The National Basketball Association

By Dee Dee Smith

The National Basketball Association is the managing entity of professional basketball in North America.  Founded in the late 1940s, the NBA is a merger of three former leagues - the Basketball Association of America (BAA), National Basketball League (NBL) and the American Basketball Association (ABA). 

In the history of the NBA, many teams have come and gone.  There have also been several changes in team locations as well as owners and managers.  Despite the many changes in the NBA, the league has grown to a total of 30 teams.   These teams are organized via conferences –  Eastern and Western; and these conferences further separated into divisions based upon geography.  The Eastern conference includes teams in the Central, Southeast and Atlantic Coasts of the United States and one team (the Toronto Raptors) from Canada, and the Western conference teams in the Northwest, Southwest and Pacific Coasts . 

The NBA schedule is designed to allow each team to play every other team in the league at least once.  Beginning in November, the regular season continues on through mid-April, with the NBA Playoffs immediately following.  At the end of each season, the team with the best record in its division is considered to be the Division Champion.  Eight teams from each conference are given a spot in the playoffs.  In determining the play schedule, the Division Champions along with the added fourth team are seeded one through four (one being given to the team with the best season record).  The remainder of the teams are seeded five through eight based upon their record.  In the first round, team one will meet up with team eight, team two with team seven, etc., thus giving the top two teams the best advantage.  The playoff series is a best of seven with the first team to win four games progressing on to another playoff round.  At the end of the playoffs, each conference will have a winner. 

As with other major sports leagues, the NBA holds a post-season championship tournament known as the NBA Finals.  This tournament brings the Eastern Conference Champion together with the Western Conference Champion in order to compete for the league championship.   This is also a best of seven series.  The winning team is awarded the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy, named for former NBA Commissioner Larry O‘Brien.  Players, coaches and managers are also given a championship ring.  The trophy is awarded at the close of the Finals, and the winning team will typically display the trophy somewhere in their corporate office. 

In addition to the NBA Championship, individuals and players in the NBA receive recognition through several other trophies and awards.   Some of these awards include NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award, Rookie of the Year (past winners include Patrick Ewing, Tim Duncan, Shaquille O‘Neal and LeBron James), Defensive Player of the Year, Coach of the Year and the Sportsmanship Award. 

One of the most exciting events of the year for the NBA is the All-Star Game and Slam Dunk Contest.  The All-Star game pits the best players from the East against the best of the West. Teams are selected by both fans and coaches.  It is an exhibition game where players can show off their best spins, blocks and dunks.  This is an event of fun, excitement and celebrity fan fare.  Along with the All-Star Game, the weekend also includes a Slam Dunk contest.  This event is extremely popular with NBA fans.  Some fancy dunks have included taking the ball between the legs, jumping over a seated teammate and blowing out a candle before dunking    Past Slam Dunk contest winners have included Julius (Dr. J) Erving, Spud Webb, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, J.R. Smith, and Dwight Howard.

Did you mean:  National Association of Basketball, National Baskeball Association, Natinal Basketball Association, NAB?