National Basketball Association

Today, the NBA has reached 30 franchises and continues to evolve as one of the premier sports leagues in the world. He was known as "Jack of the Lantern", or Jack-o'-Lantern.^{[citation needed]}
. In 1996 the NBA created a women's league, the Women's National Basketball Association, and in 2002 created an affiliated minor league, the National Basketball Development League. So, Jack carved out one of his turnips, put a candle inside it, and began endlessly wandering the Earth for a resting place. The NBA is now televised in 212 nations in 42 languages. When Jack died, he was too sinful to be allowed into Heaven, but the Devil wouldn't let him into Hell. 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 Pau Gasol of Spain, 2002 first pick in the NBA Draft Yao Ming of China, and 2004 Olympic Tournament MVP Manu Ginobili of Argentina. The Devil agreed.

Initially, many of these players, such as 1994 NBA MVP Hakeem Olajuwon of Nigeria, first played NCAA basketball to enhance their skills. The practice of carving a jack-o'-lantern goes back to the Irish legend of Jack, a lazy but shrewd farmer who used a cross to trick the Devil, then refused to free him unless he agreed to never let Jack into Hell. A growing number of NBA star players also began coming from other countries. Jack-o'-lanterns are generally made for Halloween, in Europe were originally made from large turnips, beets, and rutabagas, before the introduction of the pumpkin from the Americas (generally pumpkins are more common these days). The 1992 Olympic basketball Dream Team, the first to use current NBA stars, featured Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, and Magic Johnson. The practice of carving jack-o'-lanterns began in Ireland. The 1990s also saw greater globalization. The light illuminates the design from the inside.

During the 1990s, Jordan went on to lead the Bulls to six titles. A light source (traditionally a candle) is placed inside the pumpkin and the top is put back into place (often after a "chimney" is carved in the lid in order to allow heat to escape). By 1989, further expansion had raised the number of teams in the league to 27. It is possible, using thicker and thinner sections cut with differing tools, to create surprisingly detailed and realistic designs. Michael Jordan, entered the league in 1984 with the Chicago Bulls, providing an even more popular star to support growing interest in the league. Sections of a side are carved out to make a design, usually a face. Bird went on to lead the Celtics to three titles, and Johnson went on to lead the Lakers to five. A jack-o'-lantern is a pumpkin, turnip or swede whose top and stem have been carved off and interior removed to leave a hollow shell.

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. The league added the ABA's innovative three-point field goal beginning in 1979 to open up the game. 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 NBA expanded rapidly during this period, one purpose being to tie up most viable cities.

The ABA also succeeded in signing a number of major stars, including Julius Erving, in part because it allowed teams to sign college undergraduates. 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 together with Oscar Robertson led the Milwaukee Bucks to a title in his second season, and who later played on five Laker championship teams. The leagues engaged in a bidding war for talent.

In 1967, the league faced a new external threat with the formation of the American Basketball Association. 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. Russell's rivalry with Chamberlain became one of the great individual rivalries in the history of team sports. Center Wilt Chamberlain entered the league in 1959 and became the dominant individual star of the 1960s, setting new records in scoring and rebounding.

In 1956, rookie center Bill Russell joined the Boston Celtics, who already featured guard Bob Cousy and coach Red Auerbach, and went on to lead the club to eleven NBA titles in thirteen seasons. To liven up play, the league introduced the 24 second shot clock in 1954. During this period, the Minneapolis Lakers, led by center George Mikan, won five NBA Championships and established themselves as its first dynasty. 1950 also saw the NBA integrate, with the addition of African American players by several teams including Chuck Cooper with the Boston Celtics, Nat "Sweetwater" Clifton with the New York Knicks, and Earl Lloyd with the Washington Capitols.

Louis; the Royals from Rochester to Cincinnati, the Pistons from Fort Wayne to Detroit. The Hawks shifted from "Tri-Cities" to Milwaukee and then to St. While contracting, the league also saw its smaller city franchises move to larger cities. 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, Celtics, Warriors, Lakers, Royals/Kings, Pistons, Hawks, and Nationals/76ers).

