Login Sign Up
Close
Menu
Posted On: 11-Mar-2020 05:40:30 Posted In: Other / hacks
Posted By: Dark_
Back FOLLOW ME




Code


<html class="client-nojs" lang="en" dir="ltr">
  <head>
  <meta charset="UTF-8"/>
  <title>National Basketball Association - Wikipedia</title>
  <script>document.documentElement.className="client-js";RLCONF={"wgBreakFrames":!1,"wgSeparatorTransformTable":["",""],"wgDigitTransformTable":["",""],"wgDefaultDateFormat":"dmy","wgMonthNames":["","January","February","March","April","May","June","July","August","September","October","November","December"],"wgMonthNamesShort":["","Jan","Feb","Mar","Apr","May","Jun","Jul","Aug","Sep","Oct","Nov","Dec"],"wgRequestId":"XmkhOwpAAEIAAAtcksAAAADX","wgCSPNonce":!1,"wgCanonicalNamespace":"","wgCanonicalSpecialPageName":!1,"wgNamespaceNumber":0,"wgPageName":"National_Basketball_Association","wgTitle":"National Basketball Association","wgCurRevisionId":944533128,"wgRevisionId":944533128,"wgArticleId":22093,"wgIsArticle":!0,"wgIsRedirect":!1,"wgAction":"view","wgUserName":null,"wgUserGroups":["*"],"wgCategories":["Wikipedia pages semi-protected against vandalism","Wikipedia indefinitely move-protected pages","Articles with short description","Use mdy dates from January 2019",
  "All articles lacking reliable references","Articles lacking reliable references from February 2020","All articles with unsourced statements","Articles with unsourced statements from April 2019","Lists of coordinates","Geographic coordinate lists","Articles with Geo","Articles with unsourced statements from October 2019","Articles with unsourced statements from January 2020","Commons category link is on Wikidata","Official website different in Wikidata and Wikipedia","Wikipedia articles with BNF identifiers","Wikipedia articles with CANTIC identifiers","Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers","Wikipedia articles with ISNI identifiers","Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers","Wikipedia articles with MusicBrainz identifiers","Wikipedia articles with NKC identifiers","Wikipedia articles with SUDOC identifiers","Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers","Wikipedia articles with WorldCat-VIAF identifiers","1946 establishments in New York (state)","Basketball leagues in Canada",
  "Basketball leagues in the United States","Men's basketball","National Basketball Association","Organizations based in New York City","Professional sports leagues in Canada","Professional sports leagues in the United States","Sports leagues established in 1946"],"wgPageContentLanguage":"en","wgPageContentModel":"wikitext","wgRelevantPageName":"National_Basketball_Association","wgRelevantArticleId":22093,"wgIsProbablyEditable":!1,"wgRelevantPageIsProbablyEditable":!1,"wgRestrictionEdit":["autoconfirmed"],"wgRestrictionMove":["sysop"],"wgMediaViewerOnClick":!0,"wgMediaViewerEnabledByDefault":!0,"wgPopupsReferencePreviews":!1,"wgPopupsConflictsWithNavPopupGadget":!1,"wgVisualEditor":{"pageLanguageCode":"en","pageLanguageDir":"ltr","pageVariantFallbacks":"en"},"wgMFDisplayWikibaseDescriptions":{"search":!0,"nearby":!0,"watchlist":!0,"tagline":!1},"wgWMESchemaEditAttemptStepOversample":!1,"wgULSCurrentAutonym":"English","wgNoticeProject":"wikipedia",
  "wgWikibaseItemId":"Q155223","wgCentralAuthMobileDomain":!1,"wgEditSubmitButtonLabelPublish":!0};RLSTATE={"ext.globalCssJs.user.styles":"ready","site.styles":"ready","noscript":"ready","user.styles":"ready","ext.globalCssJs.user":"ready","user":"ready","user.options":"ready","user.tokens":"loading","ext.cite.styles":"ready","mediawiki.legacy.shared":"ready","mediawiki.legacy.commonPrint":"ready","jquery.tablesorter.styles":"ready","jquery.makeCollapsible.styles":"ready","mediawiki.toc.styles":"ready","skins.vector.styles":"ready","wikibase.client.init":"ready","ext.visualEditor.desktopArticleTarget.noscript":"ready","ext.uls.interlanguage":"ready","ext.wikimediaBadges":"ready"};RLPAGEMODULES=["ext.cite.ux-enhancements","site","mediawiki.page.startup","skins.vector.js","mediawiki.page.ready","jquery.tablesorter","jquery.makeCollapsible","mediawiki.toc","ext.gadget.ReferenceTooltips","ext.gadget.charinsert","ext.gadget.refToolbar","ext.gadget.extra-toolbar-buttons",
  "ext.gadget.switcher","ext.centralauth.centralautologin","mmv.head","mmv.bootstrap.autostart","ext.popups","ext.visualEditor.desktopArticleTarget.init","ext.visualEditor.targetLoader","ext.eventLogging","ext.wikimediaEvents","ext.navigationTiming","ext.uls.compactlinks","ext.uls.interface","ext.cx.eventlogging.campaigns","ext.quicksurveys.init","ext.centralNotice.geoIP","ext.centralNotice.startUp"];</script>
  <script>(RLQ=window.RLQ||[]).push(function(){mw.loader.implement("user.tokens@tffin",function($,jQuery,require,module){/*@nomin*/mw.user.tokens.set({"patrolToken":"+\","watchToken":"+\","csrfToken":"+\"});
  });});</script>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="/w/load.php?lang=en&amp;modules=ext.cite.styles%7Cext.uls.interlanguage%7Cext.visualEditor.desktopArticleTarget.noscript%7Cext.wikimediaBadges%7Cjquery.makeCollapsible.styles%7Cjquery.tablesorter.styles%7Cmediawiki.legacy.commonPrint%2Cshared%7Cmediawiki.toc.styles%7Cskins.vector.styles%7Cwikibase.client.init&amp;only=styles&amp;skin=vector"/>
  <script async="" src="/w/load.php?lang=en&amp;modules=startup&amp;only=scripts&amp;raw=1&amp;skin=vector"></script>
  <meta name="ResourceLoaderDynamicStyles" content=""/>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="/w/load.php?lang=en&amp;modules=site.styles&amp;only=styles&amp;skin=vector"/>
  <meta name="generator" content="MediaWiki 1.35.0-wmf.22"/>
  <meta name="referrer" content="origin"/>
  <meta name="referrer" content="origin-when-crossorigin"/>
  <meta name="referrer" content="origin-when-cross-origin"/>
  <link rel="apple-touch-icon" href="/static/apple-touch/wikipedia.png"/>
  <link rel="shortcut icon" href="/static/favicon/wikipedia.ico"/>
  <link rel="search" type="application/opensearchdescription+xml" href="/w/opensearch_desc.php" title="Wikipedia (en)"/>
  <link rel="EditURI" type="application/rsd+xml" href="//en.wikipedia.org/w/api.php?action=rsd"/>
  <link rel="license" href="//creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"/>
  <link rel="alternate" type="application/atom+xml" title="Wikipedia Atom feed" href="/w/index.php?title=Special:RecentChanges&amp;feed=atom"/>
  <link rel="canonical" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Basketball_Association"/>
  <link rel="dns-prefetch" href="//login.wikimedia.org"/>
  <link rel="dns-prefetch" href="//meta.wikimedia.org" />
  <!--[if lt IE 9]><script src="/w/resources/lib/html5shiv/html5shiv.js"></script><![endif]-->
  </head>
  <body class="mediawiki ltr sitedir-ltr mw-hide-empty-elt ns-0 ns-subject page-National_Basketball_Association rootpage-National_Basketball_Association skin-vector action-view">
  <div id="mw-page-base" class="noprint"></div>
  <div id="mw-head-base" class="noprint"></div>
  <div id="content" class="mw-body" role="main">
  <a id="top"></a>
  <div id="siteNotice" class="mw-body-content"><!-- CentralNotice --></div>
  <div class="mw-indicators mw-body-content">
  <div id="mw-indicator-pp-default" class="mw-indicator"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Protection_policy#semi" title="This article is semi-protected due to vandalism"><img alt="Page semi-protected" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/1/1b/Semi-protection-shackle.svg/20px-Semi-protection-shackle.svg.png" decoding="async" width="20" height="20" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/1/1b/Semi-protection-shackle.svg/30px-Semi-protection-shackle.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/1/1b/Semi-protection-shackle.svg/40px-Semi-protection-shackle.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="512" data-file-height="512" /></a></div>
  </div>
   
  <h1 id="firstHeading" class="firstHeading" lang="en">National Basketball Association</h1>
   
  <div id="bodyContent" class="mw-body-content">
  <div id="siteSub" class="noprint">From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</div>
  <div id="contentSub"></div>
   
   
  <div id="jump-to-nav"></div>
  <a class="mw-jump-link" href="#mw-head">Jump to navigation</a>
  <a class="mw-jump-link" href="#p-search">Jump to search</a>
  <div id="mw-content-text" lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr"><div class="mw-parser-output"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">"NBA" redirects here. For other uses, see <a href="/wiki/NBA_(disambiguation)" class="mw-disambig" title="NBA (disambiguation)">NBA (disambiguation)</a>.</div>
  <p class="mw-empty-elt">
  </p>
  <div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none">North American professional sports league</div>
  <p class="mw-empty-elt">
  </p>
  <table class="infobox" style="width:22em"><caption>National Basketball Association (NBA)</caption><tbody><tr><td colspan="2" style="text-align:center"><b>Current season, competition or edition:</b><br /><img alt="Current sports event" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/48/Basketball_current_event.svg/31px-Basketball_current_event.svg.png" decoding="async" width="31" height="31" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/48/Basketball_current_event.svg/47px-Basketball_current_event.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/48/Basketball_current_event.svg/62px-Basketball_current_event.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="600" data-file-height="600" /> <i><a href="/wiki/2019%E2%80%9320_NBA_season" title="2019–20 NBA season">2019–20 NBA season</a></i></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" style="text-align:center"><a href="/wiki/File:National_Basketball_Association_logo.svg" class="image"><img alt="National Basketball Association logo.svg" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/03/National_Basketball_Association_logo.svg/100px-National_Basketball_Association_logo.svg.png" decoding="async" width="100" height="222" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/03/National_Basketball_Association_logo.svg/150px-National_Basketball_Association_logo.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/03/National_Basketball_Association_logo.svg/200px-National_Basketball_Association_logo.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="136" data-file-height="302" /></a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" style="white-space: nowrap">Sport</th><td><a href="/wiki/Basketball" title="Basketball">Basketball</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" style="white-space: nowrap">Founded</th><td>June&#160;6, 1946<span class="noprint">&#59;&#32;73 years ago</span><span style="display:none">&#160;(<span class="bday dtstart published updated">1946-06-06</span>)</span><br />(as <a href="/wiki/Basketball_Association_of_America" title="Basketball Association of America">BAA</a>),<br /><a href="/wiki/New_York_City" title="New York City">New York City</a>, <a href="/wiki/New_York_(state)" title="New York (state)">New York</a>, United States<sup id="cite_ref-ANewLeagueNBA.com_1-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-ANewLeagueNBA.com-1">&#91;1&#93;</a></sup></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" style="white-space: nowrap">Inaugural season</th><td><a href="/wiki/1946%E2%80%9347_BAA_season" title="1946–47 BAA season">1946–47</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" style="white-space: nowrap">Commissioner</th><td><a href="/wiki/Adam_Silver" title="Adam Silver">Adam Silver</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" style="white-space: nowrap">No. of teams</th><td>30</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" style="white-space: nowrap">Countries</th><td>United States (29 teams)<br /><a href="/wiki/Canada" title="Canada">Canada</a> (1 team)</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" style="white-space: nowrap">Headquarters</th><td>New York City</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" style="white-space: nowrap">Most recent<br />champion(s)</th><td><a href="/wiki/Toronto_Raptors" title="Toronto Raptors">Toronto Raptors</a><br />(1st title)</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" style="white-space: nowrap">Most titles</th><td><a href="/wiki/Boston_Celtics" title="Boston Celtics">Boston Celtics</a> (17 titles)</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" style="white-space: nowrap">TV partner(s)</th><td><b>United States</b>:
  <ul><li><a href="/wiki/NBA_on_ABC" title="NBA on ABC">ABC</a>/<a href="/wiki/NBA_on_ESPN" title="NBA on ESPN">ESPN</a></li>
  <li><a href="/wiki/NBA_TV" title="NBA TV">NBA TV</a></li>
  <li><a href="/wiki/NBA_on_TNT" title="NBA on TNT">TNT</a></li></ul>
  <p><b>Canada</b>:
  </p>
  <ul><li><a href="/wiki/NBA_TV_Canada" title="NBA TV Canada">NBA TV Canada</a></li>
