Basketball Association. The leagues engaged in a bidding war for talent. The NBA landed the most important college star of the era, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (then known as Lew Alcindor), who together with Oscar Robertson led the Milwaukee Bucks to a title in his second season, and who later played on five Laker championship teams.
However, the NBA's leading scorer, Rick Barry, jumped to the ABA, as did four veteran referees—Norm Drucker, Earl Strom, John Vanak, and Joe Gushue.
The ABA also succeeded in signing a number of major stars, including Julius Erving, in part because it allowed teams to sign college undergraduates. The NBA expanded rapidly during this period, one purpose being to tie up most viable cities. Following the 1976 season, the leagues reached a settlement that provided for the addition of four ABA franchises to the NBA, raising the number of franchises in the league at that time to 22. The 70's were seen as extremely dark times for the NBA, due to the lack of fan interest and the ampant drug problems in the league at the time.
The league added the ABA's innovative three-point field goal beginning in 1979 to open up the game. That same year, rookies Larry Bird and Magic Johnson joined the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers, respectively, initiating a period of significant growth in fan interest in the NBA throughout the country and the world. They were commonly seen as the saviours of the NBA, and would go on to revolutionise the game. Bird went on to lead the Celtics to three titles, and Johnson went on to lead the Lakers to five.
Michael Jordan entered the league in 1984 with the Chicago Bulls, providing an even more popular star to support growing interest in the league. The 1984 Draft also contained other notable players, like Charles Barkley, Hakeem Olajuwon, and John Stockton. By 1989, further expansion had raised the number of teams in the league to 27. During the 1990s, the Bulls have popularized the NBA worldwide as Jordan and Scottie Pippen went on to lead the Bulls to six titles (1991-1993, 1996-1998). Jordan was the MVP for all the titles.
The 1990s also saw greater globalization. The 1992 Olympic basketball Dream Team, the first to use current NBA stars, featured Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, and Magic Johnson, as well as many other Hall of Fame players, and dominated the entire Olympics. A growing number of NBA star players also began coming from other countries. Initially, many of these players, such as 1994 NBA MVP Hakeem Olajuwon of Nigeria, first played NCAA basketball to enhance their skills. An increasing number, though, have moved directly from playing elsewhere in the world to starring in the NBA, such as 2002 NBA Rookie of the Year and 2006 World Championships MVP Pau Gasol of Spain, first pick in the 2002 NBA Draft Yao Ming of China, 2002 World Championships, Eurobasket 2005 MVP Dirk Nowitzki of Germany, and 2004 Olympic Tournament MVP Manu Ginóbili of Argentina.
In 1996, the NBA created a women's league, the Women's National Basketball Association, and in 2001 created an affiliated minor league, the National Basketball Development League, now called the NBA Development League of the G-League. The 1996 draft class was also filled with talent, and included generational players like Allen Iverson, Ray Allen, Kobe Bryant, and Steve Nash joining the league.
In 1998, the NBA owners began a lockout which lasted 191-days and was settled on January 18, 1999. As a result of this lockout the 1998-99 NBA season was reduced from 82 to 50 games, which were all played in early 1999.
In 1999, the San Antonio Spurs became the first former ABA team to win the NBA championship. It was the team's first championship win and the Spurs went on to win several more rings.
Ever since the breakup of the Chicago Bulls championship roster in the summer of 1998, the Western Conference has dominated. The Los Angeles Lakers of coach Phil Jackson and the San Antonio Spurs of Gregg Popovich combined to make 13 Finals in 16 seasons, with 10 titles. Tim Duncan and David Robinson won the 1999 championship with the Spurs, and Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant started the 2000s with three consecutive championships for the Lakers. The Spurs reclaimed the title in 2003 against the Nets in six games. In 2004, the Lakers returned to the Finals, only to lose in five games to the underdog Detroit Pistons.
The league's image was marred by a violent incident between players and fans in a November 2004 game between the Indiana Pacers and Detroit Pistons. This was known as the Malice at the Palace, and involved NBA players like Ron Artest and Jermaine O'Neal throwing bunches at fans. In response, players were suspended for a total of 146 games with $11 million total lost in salary, and the league tightened security and limited the sale of alcohol.
After the Spurs took home the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy in 2005, the 2006 Finals featured two franchises making their inaugural Finals appearances. The Miami Heat, led by their star shooting guard, Dwyane Wade, and Shaquille O'Neal, who had been traded from the Lakers during summer 2004, won the series over the Dallas Mavericks in six after losing the first two games. This series was controversial, however, due to Wade's absurd amount of free throws. The Lakers/Spurs dominance continued in 2007 with a four-game sweep by the Spurs over the Cleveland Cavaliers, who were led by LeBron James. The 2008 Finals saw a rematch of the league's highest profile rivalry, the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers, with the Celtics winning, for their 17th championship, thanks to their new big three of Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce, with Pierce being the Finals MVP.
In 2009, Kobe Bryant and the Lakers returned to the Finals, this time defeating the Dwight Howard-led Orlando Magic in five games. Bryant won his first Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award in his 13th season after leading the Lakers to their first NBA championship since the departure of Shaquille O'Neal.