Following the 1949 season, the BAA agreed to merge with the NBL, expanding the rechristened 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. For instance the 1947 ABL finalist Baltimore Bullets moved to the BAA and won its 1948 title, followed by the 1948 NBL champion Minneapolis Lakers who won the 1949 BAA title. During its early years, though, the quality of play in the BAA was not obviously better than those other leagues or among leading independent clubs such as the Harlem Globetrotters. Although there had been earlier attempts at professional basketball leagues, including the American Basketball League and the National Basketball League, the BAA was the first league to attempt to play primarily in large arenas in major cities.

The Basketball Association of America was founded in 1946 by the owners of major sports arenas in the Northeast and Midwest, most notably Madison Square Garden in New York City. There has been only one exception to date: Jerry West won the award in 1969 (the award's first season) even though his Los Angeles Lakers did not win the championship. In addition, the league awards an NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award, which nearly always goes to a member of the winning team, though not by rule. Each player and major contributor, including coaches and the general manager, on the winning team receive a championship ring.

The victor in the NBA Finals wins the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy. The final playoff round, a best-of-seven series between the victors of both conferences, is known as the NBA Finals, and it is held annually in June. For the final round (NBA Finals), the series follows a 2-3-2 pattern. In every round except the NBA Finals, the best of seven series follows a 2-2-1-1-1 pattern, meaning that one team will have home court in games 1, 2, 5, and 7, while the other plays at home in games 3, 4, and 6.

Since the NBA does not re-seed teams, the playoff bracket in each conference uses a traditional design, with the winner of the series matching the 1st and 8th seeded teams playing the winner of the series matching the 4th and 5th seeded teams, and the winner of the series matching the 2nd and 7th seeded teams playing the winner of the series matching the 3rd and 6th seeded teams. Thus, all but one team in each conference are eliminated from the playoffs. In the next round, the successful team plays against another advancing team of the same conference. Each team plays a rival in a best-of-seven series, with the first team to win four games advancing into the second round, while the other team is eliminated from the playoffs.

The playoffs follow a tournament format. Therefore, the team with the best regular season record in the league is guaranteed home court advantage in every series it plays. This means that, for example, if the team who receives the 6 (six) seed has a better record than the team with the 3 (three) seed (seeded thus by virtue of a divisional championship), the 6 seed would have home court advantage, even though the other team has a higher seed. The team in each series with the better record has home court advantage, including the First Round.

Since the first seed plays the eighth seed, the second seed plays the seventh seed, the third seed plays the sixth seed, and the fourth seed plays the fifth seed in the playoffs, having a higher seed generally means you will be facing a weaker team. Having a higher seed offers several advantages. Although the playoff brackets are not reseeded, home-court advantage is based strictly on regular-season record, without regard to whether a team won its division. However, the seeding system has one feature that is unusual in North American sports; division champions do not necessarily have home-court advantage in the playoffs.

The remaining five seeds are determined by taking the five teams with the next-best records from among the non-division winning teams in the conference. The top three seeds for each conference are determined by taking the winners of the conference's three divisions and ranking them by regular season record. The NBA Playoffs begin in late April, with eight teams in each conference qualifying for the playoffs. There are also two All-Rookie teams, consisting of the top first-year players regardless of position.

There are two All-Defensive teams, consisting of the top defenders at each position. There are three All-NBA teams, consisting of the top players at each position, with first-team status being most desirable. The postseason teams are the All-NBA Teams, the All-Defensive Teams, and the All-Rookie Teams; each consists of five players. Additionally, The Sporting News awards an unofficial (but widely recognized) NBA Executive of the Year Award to the general manager who is adjudged to have done the best job for his franchise.

The NBA Most Valuable Player Award is given to player deemed the most valuable for that season. The NBA Coach of the Year Award is awarded to either the best coach in the league or the coach that has made the most positive difference to a team. The NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award is awarded to the league's best defender. The NBA Most Improved Player Award is awarded to the most improved player.