  <li><a href="/wiki/The_Sports_Network" title="The Sports Network">TSN</a>/<a href="/wiki/TSN2" title="TSN2">TSN2</a></li>
  <li><a href="/wiki/Sportsnet" title="Sportsnet">Sportsnet</a>/<a href="/wiki/Sportsnet_One" title="Sportsnet One">Sportsnet One</a></li></ul>
  </td></tr><tr><th scope="row" style="white-space: nowrap">Official website</th><td><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.nba.com/">NBA.com</a></td></tr></tbody></table>
  <p>The <b>National Basketball Association</b> (<b>NBA</b>) is a men's <a href="/wiki/Professional_basketball" class="mw-redirect" title="Professional basketball">professional basketball</a> <a href="/wiki/Sports_league" title="Sports league">league</a> in <a href="/wiki/North_America" title="North America">North America</a>, composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). It is one of the four <a href="/wiki/Major_professional_sports_leagues_in_the_United_States_and_Canada" title="Major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada">major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada</a>, and is widely considered to be the premier men's professional basketball league in the world.<sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2">&#91;2&#93;</a></sup><sup class="noprint Inline-Template noprint noexcerpt Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">&#91;<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:NOTRS" class="mw-redirect" title="Wikipedia:NOTRS"><span title="This claim needs references to better sources. (February 2020)">better&#160;source&#160;needed</span></a></i>&#93;</sup>
  </p><p>The league was founded in <a href="/wiki/New_York_City" title="New York City">New York City</a> on June 6, 1946, as the <a href="/wiki/Basketball_Association_of_America" title="Basketball Association of America">Basketball Association of America</a> (BAA).<sup id="cite_ref-ANewLeagueNBA.com_1-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-ANewLeagueNBA.com-1">&#91;1&#93;</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-3">&#91;3&#93;</a></sup> It changed its name to the National Basketball Association on August 3, 1949, after merging with the competing <a href="/wiki/National_Basketball_League_(United_States)" title="National Basketball League (United States)">National Basketball League</a> (NBL). The NBA's regular season runs from October to April, with each team playing 82 games. Its playoffs extend into June. As of 2015, NBA players are the world's best paid athletes by average annual salary per player.<sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-4">&#91;4&#93;</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-5">&#91;5&#93;</a></sup>
  </p><p>The NBA is an active member of <a href="/wiki/USA_Basketball" title="USA Basketball">USA Basketball</a> (USAB),<sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-6">&#91;6&#93;</a></sup> which is recognized by <a href="/wiki/FIBA" title="FIBA">FIBA</a> (also known as the International Basketball Federation) as the <a href="/wiki/Sport_governing_body" class="mw-redirect" title="Sport governing body">national governing body</a> for basketball in the United States. The league's several international as well as individual team offices are directed out of its head offices in <a href="/wiki/Midtown_Manhattan" title="Midtown Manhattan">Midtown Manhattan</a>, while its <a href="/wiki/NBA_Entertainment" title="NBA Entertainment">NBA Entertainment</a> and <a href="/wiki/NBA_TV" title="NBA TV">NBA TV</a> studios are directed out of offices located in <a href="/wiki/Secaucus,_New_Jersey" title="Secaucus, New Jersey">Secaucus, New Jersey</a>.
  </p>
  <div id="toc" class="toc" role="navigation" aria-labelledby="mw-toc-heading"><input type="checkbox" role="button" id="toctogglecheckbox" class="toctogglecheckbox" style="display:none" /><div class="toctitle" lang="en" dir="ltr"><h2 id="mw-toc-heading">Contents</h2><span class="toctogglespan"><label class="toctogglelabel" for="toctogglecheckbox"></label></span></div>
  <ul>
  <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1"><a href="#History"><span class="tocnumber">1</span> <span class="toctext">History</span></a>
  <ul>
  <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-2"><a href="#Creation_and_BAA–NBL_merger_(1946–1956)"><span class="tocnumber">1.1</span> <span class="toctext">Creation and BAA–NBL merger (1946–1956)</span></a></li>
  <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-3"><a href="#Celtics&#39;_dominance,_league_expansion_and_competition_(1956–1979)"><span class="tocnumber">1.2</span> <span class="toctext">Celtics' dominance, league expansion and competition (1956–1979)</span></a></li>
  <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-4"><a href="#Surging_popularity_(1979–1998)"><span class="tocnumber">1.3</span> <span class="toctext">Surging popularity (1979–1998)</span></a></li>
  <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-5"><a href="#Lakers&#39;_and_Spurs&#39;_dynasties_(1998–2014)"><span class="tocnumber">1.4</span> <span class="toctext">Lakers' and Spurs' dynasties (1998–2014)</span></a></li>
  <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-6"><a href="#Modern_era_(2014–present)"><span class="tocnumber">1.5</span> <span class="toctext">Modern era (2014–present)</span></a></li>
  <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-7"><a href="#International_influence"><span class="tocnumber">1.6</span> <span class="toctext">International influence</span></a></li>
  <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-8"><a href="#Other_developments"><span class="tocnumber">1.7</span> <span class="toctext">Other developments</span></a></li>
  </ul>
  </li>
  <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-9"><a href="#Teams"><span class="tocnumber">2</span> <span class="toctext">Teams</span></a></li>
  <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-10"><a href="#Regular_season"><span class="tocnumber">3</span> <span class="toctext">Regular season</span></a></li>
  <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-11"><a href="#Playoffs"><span class="tocnumber">4</span> <span class="toctext">Playoffs</span></a></li>
  <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-12"><a href="#Championships"><span class="tocnumber">5</span> <span class="toctext">Championships</span></a></li>
  <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-13"><a href="#Media_coverage"><span class="tocnumber">6</span> <span class="toctext">Media coverage</span></a></li>
  <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-14"><a href="#International_competitions"><span class="tocnumber">7</span> <span class="toctext">International competitions</span></a></li>
  <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-15"><a href="#Ticket_prices_and_viewership_demographics"><span class="tocnumber">8</span> <span class="toctext">Ticket prices and viewership demographics</span></a>
  <ul>
  <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-16"><a href="#Viewership_demographics"><span class="tocnumber">8.1</span> <span class="toctext">Viewership demographics</span></a></li>
  </ul>
  </li>
  <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-17"><a href="#Controversies_and_criticism"><span class="tocnumber">9</span> <span class="toctext">Controversies and criticism</span></a></li>
  <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-18"><a href="#Notable_people"><span class="tocnumber">10</span> <span class="toctext">Notable people</span></a>
  <ul>
  <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-19"><a href="#Presidents_and_commissioners"><span class="tocnumber">10.1</span> <span class="toctext">Presidents and commissioners</span></a></li>
  <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-20"><a href="#Players"><span class="tocnumber">10.2</span> <span class="toctext">Players</span></a></li>
  <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-21"><a href="#Foreign_players"><span class="tocnumber">10.3</span> <span class="toctext">Foreign players</span></a>
  <ul>
  <li class="toclevel-3 tocsection-22"><a href="#International_influence_2"><span class="tocnumber">10.3.1</span> <span class="toctext">International influence</span></a></li>
  </ul>
  </li>
  <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-23"><a href="#Coaches"><span class="tocnumber">10.4</span> <span class="toctext">Coaches</span></a></li>
  </ul>
  </li>
  <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-24"><a href="#NBA_Cares"><span class="tocnumber">11</span> <span class="toctext">NBA Cares</span></a></li>
  <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-25"><a href="#See_also"><span class="tocnumber">12</span> <span class="toctext">See also</span></a></li>
  <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-26"><a href="#References"><span class="tocnumber">13</span> <span class="toctext">References</span></a></li>
  <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-27"><a href="#Further_reading"><span class="tocnumber">14</span> <span class="toctext">Further reading</span></a></li>
  <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-28"><a href="#External_links"><span class="tocnumber">15</span> <span class="toctext">External links</span></a></li>
  </ul>
  </div>
   
  <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="History">History</span></h2>
  <h3><span id="Creation_and_BAA.E2.80.93NBL_merger_.281946.E2.80.931956.29"></span><span class="mw-headline" id="Creation_and_BAA–NBL_merger_(1946–1956)">Creation and BAA–NBL merger (1946–1956)</span></h3>
  <div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Basketball_Association_of_America" title="Basketball Association of America">Basketball Association of America</a></div>
  <p>The Basketball Association of America was founded in 1946 by owners of the major <a href="/wiki/Ice_hockey" title="Ice hockey">ice hockey</a> arenas in the <a href="/wiki/Northeastern_United_States" title="Northeastern United States">Northeastern</a> and <a href="/wiki/Midwestern_United_States" title="Midwestern United States">Midwestern United States</a> and Canada. On November 1, 1946, in <a href="/wiki/Toronto" title="Toronto">Toronto</a>, Ontario, Canada, the <a href="/wiki/Toronto_Huskies" title="Toronto Huskies">Toronto Huskies</a> hosted the <a href="/wiki/New_York_Knicks" title="New York Knicks">New York Knickerbockers</a> at <a href="/wiki/Maple_Leaf_Gardens" title="Maple Leaf Gardens">Maple Leaf Gardens</a>, in a game the NBA now refers to as the first game played in NBA history.<sup id="cite_ref-firstgame_7-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-firstgame-7">&#91;7&#93;</a></sup> The first basket was made by <a href="/wiki/Ossie_Schectman" title="Ossie Schectman">Ossie Schectman</a> of the Knickerbockers. Although there had been earlier attempts at professional basketball leagues, including the <a href="/wiki/American_Basketball_League_(1925%E2%80%9355)" class="mw-redirect" title="American Basketball League (1925–55)">American Basketball League</a> and the NBL, the BAA was the first league to attempt to play primarily in large arenas in major cities. During its early years, the quality of play in the BAA was not significantly better than in competing leagues or among leading independent clubs such as the <a href="/wiki/Harlem_Globetrotters" title="Harlem Globetrotters">Harlem Globetrotters</a>. For instance, the 1948 ABL finalist <a href="/wiki/Baltimore_Bullets_(1944%E2%80%9354)" class="mw-redirect" title="Baltimore Bullets (1944–54)">Baltimore Bullets</a> moved to the BAA and won that league's 1948 title, and the 1948 NBL champion <a href="/wiki/Minneapolis_Lakers" class="mw-redirect" title="Minneapolis Lakers">Minneapolis Lakers</a> won the 1949 BAA title. Prior to the 1948–49 season, however, NBL teams from Fort Wayne, Indianapolis, Minneapolis, and Rochester jumped to the BAA, which established the BAA as the league of choice for collegians looking to turn professional.<sup id="cite_ref-encyc_8-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-encyc-8">&#91;8&#93;</a></sup>
  </p><p>On August 3, 1949, the remaining NBL teams–Syracuse, Anderson, Tri-Cities, Sheboygan, Denver, and Waterloo–merged into the BAA. In deference to the merger and to avoid possible legal complications, the league name was changed to the present National Basketball Association, even though the merged league retained the BAA's governing body, including <a href="/wiki/Maurice_Podoloff" title="Maurice Podoloff">Maurice Podoloff</a> as president.<sup id="cite_ref-encyc_8-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-encyc-8">&#91;8&#93;</a></sup> To this day, the NBA claims the BAA's history as its own. It now reckons the arrival of the NBL teams as an expansion, not a merger, and does not recognize NBL records and statistics.
