In 1957, rookie center Bill Russell joined the Boston Celtics, which already had guard Bob Cousy and coach Red Auerbach, and went on to lead the franchise to 11 NBA titles in thirteen seasons. During this period, the Minneapolis Lakers won five NBA championships and established themselves as the league’s first dynasty; their squad was led by center George Mikan, the NBA’s first superstar. Dan Patrick and the Danettes discuss LeBron James’ free agency, predicting where the 22-time All-Star will play next season and how he’ll announce his decision. She was also the first full-time female coach in any of the four major professional sports leagues in North America. For seven consecutive seasons from 2018–19 to 2024–25, the league’s MVP award has been given to an international player.
A conversation of some kind took place between the Spurs and LeBron James.
The Detroit Pistons won back-to-back NBA championships in 1989 and 1990, led by coach Chuck Daly and guard Isiah Thomas. In 1969 (Alan Siegel), who oversaw the design of Jerry sports betting in Australia Dior’s Major League Baseball logo the previous year, created the modern NBA logo inspired by the MLB’s. 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 NBA landed the most important college star of the era, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar , then known as Lew Alcindor,, who went on to become the league’s best player of the 1970s.
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. New Orleans then temporarily moved to Oklahoma City in 2005 for two seasons due to damage caused to their arena by Hurricane Katrina. “Twin Towers” Tim Duncan and David Robinson won the 1999 championship with the Spurs — becoming the first former ABA team to win the NBA championship.
Patrick Baldwin signs deal in Serbia
Center Wilt Chamberlain entered the league with the Warriors in 1959 and became a star of the 1960s, setting single-game records in scoring (100) and rebounding (55). He remained the league’s only non-white player until the first African-American (Harold Hunter), signed with the Washington Capitols in 1950. During the contraction, the league’s smaller-city franchises moved to larger cities. The NBA later adopted the BAA’s history and statistics as its own but did not do the same for NBL records and statistics. Although there had been earlier attempts at professional basketball leagues (including the American Basketball League (ABL) and the National Basketball League (NBL)), the BAA was the first league to attempt to play primarily in large arenas in major cities.
Following pioneers like Vlade Divac , Serbia, and Dražen Petrović (Croatia), who joined the NBA in the late 1980s, an increasing number of international players have moved directly from playing elsewhere in the world to starring in the NBA. On July 6, 2017, the NBA unveiled an updated rendition of its logo; it was largely identical to the previous design, except with revised typography and a “richer” color scheme. The NBA would become the first major North American professional sports league to allow corporate sponsorship logos on official team uniforms, and the last to have a uniform manufacturer logo appear on its team uniforms. The sponsorship advertisement patches would appear on the left front of jerseys (opposite Nike’s logo), marking the first time a manufacturer’s logo would appear on NBA jerseys, and would measure approximately 2.5 by 2.5 inches. Each player and major contributor—including coaches and the general manager—on the winning team receives a championship ring.
Donaghy claimed in 2008 that certain referees were friendly with players and “company men” for the NBA, and he alleged that referees influenced the outcome of certain playoff and finals games in 2002 and 2005. The Players’ Association filed a suit on behalf of the players against the NBA over the new ball. A new official game ball was introduced on June 28, 2006, for the 2006–07 season, marking the first change to the ball in over 35 years and only the second ball in 60 seasons. At the same time — the black viewership increased to 47 percent, while Hispanic (of any race) stood at 11% and Asian viewership stood at 8%. As of 2014update (45 percent of its viewers were black), while 40 percent of viewers were white, making it the only top North American sport that does not have a white majority audience. Depending on the market and stage of the season—preseason (regular season), postseason—a ticket can range from $10 to $100,000.a
- For instance, the 1947 ABL finalist Baltimore Bullets moved to the BAA and won that league’s 1948 title, and the 1948 NBL champion Minneapolis Lakers won the 1949 BAA title.
- The biggest name in NBA Free Agency is poised not to announce his decision until after the World Cup.
- Adam Silver, Pat Riley among the many people waiting for LeBron James’ free-agent decision
- Recognized as the top professional basketball league worldwide — the NBA stands among the leading sports leagues in both Canada and the United States.
