Some of the biggest stars of this era were Abdul-Jabbar, Barry, Dave Cowens, Erving, Elvin Hayes, Walt Frazier, Moses Malone, Artis Gilmore, George Gervin, Dan Issel, and Pete Maravich. After four seasons with the Miami Heat, LeBron James returned to the Cleveland Cavaliers for the 2014–15 season. [91] The league has been playing games regularly on the holiday since 1947,[92] though the first Christmas Day games were not televised until 1983–84. [21] The New Orleans Jazz (now in Utah) came aboard in 1974 bringing the total to 18. The winner of the NBA Finals receives the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy. In 1957, rookie center Bill Russell joined the Boston Celtics, which already featured guard Bob Cousy and coach Red Auerbach, and went on to lead the franchise to eleven NBA titles in thirteen seasons. [87], 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. After the departure of James in free agency in 2018, the Cavaliers' streak of playoff and Finals appearances ended. On November 1, 1946, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the Toronto Huskies hosted the New York Knickerbockers at Maple Leaf Gardens, in a game the NBA now refers to as the first game played in NBA history. [15] To encourage shooting and discourage stalling, the league introduced the 24-second shot clock in 1954. 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.[10]. Current teams that have no NBA Finals appearances: As one of the major sports leagues in North America, the NBA has a long history of partnerships with television networks in the United States. Toronto Raptors. The NBA playoffs begin in April after the conclusion of the regular season with the top eight teams in each conference, regardless of divisional alignment, competing for the league's championship title, the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy. [67] The NBA defines "international" players as those born outside the 50 United States and Washington, D.C. In his 31st game of the season, Bradley Beal became the fastest player to 1,000 points in a season in @WashWizards franchise history. 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. The league's playoff tournament extends into June. In 2004, the Lakers returned to the Finals, only to lose in five games to the Detroit Pistons. Watch our How-To Videos to Become a Stathead, Subscribe to Stathead and get access to more data than you can imagine. The Warriors returned for a fifth consecutive Finals appearance in 2019, but lost to the Toronto Raptors, who won their first championship after acquiring Kawhi Leonard in a trade. [31] In 1988 and 1989, four cities got their wishes as the Charlotte Hornets, Miami Heat, Orlando Magic, and Minnesota Timberwolves made their NBA debuts, bringing the total to 27 teams. 1949-50 to 2020-21, Pace/ORtg/DRtg estimated The ABA succeeded in signing a number of major stars in the 1970s, including Julius Erving of the Virginia Squires, in part because it allowed teams to sign college undergraduates. This tournament was won by the NBA invitee every year it was held. In 2001, an affiliated minor league, the National Basketball Development League, now called the NBA G League, was created.[69]. [73], The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) began an investigation on July 19, 2007, over allegations that veteran NBA referee Tim Donaghy bet on basketball games he officiated over the past two seasons and that he made calls affecting the point spread in those games. Each player and major contributor—including coaches and the general manager—on the winning team receive a championship ring. 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.[19][20]. In addition, the league awards the Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award to the best performing player of the series. [85], 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. Ultimately, the franchise tag could work out well for Godwin and the Buccaneers. [33] Jordan and Scottie Pippen led the Bulls to two three-peats in eight years during the 1991–1998 seasons. John, Jerry and Brandon are at it again! [53] On February 1, 2014, commissioner David Stern retired after 30 years in the position, and was succeeded by his deputy, Adam Silver. [89] In 2018, the NBA also released the "Earned" uniform. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the four major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada. [82] (This is somewhat similar to the relationship between the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens in the NFL. Teams have the ability to assign players with less than two years of experience to the NBA G League. [81] During the 2013–14 season, Stern retired as commissioner after 30 years, and deputy commissioner Adam Silver ascended to the position of commissioner. [59][60][61], This era also saw the continuous near year-over-year decline in NBA viewership. The top vote-getter in the league earns first pick and so forth. 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. [86] The first team to announce a jersey sponsorship was the Philadelphia 76ers, who agreed to a deal with StubHub. The NBA Board of Governors approved the request of the Seattle SuperSonics to move to Oklahoma City on April 18, 2008. February 13, 2021 Now, his investment has grown tenfold. The NBA also officially released new Nike uniforms for all 30 teams beginning with the 2017–18 season. Are you a Stathead, too? [70] Manufactured by Spalding, 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. The 2013–14 season opened with a record 92 international players on the opening night rosters, representing 39 countries and comprising over 20% of the league. The sponsorship advertisement patches would appear on the left front of jerseys, opposite Nike's logo, marking the first time a manufacturer's logo would appear on NBA jerseys, and would measure approximately 2.5 by 2.5 inches. While some of it can be attributed to "cable-cutting", other professional leagues, like the NFL and MLB have retained a stable viewership demographics. Join our linker program. After training camp, a series of preseason exhibition games are held. The league began to phase in the updated logo across its properties during the 2017 NBA Summer League.