  </p><p>The new league had seventeen franchises located in a mix of large and small cities,<sup id="cite_ref-history_9-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-history-9">&#91;9&#93;</a></sup> as well as large arenas and smaller gymnasiums and armories. In 1950, the NBA consolidated to eleven franchises, a process that continued until 1953–54, when the league reached its smallest size of eight franchises: the <a href="/wiki/New_York_Knicks" title="New York Knicks">New York Knicks</a>, <a href="/wiki/Boston_Celtics" title="Boston Celtics">Boston Celtics</a>, <a href="/wiki/Philadelphia_Warriors" class="mw-redirect" title="Philadelphia Warriors">Philadelphia Warriors</a>, <a href="/wiki/Minneapolis_Lakers" class="mw-redirect" title="Minneapolis Lakers">Minneapolis Lakers</a>, <a href="/wiki/Rochester_Royals" class="mw-redirect" title="Rochester Royals">Rochester Royals</a>, <a href="/wiki/Fort_Wayne_Pistons" class="mw-redirect" title="Fort Wayne Pistons">Fort Wayne Pistons</a>, <a href="/wiki/Tri-Cities_Blackhawks" class="mw-redirect" title="Tri-Cities Blackhawks">Tri-Cities Blackhawks</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Syracuse_Nationals" class="mw-redirect" title="Syracuse Nationals">Syracuse Nationals</a>, all of which remain in the league today. The process of contraction saw the league's smaller-city franchises move to larger cities. The Hawks shifted from the <a href="/wiki/Quad_Cities" title="Quad Cities">Tri-Cities</a> to <a href="/wiki/Milwaukee" title="Milwaukee">Milwaukee</a> in 1951, and then to <a href="/wiki/St._Louis" title="St. Louis">St. Louis</a> in 1955. The Rochester Royals moved from <a href="/wiki/Rochester,_New_York" title="Rochester, New York">Rochester, New York</a>, to <a href="/wiki/Cincinnati" title="Cincinnati">Cincinnati</a> in 1957 and the Pistons relocated from <a href="/wiki/Fort_Wayne,_Indiana" title="Fort Wayne, Indiana">Fort Wayne, Indiana</a>, to <a href="/wiki/Detroit" title="Detroit">Detroit</a> in 1957.
  </p><p><a href="/wiki/Japanese-American" class="mw-redirect" title="Japanese-American">Japanese-American</a> <a href="/wiki/Wataru_Misaka" title="Wataru Misaka">Wataru Misaka</a> broke the <a href="/wiki/NBA_color_barrier" class="mw-redirect" title="NBA color barrier">NBA color barrier</a> in the <a href="/wiki/1947%E2%80%9348_NBA_season" class="mw-redirect" title="1947–48 NBA season">1947–48 season</a> when he played for the <a href="/wiki/New_York_Knicks" title="New York Knicks">New York Knicks</a>. He remained the only non-white player in league history prior to the first African-American, <a href="/wiki/Harold_Hunter_(basketball)" title="Harold Hunter (basketball)">Harold Hunter</a>, signing with the <a href="/wiki/Washington_Capitols" title="Washington Capitols">Washington Capitols</a> in 1950.<sup id="cite_ref-kcstar_10-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-kcstar-10">&#91;10&#93;</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-timespicayune_11-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-timespicayune-11">&#91;11&#93;</a></sup> Hunter was cut from the team during training camp,<sup id="cite_ref-kcstar_10-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-kcstar-10">&#91;10&#93;</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-citypaper_12-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-citypaper-12">&#91;12&#93;</a></sup> but several African-American players did play in the league later that year, including <a href="/wiki/Chuck_Cooper_(basketball)" title="Chuck Cooper (basketball)">Chuck Cooper</a> with the Celtics, <a href="/wiki/Nathaniel_%22Sweetwater%22_Clifton" class="mw-redirect" title="Nathaniel &quot;Sweetwater&quot; Clifton">Nathaniel "Sweetwater" Clifton</a> with the Knicks, and <a href="/wiki/Earl_Lloyd" title="Earl Lloyd">Earl Lloyd</a> with the <a href="/wiki/Washington_Capitols" title="Washington Capitols">Washington Capitols</a>. During this period, the Minneapolis Lakers, led by center <a href="/wiki/George_Mikan" title="George Mikan">George Mikan</a>, won five <a href="/wiki/NBA_Finals" title="NBA Finals">NBA Championships</a> and established themselves as the league's first <a href="/wiki/Dynasty_(sports)" title="Dynasty (sports)">dynasty</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-13" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-13">&#91;13&#93;</a></sup> To encourage shooting and discourage stalling, the league introduced the 24-second <a href="/wiki/Shot_clock" title="Shot clock">shot clock</a> in 1954.<sup id="cite_ref-14" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-14">&#91;14&#93;</a></sup> If a team does not attempt to score a field goal (or the ball fails to make contact with the rim) within 24 seconds of obtaining the ball, play is stopped and the ball given to its opponent.
  </p>
  <h3><span id="Celtics.27_dominance.2C_league_expansion_and_competition_.281956.E2.80.931979.29"></span><span class="mw-headline" id="Celtics'_dominance,_league_expansion_and_competition_(1956–1979)">Celtics' dominance, league expansion and competition (1956–1979)</span></h3>
  <p>In 1957, rookie center <a href="/wiki/Bill_Russell" title="Bill Russell">Bill Russell</a> joined the <a href="/wiki/Boston_Celtics" title="Boston Celtics">Boston Celtics</a>, which already featured guard <a href="/wiki/Bob_Cousy" title="Bob Cousy">Bob Cousy</a> and coach <a href="/wiki/Red_Auerbach" title="Red Auerbach">Red Auerbach</a>, and went on to lead the franchise to eleven NBA titles in thirteen seasons. Center <a href="/wiki/Wilt_Chamberlain" title="Wilt Chamberlain">Wilt Chamberlain</a> entered the league with the Warriors in 1959 and became a dominant individual star of the 1960s, setting new single game records in scoring (<a href="/wiki/Wilt_Chamberlain%27s_100-point_game" title="Wilt Chamberlain&#39;s 100-point game">100</a>) and rebounding (55). <a href="/wiki/Russell%E2%80%93Chamberlain_rivalry" class="mw-redirect" title="Russell–Chamberlain rivalry">Russell's rivalry with Chamberlain</a> became one of the greatest rivalries in the history of American team sports.
  </p>
  <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:172px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Wilt_Chamberlain_Bill_Russell.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d5/Wilt_Chamberlain_Bill_Russell.jpg/170px-Wilt_Chamberlain_Bill_Russell.jpg" decoding="async" width="170" height="231" class="thumbimage" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d5/Wilt_Chamberlain_Bill_Russell.jpg/255px-Wilt_Chamberlain_Bill_Russell.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d5/Wilt_Chamberlain_Bill_Russell.jpg/340px-Wilt_Chamberlain_Bill_Russell.jpg 2x" data-file-width="670" data-file-height="909" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Wilt_Chamberlain_Bill_Russell.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div><a href="/wiki/Bill_Russell" title="Bill Russell">Bill Russell</a> defending against <a href="/wiki/Wilt_Chamberlain" title="Wilt Chamberlain">Wilt Chamberlain</a> in 1966.</div></div></div>
  <p>The 1960s were dominated by the Celtics. Led by Russell, Cousy, and Auerbach, Boston won eight straight championships in the NBA from 1959 to 1966. This championship streak is the longest in NBA history. They did not win the title in <a href="/wiki/1966%E2%80%9367_NBA_season" title="1966–67 NBA season">1966–67</a>, but regained it in the <a href="/wiki/1967%E2%80%9368_NBA_season" title="1967–68 NBA season">1967–68 season</a> and repeated in <a href="/wiki/1968%E2%80%9369_NBA_season" title="1968–69 NBA season">1969</a>. The domination totaled nine of the ten championship banners of the 1960s.<sup id="cite_ref-15" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-15">&#91;15&#93;</a></sup>
  </p><p>Through this period, the NBA continued to evolve with the shift of the <a href="/wiki/Minneapolis_Lakers" class="mw-redirect" title="Minneapolis Lakers">Minneapolis Lakers</a> to Los Angeles, the <a href="/wiki/Philadelphia_Warriors" class="mw-redirect" title="Philadelphia Warriors">Philadelphia Warriors</a> to San Francisco, the <a href="/wiki/Syracuse_Nationals" class="mw-redirect" title="Syracuse Nationals">Syracuse Nationals</a> to <a href="/wiki/Philadelphia" title="Philadelphia">Philadelphia</a> to become the <a href="/wiki/Philadelphia_76ers" title="Philadelphia 76ers">Philadelphia 76ers</a>, and the <a href="/wiki/St._Louis_Hawks" class="mw-redirect" title="St. Louis Hawks">St. Louis Hawks</a> moving to <a href="/wiki/Atlanta" title="Atlanta">Atlanta</a>, as well as the addition of its first expansion franchises. The Chicago Packers (now <a href="/wiki/Washington_Wizards" title="Washington Wizards">Washington Wizards</a>) became the ninth NBA team in 1961. From 1966 to 1968, the league expanded from 9 to 14 teams, introducing the <a href="/wiki/Chicago_Bulls" title="Chicago Bulls">Chicago Bulls</a>, <a href="/wiki/Seattle_SuperSonics" title="Seattle SuperSonics">Seattle SuperSonics</a> (now <a href="/wiki/Oklahoma_City_Thunder" title="Oklahoma City Thunder">Oklahoma City Thunder</a>), <a href="/wiki/San_Diego_Rockets" class="mw-redirect" title="San Diego Rockets">San Diego Rockets</a> (who relocated to <a href="/wiki/Houston" title="Houston">Houston</a> four years later), <a href="/wiki/Milwaukee_Bucks" title="Milwaukee Bucks">Milwaukee Bucks</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Phoenix_Suns" title="Phoenix Suns">Phoenix Suns</a>.