The 2010 NBA All-Star Game was held at Cowboys Stadium in front of the largest crowd ever, 108,713. At the end of that season, the Celtics and the Lakers renewed their rivalry from 2008 when they met again in the NBA Finals for a record 12th time. The Lakers won their 16th NBA championship by winning Game 7, 83–79. Bryant was once again the Finals MVP. Before the start of the 2010–11 season, the NBA had an exciting summer with one of the most anticipated free agent classes of all time, with big names such as LeBron James and Dwayne Wade on the market. Two free agents signed, and one resigned, with the Miami Heat, leading to a season that was heavily centered on their eventual success or failure at taking home the championship. The Heat, led by LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh, did in fact make the Finals against the Dallas Mavericks, in a rematch for the franchises of the 2006 Finals. The Mavericks, led by Dirk Nowitzki (the eventual NBA Finals MVP), took the series in six games as LeBron James underperformed in the Finals. This was the Mavericks' first title. Veterans Shawn Marion, Jason Kidd, Jason Terry, and Peja Stojaković celebrated their first NBA championship.
On July 1, 2011, at 12:01 am, the NBA announced another lockout. After the first few weeks of the season were cancelled, the players and owners ratified a new collective bargaining agreement on December 8, 2011, setting up a shortened 66-game season. Following the shortened season, the Miami Heat made a return to the Finals with the trio of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh against Oklahoma City Thunder's Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden. The Heat went on to defeat the Thunder in five games, capturing their second NBA title in six years. Their success would continue into the following season, which concluded with their victory over the San Antonio Spurs in 7 games in the 2013 NBA Finals. The two teams would meet for a rematch in the following year's Finals, where the Spurs defeated the Heat in five games. Off the court, commissioner David Stern retired on February 1, 2014, 30 years to the day after taking office. He was succeeded by his deputy, Adam Silver.
After four seasons with the Miami Heat, LeBron James returned to Ohio upon the 2014–15 season to once again play for the Cleveland Cavaliers. He became the head of the team and led them to their second Finals appearance with the help of Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love, but both of them had injuries and the Golden State Warriors defeated the Cavaliers in six games, led by Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, also known as the Splash Brothers to win their first title in 40 years. The following year, the Warriors obtained the best season record in NBA history by win percentage, finishing the season 73–9, further establishing their dominance within the league. The 2016 NBA Finals became a rematch between the two teams. It showed that the Cavaliers win their first NBA Championship as well as become the first team to return from a 3–1 series deficit in the Finals. In the 2016–17 season, the Warriors benefited from the recruitment of Kevin Durant, who had joined the team as a free agent in 2016. He became the Most Valuable Player of the 2017 NBA Finals and led the team to another Championship victory in five games over the Cavaliers, then again in 2018 when the Warriors won in a four-game sweep against the Cavaliers.
During free agency in 2018, LeBron James made the decision to sign with the Los Angeles Lakers due to the inability of the Cavaliers to surround him with talent. He was also motivated by desires to pursue a filming career, which would be easier in Los Angeles. The Cavaliers were unable to perform in the 2018–19 season, finishing second to last in their conference after four consecutive Finals appearances due to the loss of James. However, the Warriors once again returned to the Finals for the fifth straight year where they faced the Toronto Raptors, a team that had never previously made it to the Finals. Warrior's stars Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson suffered season ending injuries though, so led by Kawhi Leonard, the Raptors won their first NBA championship, defeating the Warriors in a total of six games, and ending a 26-year drought.
The 2019 offseason became a historically great one, as many superstars moved teams. LeBron James was able to recruit Anthony Davis to the Lakers, making them championship contenders after missing the playoffs the previous year. On the other hand, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George when to the other LA team, the Los Angeles Clippers, while Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving joined the Brooklyn Nets. On March 11, 2020, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the league held a conference call among the NBA owners regarding the formulation of a plan should the disease become more serious. The same day, the Oklahoma City Thunder postponed their game and the Warriors cancelled all home games in the foreseeable future. Eventually, the NBA suspended the remainder of its season "until further notice" after Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for the coronavirus. After the suspension of the season, the Dallas Mavericks' owner Mark Cuban started off the initiative of helping pay arena workers by setting up a payment procedure for the hourly workers, which was also joined by players and other NBA personnel. The NBA and the National Basketball Players Association have cut the players' salaries by 25 percent due to the economic fallout from the pandemic. In the 2020 Finals, the Los Angeles Lakers were able to beat the Miami Heat in six games to win their 17th championship, tying with the Boston Celtics, with LeBron James winning the Finals MVP for the fourth time and being the first to do so for three different teams.
Today, the NBA has reached 30 franchises and continues to evolve as one of the premier sports leagues in the world.
As of late, young players from the English-speaking world tend to attend U.S. colleges before playing in the NBA (notable examples are 2005 and 2006 MVP Steve Nash, a Canadian, and 2005 top draft pick Andrew Bogut of Australia), while other international players generally come to the NBA from professional club teams. The NBA is now televised in 212 nations in 42 languages. As time went on and advanced statistics became more prominent, important and influential, the style of play has also been changed, with a huge influx in 3 pointers and less mid-range shots being taken. This new modern style of play required players to have a more complete skillset, and players who were unable to adapt, like Roy Hibbert, quickly fell out of the league. Stephen Curry and the revolutionary Golden State Warriors helped pioneer this new style of basketball. With Curry's revolutionary shooting ability, the Warrior's excellent ball movement, chemistry and floor spacing, the Warrior's won 3 titles in 2015, 2017, and 2018 while also making the Finals in 2016 and 2019. Their success has caused much of the league to adapt similar styles of play.
Teams
The NBA originated in 1946 with 11 teams, and through a sequence of team expansions, reductions, and relocations, currently consists of 30 teams. The United States is home to 29 teams; another is in Canada.
The current league organization divides 30 teams into two conferences of three divisions with five teams each. The current divisional alignment was introduced in the 2004–05 season. Reflecting the population distribution of the United States and Canada as a whole, most teams are in the eastern half of the country: 13 teams are in the Eastern Time Zone, nine in the Central, three in the Mountain, and five in the Pacific.