If one sport is quintessentially American, it has to be basketball. Like gridiron, this is the country where the best teams play, and players worldwide head for if they want to hit the big time.
It’s also given rise to many household names, including Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, and Kobe Bryant.
The reason for basketball’s popularity is that it’s always an exciting spectacle with high-scoring games and incredible feats of athleticism and skill. So, if you’d like to know more about it, here’s a beginner’s guide.
The history of the NBA
The game is run by the National Basketball Association—the NBA—which was first established in 1949 following the merger of the Basketball Association of America and the National Basketball League.
The NBA is responsible for all aspects of the game, from setting the rules to overseeing the annual draft – more about that later on. There’s sometimes an uneasy relationship between the teams and the league. This came to a head when Michael Jordan started playing for the Chicago Bulls wearing the legendary Air Jordans. Their black and red colorways were against the NBA rules, but he, the team, and NIKE decided that the $5,000 per game fine was well worth it for the publicity it generated.
The teams
From the original 11 teams in 1946, the number has gradually expanded to 30 today. 29 of these are in the US, with one in Canada, the Toronto Raptors. The league is divided into two separate conferences, each with fifteen teams. These are then subdivided into three divisions per conference, each with five teams.
Over the years, the Boston Celtics have been the most successful overall, having won 18 championships. They’re closely followed by the LA Lakers, who have 17. This is why you’ll find some of the shortest odds quoted for these two teams when it comes to NBA lines for betting.
The regular season
Each year, the regular season kicks off with training camps in September when coaches start to formulate their plans and identify the players who will make it onto the 12-person roster – teams have five players on the court at any time with seven in reserve.
Following the training camps, there are a number of exhibition matches until the season starts in October, running through April of the following year.
During the regular season, each team plays 82 games, half at home and half away. Of these games, 16 are played against opponents in the same division, 24 against teams from the other two divisions in their conference, 12 against the remaining four teams, and 30 against teams from the other conference.
In February, there is a pause for the NBA All-Star Game, in which two teams consisting of the best players in each conference meet each other.
Also, in 2023, an in-season tournament was introduced, with the results counting in the overall standings.
The Playoffs
As with other sports in the US, the regular season leads into the playoffs.
The top eight teams in each conference qualify for these and are seeded according to their season’s record. Because the first round sees the top seed for each conference playing the bottom seed, this can lead to surprising results.
Each round consists of a best-of-seven series, with the first team to achieve four wins advancing to the next round in a knockout competition.
Eventually, there are two teams left, one from each conference. These then meet in June when they compete for the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy, the current holders of which are the Boston Celtics. An additional award, the Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award, is given to the best-performing player of the series.
The draft
Shortly after the playoffs end, the draft comes while the winners celebrate their victory.
This is the primary way that teams can recruit new talent from students about to graduate and who have already started to show great promise in college basketball.
Each team is allowed to pick a maximum of two players. As in other drafts, the worst-performing teams from the preceding season get the first pick, which aims to help them build a stronger roster. The 16 teams that entered the playoffs enter a lottery to see what order they get to pick in the draft, which has two rounds.
Once selected, rookie players are given contracts, but it’s not the end of the road for undrafted players, as they can also sign on to teams as free agents.
So there you have it. A whistle-stop tour of the ins and outs of the NBA. Now, it’s time to get into the action!