  </p><p>In 1967, the league faced a new external threat with the formation of the <a href="/wiki/American_Basketball_Association" title="American Basketball Association">American Basketball Association</a> (ABA). The leagues engaged in a bidding war. The NBA landed the most important college star of the era, <a href="/wiki/Kareem_Abdul-Jabbar" title="Kareem Abdul-Jabbar">Kareem Abdul-Jabbar</a> (then known as Lew Alcindor). However, the NBA's leading scorer, <a href="/wiki/Rick_Barry" title="Rick Barry">Rick Barry</a>, jumped to the ABA, as did four veteran referees—<a href="/wiki/Norm_Drucker" title="Norm Drucker">Norm Drucker</a>, <a href="/wiki/Earl_Strom" title="Earl Strom">Earl Strom</a>, John Vanak, and Joe Gushue.<sup id="cite_ref-16" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-16">&#91;16&#93;</a></sup>
  </p><p>In 1969, <a href="/wiki/Alan_Siegel" title="Alan Siegel">Alan Siegel</a>, who oversaw the design of Jerry Dior's <a href="/wiki/Major_League_Baseball_logo" title="Major League Baseball logo">Major League Baseball logo</a> a year prior, created the modern NBA logo inspired by the MLB's. It incorporates the silhouette of <a href="/wiki/Jerry_West" title="Jerry West">Jerry West</a>, based on a photo by Wen Roberts, although NBA officials denied a particular player as being its influence because, according to Siegel, "They want to institutionalize it rather than individualize it. It's become such a ubiquitous, classic symbol and focal point of their identity and their licensing program that they don't necessarily want to identify it with one player." The iconic logo debuted in 1971 (with a small change to the typeface on the NBA wordmark in 2017) and would remain a fixture of the NBA brand.<sup id="cite_ref-17" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-17">&#91;17&#93;</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-18" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-18">&#91;18&#93;</a></sup>
  </p><p>The ABA succeeded in signing a number of major stars in the 1970s, including <a href="/wiki/Julius_Erving" title="Julius Erving">Julius Erving</a> of the <a href="/wiki/Virginia_Squires" title="Virginia Squires">Virginia Squires</a>, in part because it allowed teams to sign college undergraduates. The NBA expanded rapidly during this period, one purpose being to tie up the most viable cities. From 1966 to 1974, the NBA grew from nine franchises to 18. In 1970, the <a href="/wiki/Portland_Trail_Blazers" title="Portland Trail Blazers">Portland Trail Blazers</a>, <a href="/wiki/Cleveland_Cavaliers" title="Cleveland Cavaliers">Cleveland Cavaliers</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Buffalo_Braves" title="Buffalo Braves">Buffalo Braves</a> (now the <a href="/wiki/Los_Angeles_Clippers" title="Los Angeles Clippers">Los Angeles Clippers</a>) all made their debuts expanding the league to 17.<sup id="cite_ref-19" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-19">&#91;19&#93;</a></sup> The New Orleans Jazz (now in <a href="/wiki/Utah_Jazz" title="Utah Jazz">Utah</a>) came aboard in 1974 bringing the total to 18. Following the 1976 season, the leagues reached a <a href="/wiki/ABA%E2%80%93NBA_merger" title="ABA–NBA merger">settlement</a> 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 franchises added were the <a href="/wiki/San_Antonio_Spurs" title="San Antonio Spurs">San Antonio Spurs</a>, <a href="/wiki/Denver_Nuggets" title="Denver Nuggets">Denver Nuggets</a>, <a href="/wiki/Indiana_Pacers" title="Indiana Pacers">Indiana Pacers</a>, and <a href="/wiki/New_York_Nets" class="mw-redirect" title="New York Nets">New York Nets</a> (now the Brooklyn Nets). Some of the biggest stars of this era were Abdul-Jabbar, Barry, <a href="/wiki/Dave_Cowens" title="Dave Cowens">Dave Cowens</a>, Erving, <a href="/wiki/Elvin_Hayes" title="Elvin Hayes">Elvin Hayes</a>, <a href="/wiki/Walt_Frazier" title="Walt Frazier">Walt Frazier</a>, <a href="/wiki/Moses_Malone" title="Moses Malone">Moses Malone</a>, <a href="/wiki/Artis_Gilmore" title="Artis Gilmore">Artis Gilmore</a>, <a href="/wiki/George_Gervin" title="George Gervin">George Gervin</a>, <a href="/wiki/Dan_Issel" title="Dan Issel">Dan Issel</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Pete_Maravich" title="Pete Maravich">Pete Maravich</a>. The end of the decade, however, saw declining TV ratings, low attendance and drug-related player issues – both perceived and real – that threatened to derail the league.
  </p>
  <h3><span id="Surging_popularity_.281979.E2.80.931998.29"></span><span class="mw-headline" id="Surging_popularity_(1979–1998)">Surging popularity (1979–1998)</span></h3>
  <p>The league added the ABA's <a href="/wiki/Three-point_field_goal" title="Three-point field goal">three-point field goal</a> beginning in 1979.<sup id="cite_ref-20" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-20">&#91;20&#93;</a></sup> That same year, rookies <a href="/wiki/Larry_Bird" title="Larry Bird">Larry Bird</a> and <a href="/wiki/Magic_Johnson" title="Magic Johnson">Magic Johnson</a> joined the <a href="/wiki/Boston_Celtics" title="Boston Celtics">Boston Celtics</a> and <a href="/wiki/Los_Angeles_Lakers" title="Los Angeles Lakers">Los Angeles Lakers</a> respectively, initiating a period of significant growth in fan interest in the NBA.<sup id="cite_ref-:0_21-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-:0-21">&#91;21&#93;</a></sup> The two had faced each other in the <a href="/wiki/1979_NCAA_Division_I_Basketball_Championship_Game" title="1979 NCAA Division I Basketball Championship Game">1979 NCAA Division I Basketball Championship Game</a>, and they later played against each other in three NBA Finals (1984, 1985, and 1987).<sup id="cite_ref-:0_21-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-:0-21">&#91;21&#93;</a></sup> In the 10 seasons of the 1980s, Johnson led the Lakers to five titles<sup id="cite_ref-22" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-22">&#91;22&#93;</a></sup> while Bird led the Celtics to three titles.<sup id="cite_ref-23" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-23">&#91;23&#93;</a></sup> Also in the early 1980s, the NBA added one more expansion franchise, the <a href="/wiki/Dallas_Mavericks" title="Dallas Mavericks">Dallas Mavericks</a>,<sup id="cite_ref-24" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-24">&#91;24&#93;</a></sup> bringing the total to 23 teams. Later on, Larry Bird won the first three three-point shooting contests.<sup id="cite_ref-25" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-25">&#91;25&#93;</a></sup> On February 1, 1984 <a href="/wiki/David_Stern" title="David Stern">David Stern</a> became commissioner of the NBA.<sup id="cite_ref-26" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-26">&#91;26&#93;</a></sup> Stern has been recognized as playing a major role in the growth of the league during his career.<sup id="cite_ref-27" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-27">&#91;27&#93;</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-28" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-28">&#91;28&#93;</a></sup>
  </p>
  <div class="thumb tleft"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:222px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Jordan_by_Lipofsky_16577.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c3/Jordan_by_Lipofsky_16577.jpg/220px-Jordan_by_Lipofsky_16577.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="294" class="thumbimage" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c3/Jordan_by_Lipofsky_16577.jpg 1.5x" data-file-width="288" data-file-height="385" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Jordan_by_Lipofsky_16577.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div><a href="/wiki/Michael_Jordan" title="Michael Jordan">Michael Jordan</a> goes to the basket for a slam dunk in 1987.</div></div></div>
  <p><a href="/wiki/Michael_Jordan" title="Michael Jordan">Michael Jordan</a> entered the league in 1984 with the <a href="/wiki/Chicago_Bulls" title="Chicago Bulls">Chicago Bulls</a>, spurring more interest in the league.<sup id="cite_ref-29" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-29">&#91;29&#93;</a></sup> In 1988 and 1989, four cities got their wishes as the <a href="/wiki/Charlotte_Hornets" title="Charlotte Hornets">Charlotte Hornets</a>, <a href="/wiki/Miami_Heat" title="Miami Heat">Miami Heat</a>, <a href="/wiki/Orlando_Magic" title="Orlando Magic">Orlando Magic</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Minnesota_Timberwolves" title="Minnesota Timberwolves">Minnesota Timberwolves</a> made their NBA debuts, bringing the total to 27 teams.<sup id="cite_ref-30" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-30">&#91;30&#93;</a></sup> The <a href="/wiki/Detroit_Pistons" title="Detroit Pistons">Detroit Pistons</a> won the back-to-back NBA Championships in 1989 and 1990, led by coach <a href="/wiki/Chuck_Daly" title="Chuck Daly">Chuck Daly</a> and guard <a href="/wiki/Isiah_Thomas" title="Isiah Thomas">Isiah Thomas</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-31" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-31">&#91;31&#93;</a></sup> Jordan and <a href="/wiki/Scottie_Pippen" title="Scottie Pippen">Scottie Pippen</a> led the Bulls to two three-peats in eight years during the 1991–1998 seasons.<sup id="cite_ref-32" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-32">&#91;32&#93;</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-33" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-33">&#91;33&#93;</a></sup> <a href="/wiki/Hakeem_Olajuwon" title="Hakeem Olajuwon">Hakeem Olajuwon</a> won back-to-back titles with the <a href="/wiki/Houston_Rockets" title="Houston Rockets">Houston Rockets</a> in 1994 and 1995.<sup id="cite_ref-34" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-34">&#91;34&#93;</a></sup>