The NBA Rookie of the Year Award is awarded to the best rookie player. The NBA Sixth Man Award is given to the best player coming off the bench (not starting for his team). It is during this time that voting begins for individual awards, as well as the selection of the honorary league-wide postseason teams. In April, the regular season ends.

Major trades are often completed right before the trading deadline, making that day a hectic time for general managers. After this date, teams are not allowed to exchange players with each other for the remainder of the season, although they may still sign and release players. Shortly after the All-Star break is the league's trade deadline. Other attractions of the All-Star break include the got milk? Rookie Challenge game, which pits the best rookies and the best second-year players against each other; the Foot Locker Three-Point Shootout, a competition between players to see who is the best 3-point shooter; and the Sprite Rising Stars Slam Dunk contest, to see which player dunks the ball in the most entertaining way.

The player with the best performance during the game is rewarded with a Game MVP award. Then, East faces West in the All-Star game. Coaches vote to choose the remaining 14 All-Stars. Fans are balloted throughout the United States, Canada and through the Internet, and the top vote-getters at each position in each conference are given a starting spot on their conference's All-Star team.

In February, the NBA regular season is interrupted to celebrate the annual NBA All-Star Game. Following the recent changes to the National Hockey League's scheduling format, the NBA is now the only major league in which all the teams play each other during the regular season, and where a season ticket holder can see every team in the league come to town in any one season. A team can therefore have a relatively easy or difficult schedule, depending on the division and conference it is located in. A team faces opponents in its own division four times a year, teams from the other two divisions in its conference either three or four times, and teams in the other conference twice apiece.

Schedules are not identical for all teams. In the regular season, each team plays 82 games, which are divided evenly between home and away games. The NBA regular season begins in the first week of November. After training camp, a series of preseason exhibition games are held.

Teams have the ability to assign players with less than two years of experience to the NBA development league. Training camps allow the coaching staff to evaluate players (especially rookies), scout the team's strengths and weaknesses, prepare the players for the rigorous regular season, and determine the 12-man active roster (and a 3-man inactive list, if needed) with which they will begin the regular season. Following the summer break, teams hold training camps in October. .

NBA Entertainment and NBA TV studios are directed out of offices located in Secaucus, New Jersey. The league's several international and individual team offices are directed out its head offices located in the Olympic Tower at 645 Fifth Avenue in New York City. The league adopted the name National Basketball Association in the fall of 1949 after merging with the rival National Basketball League. The league was founded in New York City on June 6, 1946 as the Basketball Association of America (BAA).

The National Basketball Association, more commonly referred to as the NBA, is the world's premier men's professional basketball league and one of the major professional sports leagues of North America. NBA Coach of the Year Award. NBA Rookie of the Year Award. NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award.

NBA Sixth Man Award. NBA Most Improved Player Award. NBA Most Valuable Player Award, NBA Finals MVP Award. List of Current NBA Team Rosters.

List of NBA players. David Stern, Commissioner since 1984. Larry O'Brien, Commissioner from 1975 to 1984. Walter Kennedy, President from 1963 to 1967 and Commissioner from 1967 to 1975.

Maurice Podoloff, President from 1946 to 1963. Basketball Hall of Fame. Waterloo Hawks (1949–1950). Washington Capitols (1946–1951).

Toronto Huskies (1946–1947). Sheboygan Redskins (1949–1950). Louis Bombers (1946–1950). St.

Providence Steamrollers (1946–1949). Pittsburgh Ironmen (1946–1947). Indianapolis Olympians (1949–1953). Indianapolis Jets (1948–1949).

Detroit Gems (1949–1950). Detroit Falcons (1946–1947). Denver Nuggets (original) (1949–1950). Cleveland Rebels (1946–1947).

Chicago Stags (1946–1950). Baltimore Bullets (1947–1955: last NBA team to fold). Anderson Packers (1949–1950).