The National Basketball Association (NBA) is the top professional basketball league in the United States. It has also become very popular internationally with many players from several countries becoming major stars in the league such as Yao Ming from China, Pau Gasol from Spain, Tony Parker from France, Manu Ginobili from Argentina, and Dirk Nowitski from Germany.
History of the NBA
In 1946 the Basketball Association of America (BAA) was formed and the first game was played in Toronto, Canada between the Toronto Huskies and the New York Knickerbockers. In 1949 the BAA merged with the National Basketball League (NBL) and became the National Basketball Association.
The original NBA had 17 teams, but this was thought to be too many. So they merged teams over the next few years until they were down to as few as eight teams in 1953-1954. In 1954 they also introduced the shot clock of 24 seconds to speed up the game and to get teams to shoot more. Another major change came in the 1979-80 season when the three point shot was introduced.
Since then the league has grown to thirty teams throughout the United States with one team in Canada. Many superstar players have gained international stardom such as Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and LeBron James.
NBA Teams
There are currently (2011) 30 teams in the NBA. They are divided into two major conferences, the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference. Each conference has three divisions of 5 teams.
For a list of NBA teams see NBA Teams.
NBA Season and Playoffs
Each team in the NBA plays 82 regular season games. They play 41 games at home and 41 away. Every team in the NBA plays every other team at least once during the season.
The top eight teams in each conference go to the playoffs. Teams are seeded according to their records and whether they won their division. The best team plays the worst team (1 vs. 8) and so on. The teams play a best of seven series where the first team with four wins takes the series and moves on in the playoffs. The team with the best record gets the home court advantage where they play one more game at home.
WNBA
The Woman's National Basketball Association is a professional basketball league for women players. It was started in 1997. It was originally owned and funded by the NBA, but now several teams have independent owners. There are currently 12 teams in the WNBA. Some of the WNBA star players over the years include Lisa Leslie, Sheryl Swoopes, and Lauren Jackson.
Fun Facts about the NBA
History of the NBA
In 1946 the Basketball Association of America (BAA) was formed and the first game was played in Toronto, Canada between the Toronto Huskies and the New York Knickerbockers. In 1949 the BAA merged with the National Basketball League (NBL) and became the National Basketball Association.
The original NBA had 17 teams, but this was thought to be too many. So they merged teams over the next few years until they were down to as few as eight teams in 1953-1954. In 1954 they also introduced the shot clock of 24 seconds to speed up the game and to get teams to shoot more. Another major change came in the 1979-80 season when the three point shot was introduced.
Since then the league has grown to thirty teams throughout the United States with one team in Canada. Many superstar players have gained international stardom such as Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and LeBron James.
NBA Teams
There are currently (2011) 30 teams in the NBA. They are divided into two major conferences, the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference. Each conference has three divisions of 5 teams.
For a list of NBA teams see NBA Teams.
NBA Season and Playoffs
Each team in the NBA plays 82 regular season games. They play 41 games at home and 41 away. Every team in the NBA plays every other team at least once during the season.
The top eight teams in each conference go to the playoffs. Teams are seeded according to their records and whether they won their division. The best team plays the worst team (1 vs. 8) and so on. The teams play a best of seven series where the first team with four wins takes the series and moves on in the playoffs. The team with the best record gets the home court advantage where they play one more game at home.
WNBA
The Woman's National Basketball Association is a professional basketball league for women players. It was started in 1997. It was originally owned and funded by the NBA, but now several teams have independent owners. There are currently 12 teams in the WNBA. Some of the WNBA star players over the years include Lisa Leslie, Sheryl Swoopes, and Lauren Jackson.
Fun Facts about the NBA
- One time NBA player Manute Bol killed a lion with a spear when he was fifteen years old in Africa.
- Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points, the most ever, in a single game.
- NBA All-star Dennis Rodman didn't play high school basketball. He grew 8 inches between the time he graduated high school and when he turned 20!
- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar scored 38,387 points, the most in an NBA career.
- Michael Jordan, arguably the best basketball player ever, was drafted third in the 1984 draft.
- The most three point shots made in a game is 12 by Kobe Bryant.
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