  </p><p>The <a href="/wiki/1992_Summer_Olympics" title="1992 Summer Olympics">1992 Olympic</a> basketball <a href="/wiki/1992_United_States_men%27s_Olympic_basketball_team" title="1992 United States men&#39;s Olympic basketball team">Dream Team</a>, the first to use current NBA stars, featured Michael Jordan as the anchor, along with Bird, Johnson, <a href="/wiki/David_Robinson_(basketball)" class="mw-redirect" title="David Robinson (basketball)">David Robinson</a>, <a href="/wiki/Patrick_Ewing" title="Patrick Ewing">Patrick Ewing</a>, Scottie Pippen, <a href="/wiki/Clyde_Drexler" title="Clyde Drexler">Clyde Drexler</a>, <a href="/wiki/Karl_Malone" title="Karl Malone">Karl Malone</a>, <a href="/wiki/John_Stockton" title="John Stockton">John Stockton</a>, <a href="/wiki/Chris_Mullin_(basketball)" class="mw-redirect" title="Chris Mullin (basketball)">Chris Mullin</a>, <a href="/wiki/Charles_Barkley" title="Charles Barkley">Charles Barkley</a>, and star NCAA amateur <a href="/wiki/Christian_Laettner" title="Christian Laettner">Christian Laettner</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-35" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-35">&#91;35&#93;</a></sup> The team was elected to the <a href="/wiki/Naismith_Memorial_Basketball_Hall_of_Fame" title="Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame">Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame</a>,<sup id="cite_ref-36" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-36">&#91;36&#93;</a></sup> and 11 players <sup id="cite_ref-37" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-37">&#91;37&#93;</a></sup> and three coaches have been elected to the Hall of Fame as individuals.<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">&#91;<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (April 2019)">citation needed</span></a></i>&#93;</sup>
  </p><p>In 1995, the NBA expanded to Canada with the addition of the <a href="/wiki/Vancouver_Grizzlies" title="Vancouver Grizzlies">Vancouver Grizzlies</a> and the <a href="/wiki/Toronto_Raptors" title="Toronto Raptors">Toronto Raptors</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-38" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-38">&#91;38&#93;</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-39" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-39">&#91;39&#93;</a></sup> In 1996, the NBA created a women's league, the <a href="/wiki/Women%27s_National_Basketball_Association" title="Women&#39;s National Basketball Association">Women's National Basketball Association</a> (WNBA).<sup id="cite_ref-40" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-40">&#91;40&#93;</a></sup>
  </p><p>In 1998, the NBA owners began a <a href="/wiki/1998%E2%80%9399_NBA_lockout" title="1998–99 NBA lockout">lockout</a> that suspended all league business until a new labor agreement could be reached.<sup id="cite_ref-:1_41-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-:1-41">&#91;41&#93;</a></sup> By the time the lockout was settled later that year, half the season was lost.<sup id="cite_ref-42" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-42">&#91;42&#93;</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-:1_41-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-:1-41">&#91;41&#93;</a></sup> In 1999, the <a href="/wiki/San_Antonio_Spurs" title="San Antonio Spurs">San Antonio Spurs</a> became the first former ABA team to win the NBA championship. It was the team's first championship win.<sup id="cite_ref-43" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-43">&#91;43&#93;</a></sup>
  </p>
  <h3><span id="Lakers.27_and_Spurs.27_dynasties_.281998.E2.80.932014.29"></span><span class="mw-headline" id="Lakers'_and_Spurs'_dynasties_(1998–2014)">Lakers' and Spurs' dynasties (1998–2014)</span></h3>
  <p>Since the breakup of the <a href="/wiki/Chicago_Bulls" title="Chicago Bulls">Chicago Bulls</a> championship roster in the summer of 1998, the <a href="/wiki/Western_Conference_(NBA)" title="Western Conference (NBA)">Western Conference</a> has dominated. The <a href="/wiki/Los_Angeles_Lakers" title="Los Angeles Lakers">Los Angeles Lakers</a> of coach <a href="/wiki/Phil_Jackson" title="Phil Jackson">Phil Jackson</a> and the <a href="/wiki/San_Antonio_Spurs" title="San Antonio Spurs">San Antonio Spurs</a> of <a href="/wiki/Gregg_Popovich" title="Gregg Popovich">Gregg Popovich</a> combined to make 13 Finals in 16 seasons, with 10 titles. <a href="/wiki/Tim_Duncan" title="Tim Duncan">Tim Duncan</a> and <a href="/wiki/David_Robinson_(basketball)" class="mw-redirect" title="David Robinson (basketball)">David Robinson</a> won the <a href="/wiki/1999_NBA_Finals" title="1999 NBA Finals">1999 championship</a> with the <a href="/wiki/1998%E2%80%9399_San_Antonio_Spurs_season" title="1998–99 San Antonio Spurs season">Spurs</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Shaquille_O%27Neal" title="Shaquille O&#39;Neal">Shaquille O'Neal</a> and <a href="/wiki/Kobe_Bryant" title="Kobe Bryant">Kobe Bryant</a> started the 2000s with three consecutive championships for the Lakers. The Spurs reclaimed the title in <a href="/wiki/2003_NBA_Finals" title="2003 NBA Finals">2003</a> against the <a href="/wiki/New_Jersey_Nets" class="mw-redirect" title="New Jersey Nets">Nets</a>. In 2004, the Lakers returned to the <a href="/wiki/2004_NBA_Finals" title="2004 NBA Finals">Finals</a>, only to lose in five games to the <a href="/wiki/Detroit_Pistons" title="Detroit Pistons">Detroit Pistons</a>.
  </p><p>The league's image was marred by a <a href="/wiki/Pacers%E2%80%93Pistons_brawl" title="Pacers–Pistons brawl">violent incident between players and fans</a> in a November 2004 game between the <a href="/wiki/Indiana_Pacers" title="Indiana Pacers">Indiana Pacers</a> and <a href="/wiki/Detroit_Pistons" title="Detroit Pistons">Detroit Pistons</a>. In response, players were suspended for a total of 146 games with $11 million total lost in salary, and the league tightened security and limited the sale of alcohol.
  </p>
  <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:222px;"><a href="/wiki/File:LeBron_James_vs._Kobe_Bryant_(24848589252).jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2c/LeBron_James_vs._Kobe_Bryant_%2824848589252%29.jpg/220px-LeBron_James_vs._Kobe_Bryant_%2824848589252%29.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="293" class="thumbimage" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2c/LeBron_James_vs._Kobe_Bryant_%2824848589252%29.jpg/330px-LeBron_James_vs._Kobe_Bryant_%2824848589252%29.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2c/LeBron_James_vs._Kobe_Bryant_%2824848589252%29.jpg/440px-LeBron_James_vs._Kobe_Bryant_%2824848589252%29.jpg 2x" data-file-width="3000" data-file-height="4000" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:LeBron_James_vs._Kobe_Bryant_(24848589252).jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div><a href="/wiki/Kobe_Bryant" title="Kobe Bryant">Kobe Bryant</a> defending <a href="/wiki/LeBron_James" title="LeBron James">LeBron James</a> in a February 2016 game between the <a href="/wiki/Los_Angeles_Lakers" title="Los Angeles Lakers">Los Angeles Lakers</a> and the <a href="/wiki/Cleveland_Cavaliers" title="Cleveland Cavaliers">Cleveland Cavaliers</a></div></div></div>
  <p>After the Spurs took home the <a href="/wiki/Larry_O%27Brien_Championship_Trophy" title="Larry O&#39;Brien Championship Trophy">Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy</a> in <a href="/wiki/2005_NBA_Finals" title="2005 NBA Finals">2005</a>, the <a href="/wiki/2006_NBA_Finals" title="2006 NBA Finals">2006 Finals</a> featured two franchises making their inaugural Finals appearances. The <a href="/wiki/Miami_Heat" title="Miami Heat">Miami Heat</a>, led by their star shooting guard, <a href="/wiki/Dwyane_Wade" title="Dwyane Wade">Dwyane Wade</a>, and Shaquille O'Neal, who had been traded from the Lakers during summer 2004, won the series over the <a href="/wiki/Dallas_Mavericks" title="Dallas Mavericks">Dallas Mavericks</a> in six after losing the first two games. The Lakers/Spurs dominance continued in 2007 with a four-game sweep by the Spurs over the <a href="/wiki/Cleveland_Cavaliers" title="Cleveland Cavaliers">Cleveland Cavaliers</a>, who were led by <a href="/wiki/LeBron_James" title="LeBron James">LeBron James</a>. The <a href="/wiki/2008_NBA_Finals" title="2008 NBA Finals">2008 Finals</a> saw a rematch of the league's <a href="/wiki/Celtics%E2%80%93Lakers_rivalry" title="Celtics–Lakers rivalry">highest profile rivalry</a>, the <a href="/wiki/Boston_Celtics" title="Boston Celtics">Boston Celtics</a> and <a href="/wiki/Los_Angeles_Lakers" title="Los Angeles Lakers">Los Angeles Lakers</a>, with the Celtics winning, for their 17th championship, thanks to their new big three of <a href="/wiki/Paul_Pierce" title="Paul Pierce">Paul Pierce</a>, <a href="/wiki/Ray_Allen" title="Ray Allen">Ray Allen</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Kevin_Garnett" title="Kevin Garnett">Kevin Garnett</a>.
  </p><p>In 2009, Kobe Bryant and the Lakers returned to the <a href="/wiki/2009_NBA_Finals" title="2009 NBA Finals">Finals</a>, this time defeating the <a href="/wiki/Dwight_Howard" title="Dwight Howard">Dwight Howard</a>-led <a href="/wiki/2008%E2%80%9309_Orlando_Magic_season" title="2008–09 Orlando Magic season">Orlando Magic</a>. Bryant won his first <a href="/wiki/Bill_Russell_NBA_Finals_Most_Valuable_Player_Award" class="mw-redirect" title="Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award">Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award</a> in his 13th season after leading the Lakers to their first NBA championship since the departure of Shaquille O'Neal.<sup id="cite_ref-44" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-44">&#91;44&#93;</a></sup>
  </p><p>The <a href="/wiki/2010_NBA_All-Star_Game" title="2010 NBA All-Star Game">2010 NBA All-Star Game</a> was held at <a href="/wiki/Cowboys_Stadium" class="mw-redirect" title="Cowboys Stadium">Cowboys Stadium</a> in front of the largest crowd ever, 108,713.<sup id="cite_ref-45" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-45">&#91;45&#93;</a></sup> At the end of that season, the Celtics and the Lakers renewed their rivalry from <a href="/wiki/2008_NBA_Finals" title="2008 NBA Finals">2008</a> when they met again in the NBA Finals for a record 12th time. The Lakers won the title by winning Game 7, 83–79.<sup id="cite_ref-game7_46-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-game7-46">&#91;46&#93;</a></sup> Before the start of the 2010–11 season the NBA had an exciting summer with one of the most anticipated free agent classes of all time. Two free agents signed, and one resigned, with the Miami Heat, leading to a season that was heavily centered on their eventual success or failure at taking home the championship. The Heat, led by LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and <a href="/wiki/Chris_Bosh" title="Chris Bosh">Chris Bosh</a>, did in fact make the Finals against the Dallas Mavericks, in a rematch for the franchises of the 2006 Finals. The Mavericks, led by <a href="/wiki/Dirk_Nowitzki" title="Dirk Nowitzki">Dirk Nowitzki</a> (the eventual NBA Finals MVP), took the series in six games. This was the Mavericks' first title. Veterans <a href="/wiki/Shawn_Marion" title="Shawn Marion">Shawn Marion</a>, <a href="/wiki/Jason_Kidd" title="Jason Kidd">Jason Kidd</a>, <a href="/wiki/Jason_Terry" title="Jason Terry">Jason Terry</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Peja_Stojakovi%C4%87" title="Peja Stojaković">Peja Stojaković</a> celebrated their first NBA championship.