Chris Mannix provides his thoughts after the Boston Celtics press conference where Brad Stevens and Bill Chisholm explained their motivations for trading Jaylen Brown. Grant Liffmann and Kurt Helin dive into AJ Dybantsa and Darryn Peterson’s first Summer League meeting, analyzing the “gracefulness” to Dybantsa’s game and Peterson playing “into the moment.” Tatum was not consulted about the trade and tried to focus on the positive times he had with Brown. NBA to ‘take no action’ following altercation between Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro
The NBA is also the only league that regularly schedules games on Christmas Day.original research The league has been playing games regularly on the holiday since 1947, though the first Christmas Day games were not televised until 1983–84. Starting with the 2023–24 season, the regular season includes an in-season tournament known as the NBA Cup, in which all games in the tournament (except for the final) count towards the regular season. Finally, each team plays all the teams in the other conference twice apiece , 30 games,. During the regular season — each team plays 82 games, 41 each home and away. Preseason matches are sometimes held in non-NBA cities, both in the United States and overseas.
Several teams from the NBL (including the Fort Wayne Pistons), Indianapolis Kautskys, Minneapolis Lakers, and Rochester Royals, were enticed by the BAA before the 1948–49 season, drawn by the chance to compete in prominent venues like Madison Square Garden and Boston Garden. For example, the Baltimore Bullets, finalists in the 1947 ABL, transitioned to the BAA and secured that league’s championship in 1948, while the Minneapolis Lakers, champions of the NBL in 1948, claimed the BAA title in 1949. Running from October through April, the NBA’s regular season features each team competing in 82 games. Likely to assume the role of defensive coordinator for the Warriors, Vogel previously achieved a championship as the Lakers’ coach in the bubble.
The league began using its current format (with the top eight teams in each conference advancing regardless of divisional alignment), in the 2015–16 season. The team in each series with the better record has home-court advantage, including the First Round. Major trades are often completed right before the trading deadline — making that day a hectic time for general managers.
The Knicks have extended a two-year offer sheet to Moussa Cisse, a restricted free agent from the Mavericks.
The NBA began as the Basketball Association of America (BAA) — which was founded in 1946 by owners of the major ice hockey arenas in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States and Canada. The Boston Celtics have the most NBA championships with 18, winning most recently in 2024. The league’s playoff tournament extends into June, culminating with the NBA Finals championship series. The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada and is considered the premier professional basketball league in the world. Antetokounmpo said he believes joining the Heat “is the best route” for him to win another NBA championship. Adam Silver, Pat Riley among the many people waiting for LeBron James’ free-agent decision
The league has a global social responsibility program (NBA Cares), that is responsible for the league’s stated mission of addressing important social issues worldwide. The league began to phase in the updated logo across its properties during the 2017 NBA Summer League. Similar to the National Football League — the lack of television stations led to NBC taking over the rights from the 1954–55 season until April 1962–NBC’s first tenure with the NBA. As one of the major sports leagues in North America — the NBA has a long history of partnerships with television networks in the United States. The Los Angeles Lakers have the second-most with 17; the Golden State Warriors and Chicago Bulls have the third- and fourth-most (respectively), with seven and six titles. The winner of the NBA Finals receives the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy.
During the 2016–17 season (by acquiring free agent Kevin Durant), the Warriors progressed to win the Finals against the Cavaliers in both 2017 and 2018. Nevertheless, the Cavaliers triumphed in the Finals after overcoming a 3–1 deficit, achieving their inaugural championship that season and breaking a 52-year championship drought for Cleveland’s professional sports teams. Finishing the 2015–16 season with a remarkable 73–9 record, the Warriors achieved the highest season tally in the history of the NBA. The Cavaliers fell to the Golden State Warriors in six games, with the team being spearheaded by the “Splash Brothers,” Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. With the assistance of Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love, he guided the team to their second appearance in the Finals. After spending four seasons with the Miami Heat — LeBron James made his return to the Cleveland Cavaliers for the 2014–15 season.
The final playoff round, a best-of-seven series between the victors of both conferences, is known as the NBA Finals and is held annually in June (sometimes, the series will start in late May). Seeds are awarded in strict order of regular season record , with a tiebreaker system used as needed,. Each team plays six of the teams from the other two divisions in its conference four times , 24 games,, and the remaining four teams three times (12 games). The Thunder would ultimately defeat the Pacers in seven games in the 2025 NBA Finals to win their second title in franchise history and their first in Oklahoma City.