  </p><p>On July 1, 2011, at 12:01 am, the NBA announced <a href="/wiki/2011_NBA_lockout" title="2011 NBA lockout">another lockout</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-47" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-47">&#91;47&#93;</a></sup> After the first few weeks of the season were canceled, the players and owners ratified a new collective bargaining agreement on December 8, 2011, setting up a shortened 66-game season.<sup id="cite_ref-48" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-48">&#91;48&#93;</a></sup> Following the shortened season, the Miami Heat made a return to the Finals with the trio of Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, and Chris Bosh against <a href="/wiki/Oklahoma_City_Thunder" title="Oklahoma City Thunder">Oklahoma City Thunder</a>'s <a href="/wiki/Kevin_Durant" title="Kevin Durant">Kevin Durant</a>, <a href="/wiki/Russell_Westbrook" title="Russell Westbrook">Russell Westbrook</a>, and <a href="/wiki/James_Harden" title="James Harden">James Harden</a>. The Heat went on to defeat the Thunder in five games, capturing their second NBA title in six years. Their success would continue into the following season, which concluded with their victory over the San Antonio Spurs in the <a href="/wiki/2013_NBA_Finals" title="2013 NBA Finals">2013 NBA Finals</a>. The two teams would meet for a rematch in the following year's Finals, where the Spurs defeated the Heat in five games. Off the court, commissioner David Stern retired on February 1, 2014, exactly 30 years to the day from taking office. He was succeeded by his deputy, <a href="/wiki/Adam_Silver" title="Adam Silver">Adam Silver</a>.
  </p>
  <h3><span id="Modern_era_.282014.E2.80.93present.29"></span><span class="mw-headline" id="Modern_era_(2014–present)">Modern era (2014–present)</span></h3>
  <p>Following the 2014 Finals, LeBron James announced that he would return to the <a href="/wiki/Cleveland_Cavaliers" title="Cleveland Cavaliers">Cleveland Cavaliers</a>. James led the Cavaliers to their second Finals appearance, where they lost to the <a href="/wiki/Golden_State_Warriors" title="Golden State Warriors">Golden State Warriors</a> in six games. The following year, in a rematch, the <a href="/wiki/2016_NBA_Finals" title="2016 NBA Finals">2016 NBA Finals</a> concluded with the Cavaliers defeating the Warriors in seven games to win their first NBA Championship. The <a href="/wiki/Cavaliers%E2%80%93Warriors_rivalry" title="Cavaliers–Warriors rivalry">dominance of those two teams</a> continued in 2017, when the Warriors, having signed Kevin Durant as a free agent, took the third straight Finals matchup between the two teams in five games, with Durant named Finals MVP, and again in 2018 when they went to a fourth straight Finals matchup.
  </p><p>During free agency in 2018, LeBron James signed with the Lakers. In the following season, the Warriors returned to the Finals for the fifth straight year, where they were defeated by the <a href="/wiki/Toronto_Raptors" title="Toronto Raptors">Toronto Raptors</a> in six games.
  </p>
  <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="International_influence">International influence</span></h3>
  <div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Further information: <a href="/wiki/List_of_foreign_NBA_players" title="List of foreign NBA players">List of foreign NBA players</a></div>
  <p>Following pioneers like <a href="/wiki/Vlade_Divac" title="Vlade Divac">Vlade Divac</a> (<a href="/wiki/Serbia" title="Serbia">Serbia</a>) and <a href="/wiki/Dra%C5%BEen_Petrovi%C4%87" title="Dražen Petrović">Dražen Petrović</a> (<a href="/wiki/Croatia" title="Croatia">Croatia</a>) 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. Since 2006, the NBA has faced <a href="/wiki/EuroLeague" title="EuroLeague">EuroLeague</a> teams <a href="/wiki/NBA_vs._EuroLeague_games" class="mw-redirect" title="NBA vs. EuroLeague games">in exhibition matches</a> in the <a href="/wiki/NBA_Europe_Live_Tour" class="mw-redirect" title="NBA Europe Live Tour">NBA Europe Live Tour</a>, and since 2009, in the <a href="/wiki/EuroLeague_American_Tour" title="EuroLeague American Tour">EuroLeague American Tour</a>. The <a href="/wiki/2013%E2%80%9314_NBA_season" title="2013–14 NBA season">2013–14 season</a> opened with a record 92 international players on the opening night rosters, representing 39 countries and comprising over 20% of the league.<sup id="cite_ref-auto_49-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-auto-49">&#91;49&#93;</a></sup> The beginning of the 2017–18 season saw a record 108 international players representing 42 different countries marking 4 consecutive years of at least 100 international players and each team having at least one international player.<sup id="cite_ref-50" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-50">&#91;50&#93;</a></sup> In 2018, the <a href="/wiki/Phoenix_Suns" title="Phoenix Suns">Phoenix Suns</a> hired Serbian coach <a href="/wiki/Igor_Koko%C5%A1kov" title="Igor Kokoškov">Igor Kokoškov</a> as their new head coach, replacing Canadian interim coach <a href="/wiki/Jay_Triano" title="Jay Triano">Jay Triano</a>, making Kokoškov the first European coach to become a head coach for a team in the NBA.
  </p>
  <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Other_developments">Other developments</span></h3>
  <p>In 2001, an affiliated <a href="/wiki/Minor_league" title="Minor league">minor league</a>, the National Basketball Development League, now called the <a href="/wiki/NBA_G_League" title="NBA G League">NBA G League</a>, was created.<sup id="cite_ref-51" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-51">&#91;51&#93;</a></sup> Before the league was started.
  </p><p>Two years after the Hornets' relocation to <a href="/wiki/New_Orleans" title="New Orleans">New Orleans</a>, the NBA returned to North Carolina, as the <a href="/wiki/Charlotte_Hornets" title="Charlotte Hornets">Charlotte Bobcats</a> were formed as an <a href="/wiki/Expansion_team" title="Expansion team">expansion team</a> in 2004.
  </p><p>The Hornets <a href="/wiki/Effect_of_Hurricane_Katrina_on_the_New_Orleans_Hornets" title="Effect of Hurricane Katrina on the New Orleans Hornets">temporarily relocated</a> to <a href="/wiki/Oklahoma_City" title="Oklahoma City">Oklahoma City</a> in 2005 for two seasons because of damage caused by <a href="/wiki/Hurricane_Katrina" title="Hurricane Katrina">Hurricane Katrina</a>. The team returned to New Orleans in 2007.
  </p><p>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.<sup id="cite_ref-52" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-52">&#91;52&#93;</a></sup> Manufactured by <a href="/wiki/Spalding_(sports_equipment)" class="mw-redirect" title="Spalding (sports equipment)">Spalding</a>, the new ball featured a new design and new synthetic material that Spalding claimed offered a better grip, feel, and consistency than the original ball. However, many players were vocal in their disdain for the new ball, saying that it was too sticky when dry, and too slippery when wet.
  </p><p>Commissioner Stern announced on December 11, 2006, that beginning January 1, 2007, the NBA would return to the traditional leather basketball in use prior to the 2006–07 season. The change was influenced by frequent player complaints and confirmed hand injuries (cuts) caused by the microfiber ball.<sup id="cite_ref-53" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-53">&#91;53&#93;</a></sup> The <a href="/wiki/NBA_Players_Association" class="mw-redirect" title="NBA Players Association">Players' Association</a> had filed a suit on behalf of the players against the NBA over the new ball.<sup id="cite_ref-54" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-54">&#91;54&#93;</a></sup> As of the 2017–18 season, the NBA team jerseys are manufactured by <a href="/wiki/Nike,_Inc." title="Nike, Inc.">Nike</a>, replacing the previous supplier, <a href="/wiki/Adidas" title="Adidas">Adidas</a>. All teams will wear jerseys with the Nike logo except the <a href="/wiki/Charlotte_Hornets" title="Charlotte Hornets">Charlotte Hornets</a>, whose jerseys will instead have the <a href="/wiki/Jumpman_(logo)" title="Jumpman (logo)">Jumpman</a> logo associated with longtime Nike endorser <a href="/wiki/Michael_Jordan" title="Michael Jordan">Michael Jordan</a>, who owns the Hornets.<sup id="cite_ref-55" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-55">&#91;55&#93;</a></sup>
  </p><p>The <a href="/wiki/Federal_Bureau_of_Investigation" title="Federal Bureau of Investigation">Federal Bureau of Investigation</a> (FBI) began an investigation on July 19, 2007, over allegations that veteran NBA referee <a href="/wiki/Tim_Donaghy" title="Tim Donaghy">Tim Donaghy</a> bet on basketball games he officiated over the past two seasons and that he made calls affecting the <a href="/wiki/Point_spread" class="mw-redirect" title="Point spread">point spread</a> in those games.<sup id="cite_ref-56" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-56">&#91;56&#93;</a></sup> On August 15, 2007, Donaghy pleaded guilty to two federal charges related to the investigation. 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. NBA commissioner <a href="/wiki/David_Stern" title="David Stern">David Stern</a> denied the allegations and said Donaghy was a convicted felon and a "singing, cooperating witness".<sup id="cite_ref-57" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-57">&#91;57&#93;</a></sup> Donaghy served 15 months in prison and was released in November 2009.<sup id="cite_ref-58" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-58">&#91;58&#93;</a></sup> According to an independent study by Ronald Beech of Game 6 of the <a href="/wiki/2002_NBA_Playoffs" class="mw-redirect" title="2002 NBA Playoffs">2002 Western Conference Finals</a> between the Los Angeles Lakers and Sacramento Kings, although the refs increased the Lakers' chances of winning through foul calls during the game, there was no <a href="/wiki/Collusion" title="Collusion">collusion</a> to fix the game. On alleged "star treatment" during Game 6 by the referees toward certain players, Beech claimed, "there does seem to be issues with different standards and allowances for different players." <sup id="cite_ref-59" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-59">&#91;59&#93;</a></sup>
  </p><p>The NBA Board of Governors approved the request of the <a href="/wiki/Seattle_SuperSonics" title="Seattle SuperSonics">Seattle SuperSonics</a> to <a href="/wiki/Seattle_SuperSonics_relocation_to_Oklahoma_City" title="Seattle SuperSonics relocation to Oklahoma City">relocate</a> to Oklahoma City on April 18, 2008.<sup id="cite_ref-60" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-60">&##91;60&#93;</a></sup> The team, however, could not move until it had settled a lawsuit filed by the city of <a href="/wiki/Seattle" title="Seattle">Seattle</a>, which was intended to keep the SuperSonics in Seattle for the remaining two seasons of the team's lease at <a href="/wiki/KeyArena" title="KeyArena">KeyArena</a>. Following a court case, the city of Seattle settled with the <a href="/wiki/Professional_Basketball_Club_LLC" class="mw-redirect" title="Professional Basketball Club LLC">ownership group</a> of the SuperSonics on July 2, 2008, allowing the team to move to Oklahoma City immediately in exchange for terminating the final two seasons of the team's lease at KeyArena.<sup id="cite_ref-61" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-61">&#91;61&#93;</a></sup> The <a href="/wiki/Oklahoma_City_Thunder" title="Oklahoma City Thunder">Oklahoma City Thunder</a> began playing in the 2008–09 season.
  </p><p>The first outdoor game in the modern era of the league was played at the <a href="/wiki/Indian_Wells_Tennis_Garden" title="Indian Wells Tennis Garden">Indian Wells Tennis Garden</a> on October 11, 2008, between the <a href="/wiki/Phoenix_Suns" title="Phoenix Suns">Phoenix Suns</a> and the <a href="/wiki/Denver_Nuggets" title="Denver Nuggets">Denver Nuggets</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-62" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-62">&#91;62&#93;</a></sup>
  </p><p>A referee lockout began on September 1, 2009, when the contract between the NBA and its referees expired. The first preseason games were played on October 1, 2009, and replacement referees from the <a href="/wiki/Women%27s_National_Basketball_Association" title="Women&#39;s National Basketball Association">WNBA</a> and <a href="/wiki/NBA_Development_League" class="mw-redirect" title="NBA Development League">NBA Development League</a> were used, the first time replacement referees had been used since the beginning of the 1995–96 season. The NBA and the regular referees reached a deal on October 23, 2009.<sup id="cite_ref-63" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-63">&#91;63&#93;</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-64" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-64">&#91;64&#93;</a></sup>
  </p><p>The first official NBA league games on European ground took place in 2011. In two matchups, the <a href="/wiki/New_Jersey_Nets" class="mw-redirect" title="New Jersey Nets">New Jersey Nets</a> faced the <a href="/wiki/Toronto_Raptors" title="Toronto Raptors">Toronto Raptors</a> at the <a href="/wiki/The_O2_Arena_(London)" class="mw-redirect" title="The O2 Arena (London)">O2 Arena</a> in London in front of over 20,000 fans.
  </p><p>The <a href="/wiki/2011%E2%80%9312_NBA_season" title="2011–12 NBA season">2011–12 NBA season</a>, scheduled to begin November 1, 2011, with a matchup between the defending champion Dallas Mavericks and the Chicago Bulls, was <a href="/wiki/2011_NBA_lockout" title="2011 NBA lockout">postponed due to a labor dispute</a>. The lockout officially ended on December 8, 2011, when players and owners ratified a new collective bargaining agreement, and the season began on Christmas Day.
  </p><p>After the 2012–13 season, the New Orleans Hornets were renamed the <a href="/wiki/New_Orleans_Pelicans" title="New Orleans Pelicans">Pelicans</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-65" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-65">&#91;65&#93;</a></sup> During the 2013–14 season, Stern retired as commissioner after 30 years, and deputy commissioner <a href="/wiki/Adam_Silver" title="Adam Silver">Adam Silver</a> ascended to the position of commissioner. During that season's playoffs, the Bobcats officially reclaimed the Hornets name, and by agreement with the league and the Pelicans, also received sole ownership of all history, records, and statistics from the Pelicans' time in Charlotte. As a result, the Hornets are now officially considered to have been founded in 1988, suspended operations in 2002, and resumed in 2004 as the Bobcats, while the Pelicans are officially treated as a 2002 expansion team.<sup id="cite_ref-hornets_name_returns_66-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-hornets_name_returns-66">&#91;66&#93;</a></sup> (This is somewhat similar to the relationship between the <a href="/wiki/Cleveland_Browns" title="Cleveland Browns">Cleveland Browns</a> and <a href="/wiki/Baltimore_Ravens" title="Baltimore Ravens">Baltimore Ravens</a> in the <a href="/wiki/National_Football_League" title="National Football League">NFL</a>.)
  </p><p><a href="/wiki/Donald_Sterling" title="Donald Sterling">Donald Sterling</a>, who was then-owner of the <a href="/wiki/Los_Angeles_Clippers" title="Los Angeles Clippers">Los Angeles Clippers</a>, received a lifetime ban from the NBA on April 29, 2014, after racist remarks he made became public. Sterling was also fined US$2.5 million, the maximum allowed under the NBA Constitution.<sup id="cite_ref-67" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-67">&#91;67&#93;</a></sup>
  </p><p><a href="/wiki/Becky_Hammon" title="Becky Hammon">Becky Hammon</a> was hired by the <a href="/wiki/San_Antonio_Spurs" title="San Antonio Spurs">San Antonio Spurs</a> on August 5, 2014, as an assistant coach, becoming the second female coach in NBA history but the first full-time coach.<sup id="cite_ref-68" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-68">&#91;68&#93;</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-borntocoach_69-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-borntocoach-69">&#91;69&#93;</a></sup> This also makes her the first full-time female coach in any of the <a href="/wiki/Major_professional_sports_leagues_in_the_United_States_and_Canada" title="Major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada">four major professional sports</a> in North America.<sup id="cite_ref-borntocoach_69-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-borntocoach-69">&#91;69&#93;</a></sup>
  </p><p>The NBA announced on April 15, 2016, that it would allow all 30 of its teams to sell corporate sponsor advertisement patches on official game uniforms, beginning with the 2017–18 season. The sponsorship advertisement patches would appear on the left front of jerseys, opposite <a href="/wiki/Nike,_Inc." title="Nike, Inc.">Nike</a>'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. The NBA would become the first <a href="/wiki/Major_professional_sports_leagues_in_the_United_States_and_Canada" title="Major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada">major North American professional sports league</a> to allow corporate sponsorship logos on official team uniforms, and the last to have a uniform manufacturer logo appear on its team uniforms.<sup id="cite_ref-70" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-70">&#91;70&#93;</a></sup> The first team to announce a jersey sponsorship was the <a href="/wiki/Philadelphia_76ers" title="Philadelphia 76ers">Philadelphia 76ers</a>, who agreed to a deal with <a href="/wiki/StubHub" title="StubHub">StubHub</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-71" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-71">&#91;71&#93;</a></sup>
  </p><p>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 league began to phase in the updated logo across its properties during the <a href="/wiki/2017_NBA_Summer_League" title="2017 NBA Summer League">2017 NBA Summer League</a>, but it will not immediately be used on equipment or uniforms due to <a href="/wiki/Lead_time" title="Lead time">lead time</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-72" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-72">&#91;72&#93;</a></sup>
  </p><p>The NBA also officially released new <a href="/wiki/Nike,_Inc." title="Nike, Inc.">Nike</a> uniforms for all 30 teams beginning with the 2017–18 season. The league eliminated "home" and "away" uniform designations. Instead, each team would have four or six uniforms: the "Association" edition, which is the team's white uniform, the "Icon" edition, which is the team's color uniform, and the "Statement" and "City" uniforms, which most teams use as an alternate uniform.<sup id="cite_ref-73" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-73">&#91;73&#93;</a></sup> In 2018, the NBA also released the "Earned" uniform.
  </p>
  <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Teams">Teams</span></h2>
  <div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">See also: <a href="/wiki/List_of_defunct_National_Basketball_Association_teams" title="List of defunct National Basketball Association teams">List of defunct National Basketball Association teams</a>, <a href="/wiki/List_of_relocated_National_Basketball_Association_teams" title="List of relocated National Basketball Association teams">List of relocated National Basketball Association teams</a>, <a href="/wiki/Timeline_of_the_National_Basketball_Association" title="Timeline of the National Basketball Association">Timeline of the National Basketball Association</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Expansion_of_National_Basketball_Association" class="mw-redirect" title="Expansion of National Basketball Association">Expansion of National Basketball Association</a></div>
  <div role="img" class="floatright noresize" style="width: 550px; line-height: 1; text-align: center; background-color: #ffffff; position: relative;"><a href="/wiki/File:Map_of_USA_and_Canada,_NBA,_zoom.svg" class="image"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/79/Map_of_USA_and_Canada%2C_NBA%2C_zoom.svg/550px-Map_of_USA_and_Canada%2C_NBA%2C_zoom.svg.png" decoding="async" width="550" height="390" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/79/Map_of_USA_and_Canada%2C_NBA%2C_zoom.svg/825px-Map_of_USA_and_Canada%2C_NBA%2C_zoom.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/79/Map_of_USA_and_Canada%2C_NBA%2C_zoom.svg/1100px-Map_of_USA_and_Canada%2C_NBA%2C_zoom.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1100" data-file-height="780" /></a>
  <div style="position:absolute; font-size:85%; left:430px; top:112px"><a href="/wiki/Toronto_Raptors" title="Toronto Raptors">Raptors</a></div>
  <div style="position:absolute; font-size:85%; left:508px; top:118px"><a href="/wiki/Boston_Celtics" title="Boston Celtics">Celtics</a></div>
  <div style="position:absolute; font-size:85%; left:480px; top:145px"><a href="/wiki/New_York_Knicks" title="New York Knicks">Knicks</a></div>
  <div style="position:absolute; font-size:85%; left:514px; top:154px"><a href="/wiki/Brooklyn_Nets" title="Brooklyn Nets">Nets</a></div>
  <div style="position:absolute; font-size:85%; left:494px; top:172px"><a href="/wiki/Philadelphia_76ers" title="Philadelphia 76ers">76ers</a></div>
  <div style="position:absolute; font-size:85%; left:344px; top:147px"><a href="/wiki/Chicago_Bulls" title="Chicago Bulls">Bulls</a></div>
  <div style="position:absolute; font-size:85%; left:413px; top:159px"><a href="/wiki/Cleveland_Cavaliers" title="Cleveland Cavaliers">Cavaliers</a></div>
  <div style="position:absolute; font-size:85%; left:389px; top:134px"><a href="/wiki/Detroit_Pistons" title="Detroit Pistons">Pistons</a></div>
  <div style="position:absolute; font-size:85%; left:356px; top:172px"><a href="/wiki/Indiana_Pacers" title="Indiana Pacers">Pacers</a></div>
  <div style="position:absolute; font-size:85%; left:338px; top:126px"><a href="/wiki/Milwaukee_Bucks" title="Milwaukee Bucks">Bucks</a></div>
  <div style="position:absolute; font-size:85%; left:386px; top:252px"><a href="/wiki/Atlanta_Hawks" title="Atlanta Hawks">Hawks</a></div>
  <div style="position:absolute; font-size:85%; left:419px; top:229px"><a href="/wiki/Charlotte_Hornets" title="Charlotte Hornets">Hornets</a></div>
  <div style="position:absolute; font-size:85%; left:450px; top:359px"><a href="/wiki/Miami_Heat" title="Miami Heat">Heat</a></div>
  <div style="position:absolute; font-size:85%; left:433px; top:321px"><a href="/wiki/Orlando_Magic" title="Orlando Magic">Magic</a></div>
  <div style="position:absolute; font-size:85%; left:447px; top:189px"><a href="/wiki/Washington_Wizards" title="Washington Wizards">Wizards</a></div>
  <div style="position:absolute; font-size:85%; left:216px; top:267px"><a href="/wiki/Dallas_Mavericks" title="Dallas Mavericks">Mavericks</a></div>
  <div style="position:absolute; font-size:85%; left:259px; top:309px"><a href="/wiki/Houston_Rockets" title="Houston Rockets">Rockets</a></div>
  <div style="position:absolute; font-size:85%; left:311px; top:239px"><a href="/wiki/Memphis_Grizzlies" title="Memphis Grizzlies">Grizzlies</a></div>
  <div style="position:absolute; font-size:85%; left:312px; top:322px"><a href="/wiki/New_Orleans_Pelicans" title="New Orleans Pelicans">Pelicans</a></div>
  <div style="position:absolute; font-size:85%; left:225px; top:326px"><a href="/wiki/San_Antonio_Spurs" title="San Antonio Spurs">Spurs</a></div>
  <div style="position:absolute; font-size:85%; left:175px; top:158px"><a href="/wiki/Denver_Nuggets" title="Denver Nuggets">Nuggets</a></div>
  <div style="position:absolute; font-size:85%; left:284px; top:103px"><a href="/wiki/Minnesota_Timberwolves" title="Minnesota Timberwolves">Timberwolves</a></div>
  <div style="position:absolute; font-size:85%; left:33px; top:44px"><a href="/wiki/Portland_Trail_Blazers" title="Portland Trail Blazers">Trail Blazers</a></div>
  <div style="position:absolute; font-size:85%; left:243px; top:227px"><a href="/wiki/Oklahoma_City_Thunder" title="Oklahoma City Thunder">Thunder</a></div>
  <div style="position:absolute; font-size:85%; left:117px; top:135px"><a href="/wiki/Utah_Jazz" title="Utah Jazz">Jazz</a></div>
  <div style="position:absolute; font-size:85%; left:0px; top:155px"><a href="/wiki/Golden_State_Warriors" title="Golden State Warriors">Warriors</a></div>
  <div style="position:absolute; font-size:85%; left:36px; top:134px"><a href="/wiki/Sacramento_Kings" title="Sacramento Kings">Kings</a></div>
  <div style="position:absolute; font-size:85%; left:104px; top:231px"><a href="/wiki/Phoenix_Suns" title="Phoenix Suns">Suns</a></div>
  <div style="position:absolute; font-size:85%; left:5px; top:207px"><a href="/wiki/Los_Angeles_Clippers" title="Los Angeles Clippers">Clippers</a></div>
  <div style="position:absolute; font-size:85%; left:38px; top:224px"><a href="/wiki/Los_Angeles_Lakers" title="Los Angeles Lakers">Lakers</a></div>
  </div>
  <table class="noprint infobox" id="GeoGroup" style="width: 23em; font-size: 88%; line-height: 1.5em">
   
  <tbody><tr>
  <td><b>Map all coordinates using:</b> <a class="external text" href="//tools.wmflabs.org/osm4wiki/cgi-bin/wiki/wiki-osm.pl?project=en&amp;article=National_Basketball_Association">OpenStreetMap</a>&#160;
  </td></tr>
  <tr>
  <td><b>Download coordinates as:</b> <a class="external text" href="//tools.wmflabs.org/kmlexport?article=National_Basketball_Association">KML</a>&#160;<b>&#183;</b>&#160;<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://tripgang.com/kml2gpx/http%3A%2F%2Ftools.wmflabs.org%2Fkmlexport%3Farticle%3DNational_Basketball_Association?gpx=1">GPX</a>
  </td></tr></tbody></table>
  <p>The NBA originated in 1946 with 11 teams, and through a sequence of team expansions, reductions, and relocations, currently consists of 30 teams. The United States is home to 29 teams and one is located in Canada.
  </p><p>The current league organization divides thirty teams into two conferences of three divisions with five teams each. The current divisional alignment was introduced in the <a href="/wiki/2004%E2%80%9305_NBA_season" title="2004–05 NBA season">2004–05 season</a>. Reflecting the population distribution of the United States and Canada as a whole, most teams are in the eastern half of the country: thirteen teams are in the <a href="/wiki/Eastern_Time_Zone" title="Eastern Time Zone">Eastern Time Zone</a>, nine in the <a href="/wiki/Central_Time_Zone_(North_America)" class="mw-redirect" title="Central Time Zone (North America)">Central</a>, three in the <a href="/wiki/Mountain_Time_Zone" title="Mountain Time Zone">Mountain</a>, and five in the <a href="/wiki/Pacific_Time_Zone" title="Pacific Time Zone">Pacific</a>.
  </p>
  <table class="wikitable" style="width:100%;">
   
  <tbody><tr>
  <th style="background:white">Division
  </th>
  <th style="background:white">Team
  </th>
  <th style="background:white">City, State
  </th>
  <th style="background:white">Arena
  </th>
  <th style="background:white">Capacity
  </th>
  <th style="background:white">Coordinates
  </th>
  <th style="background:white">Founded
  </th>
  <th style="background:white">Joined
  </th></tr>
  <tr>
  <th style="background:#1D428A;" colspan="9"><a href="/wiki/Eastern_Conference_(NBA)" title="Eastern Conference (NBA)"><span style="color:#FFFFFF;">Eastern Conference</span></a>
  </th></tr>
  <tr>
  <th style="background:#DBABB0;" rowspan="5"><a href="/wiki/Atlantic_Division_(NBA)" title="Atlantic Division (NBA)">Atlantic</a>
  </th>
  <td><b><a href="/wiki/Boston_Celtics" title="Boston Celtics">Boston Celtics</a></b>
  </td>
  <td><a href="/wiki/Boston" title="Boston">Boston, Massachusetts</a>
  </td>
  <td><a href="/wiki/TD_Garden" title="TD Garden">TD Garden</a>
  </td>
  <td align="center">18,624
  </td>
  <td><span class="plainlinks nourlexpansion"><a class="external text" href="//tools.wmflabs.org/geohack/geohack.php?pagename=National_Basketball_Association&amp;params=42.366303_N_71.062228_W_type:landmark&amp;title=Boston+Celtics"><span class="geo-nondefault"><span class="geo-dms" title="Maps, aerial photos, and other data for this location"><span class="latitude">42°21′59″N</span> <span class="longitude">71°03′44″W</span></span></span><span class="geo-multi-punct">&#xfeff; / &#xfeff;</span><span class="geo-default"><span class="vcard"><span class="geo-dec" title="Maps, aerial photos, and other data for this location">42.366303°N 71.062228°W</span><span style="display:none">&#xfeff; / <span class="geo">42.366303; -71.062228</span></span><span style="display:none">&#xfeff; (<span class="fn org">Boston Celtics</span>)</span></span></span></a></span>
  </td>
  <td colspan="2" style="text-align:center;">1946
  </td></tr>
  <tr>
  <td><b><a href="/wiki/Brooklyn_Nets" title="Brooklyn Nets">Brooklyn Nets</a></b>
  </td>
  <td><a href="/wiki/New_York_City" title="New York City">New York City, New York</a>
  </td>
  <td><a href="/wiki/Barclays_Center" title="Barclays Center">Barclays Center</a>
  </td>
  <td align="center">17,732
  </td>
  <td><span class="plainlinks nourlexpansion"><a class="external text" href="//tools.wmflabs.org/geohack/geohack.php?pagename=National_Basketball_Association&amp;params=40.68265_N_73.974689_W_type:landmark&amp;title=Brooklyn+Nets"><span class="geo-nondefault"><span class="geo-dms" title="Maps, aerial photos, and other data for this location"><span class="latitude">40°40′58″N</span> <span class="longitude">73°58′29″W</span></span></span><span class="geo-multi-punct">&#xfeff; / &#xfeff;</span><span class="geo-default"><span class="vcard"><span class="geo-dec" title="Maps, aerial photos, and other data for this location">40.68265°N 73.974689°W</span><span style="display:none">&#xfeff; / <span class="geo">40.68265; -73.974689</span></span><span style="display:none">&#xfeff; (<span class="fn org">Brooklyn Nets</span>)</span></span></span></a></span>
  </td>
  <td align="center">1967*
  </td>
  <td align="center">1976
  </td></tr>
  <tr>
  <td><b><a href="/wiki/New_York_Knicks" title="New York Knicks">New York Knicks</a></b>
  </td>
  <td><a href="/wiki/New_York_City" title="New York City">New York City, New York</a>
  </td>
  <td><a href="/wiki/Madison_Square_Garden" title="Madison Square Garden">Madison Square Garden</a>
  </td>
  <td align="center">19,812
  </td>
  <td><span class="plainlinks nourlexpansion"><a class="external text" href="//tools.wmflabs.org/geohack/geohack.php?pagename=National_Basketball_Association&amp;params=40.750556_N_73.993611_W_type:landmark&amp;title=New+York+Knicks"><span class="geo-nondefault"><span class="geo-dms" title="Maps, aerial photos, and other data for this location"><span class="latitude">40°45′02″N</span> <span class="longitude">73°59′37″W</span></span></span><span class="geo-multi-punct">&#xfeff; / &#xfeff;</span><span class="geo-default"><span class="vcard"><span class="geo-dec" title="Maps, aerial photos, and other data for this location">40.750556°N 73.993611°W</span><span style="display:none">&#xfeff; / <span class="geo">40.750556; -73.993611</span></span><span style="display:none">&#xfeff; (<span class="fn org">New York Knicks</span>)</span></span></span></a></span>
  </td>
  <td colspan="2" style="text-align:center;">1946
  </td></tr>
  <tr>
  <td><b><a href="/wiki/Philadelphia_76ers" title="Philadelphia 76ers">Philadelphia 76ers</a></b>
  </td>
  <td><a href="/wiki/Philadelphia" title="Philadelphia">Philadelphia, Pennsylvania</a>
  </td>
  <td><a href="/wiki/Wells_Fargo_Center_(Philadelphia)" title="Wells Fargo Center (Philadelphia)">Wells Fargo Center</a>
  </td>
  <td align="center">21,600
  </td>
  <td><span class="plainlinks nourlexpansion"><a class="external text" href="//tools.wmflabs.org/geohack/geohack.php?pagename=National_Basketball_Association&amp;params=39.901111_N_75.171944_W_type:landmark&amp;title=Philadelphia+76ers"><span class="geo-nondefault"><span class="geo-dms" title="Maps, aerial photos, and other data for this location"><span class="latitude">39°54′04″N</span> <span class="longitude">75°10′19″W</span></span></span><span class="geo-multi-punct">&#xfeff; / &#xfeff;</span><span class="geo-default"><span class="vcard"><span class="geo-dec" title="Maps, aerial photos, and other data for this location">39.901111°N 75.171944°W</span><span style="display:none">&#xfeff; / <span class="geo">39.901111; -75.171944</span></span><span style="display:none">&#xfeff; (<span class="fn org">Philadelphia 76ers</span>)</span></span></span></a></span>
  </td>
  <td align="center">1946*
  </td>
  <td align="center">1949
  </td></tr>
  <tr>
  <td><b><a href="/wiki/Toronto_Raptors" title="Toronto Raptors">Toronto Raptors</a></b>
  </td>
  <td><a href="/wiki/Toronto" title="Toronto">Toronto, Ontario</a>
  </td>
  <td><a href="/wiki/Scotiabank_Arena" title="Scotiabank Arena">Scotiabank Arena</a>
  </td>
  <td align="center">19,800
  </td>
  <td><span class="plainlinks nourlexpansion"><a class="external text" href="//tools.wmflabs.org/geohack/geohack.php?pagename=National_Basketball_Association&amp;params=43.643333_N_79.379167_W_type:landmark&amp;title=Toronto+Raptors"><span class="geo-nondefault"><span class="geo-dms" title="Maps, aerial photos, and other data for this location"><span class="latitude">43°38′36″N</span> <span class="longitude">79°22′45″W</span></span></span><span class="geo-multi-punct">&#xfeff; / &#xfeff;</span><span class="geo-default"><span class="vcard"><span class="geo-dec" title="Maps, aerial photos, and other data for this location">43.643333°N 79.379167°W</span><span style="display:none">&#xfeff; / <span class="geo">43.643333; -79.379167</span></span><span style="display:none">&#xfeff; (<span class="fn org">Toronto Raptors</span>)</span></span></span></a></span>
  </td>
  <td colspan="2" style="text-align:center;">1995
  </td></tr>
  <tr>
  <th style="background:#DFC0A1;" rowspan="5"><a href="/wiki/Central_Division_(NBA)" title="Central Division (NBA)">Central</a>
  </th>

0 Comments


Add Comment

Your Email address will not be published


Leave Reply





copyright-Powered by Invictvs

Terms & Conditions