[88]. For other uses, see, North American professional sports league, Celtics' dominance, league expansion and competition (1956–1979), Ticket prices and viewership demographics. The league's several international as well as individual team offices are directed out of its head offices in Midtown Manhattan, while its NBA Entertainment and NBA TV studios are directed out of offices located in Secaucus, New Jersey. The team guarantees its star wide receiver returns next season, making Brady and Bruce Arians happy. [34][35] Hakeem Olajuwon won back-to-back titles with the Houston Rockets in 1994 and 1995. Around the middle of April, the regular season ends. He led the team to their second Finals appearance with the help of Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love. Each team plays an opponent in a best-of-seven series, with the first team to win four games advancing into the next round, while the other team is eliminated from the playoffs. Please try to keep recent events in historical perspective and add more content related to non-recent events. Center Wilt Chamberlain entered the league with the Warriors in 1959 and became a dominant individual star of the 1960s, setting new single game records in scoring (100) and rebounding (55). Through this period, the NBA continued to evolve with the shift of the Minneapolis Lakers to Los Angeles, the Philadelphia Warriors to San Francisco, the Syracuse Nationals to Philadelphia to become the Philadelphia 76ers, and the St. Louis Hawks moving to Atlanta, as well as the addition of its first expansion franchises. Please note that players may not be in the uniform of the correct team in these images. Below is a rank-order … On May 19, 2005, Commissioner Stern testified before the U.S. House of Representatives' Committee on Government Reform about the NBA's actions to combat the use of steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs. [18], In 1969, Alan Siegel, who oversaw the design of Jerry Dior's Major League Baseball logo a year prior, created the modern NBA logo inspired by the MLB's. The 2011–12 season began with another lockout, the league's fourth. This championship streak is the longest in NBA history. for seasons prior to 1973-74, Every Sports Reference Social Media Account, Site Last Updated: Tuesday, March 9, 4:16AM. The process of contraction saw the league's smaller-city franchises move to larger cities. Following pioneers like Vlade Divac (Serbia) and Dražen Petrović (Croatia) who joined the NBA in the late 1980s, an increasing number of international players have moved directly from playing elsewhere in the world to starring in the NBA. [29][30], Michael Jordan entered the league in 1984 with the Chicago Bulls, spurring more interest in the league. [22] 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. The Lakers/Spurs dominance continued in 2007 with a four-game sweep by the Spurs over the LeBron James-led Cleveland Cavaliers. In 2011, they faced a re-match with the Dallas Mavericks but lost to the Dirk Nowitzki-led team. [103] NBA China is worth approximately $4 billion. The leagues engaged in a bidding war. 2021 NFL Mock Draft: Dolphins pick Devonta Smith, Steelers select future franchise quarterback Kyle Trask The Dolphins get Tua a familiar face, while the … It is during this time that voting begins for individual awards, as well as the selection of the honorary, league-wide, post-season teams. Each team plays six of the teams from the other two divisions in its conference four times (24 games), and the remaining four teams three times (12 games). Led by Russell, Cousy, and Auerbach, Boston won eight straight championships in the NBA from 1959 to 1966. 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. 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. The National Basketball Association has sporadically participated in international club competitions. the official stats partner of the NBA. Following the summer break, teams begin training camps in late September. This means that: The league has a global social responsibility program, NBA Cares, that is responsible for the league's stated mission of addressing important social issues worldwide. [93] Games played on this day have featured some of the best teams and players. Atlanta Hawks, St. Louis Hawks, Milwaukee Hawks, Tri-Cities Blackhawks, Seasons: From 2005 to 2008, the NBA had the distinction of being the only one of the four major leagues in which all teams play every other team. [67] 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. [71] The Players' Association had filed a suit on behalf of the players against the NBA over the new ball. Some attribute this decline to the political stances the league and its players are taking, while other consider load management, the uneven talent distribution between the conferences and cord cutting of younger viewers as the main reason for decline.[62][63][64][65][66]. The Carolina Panthers are expected to use their 2021 franchise tag on their stud starting right tackle Taylor Moton, according to a report by Ian Rapoport at NFL Network. The first outdoor game in the modern era of the league was played at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden on October 11, 2008, between the Phoenix Suns and the Denver Nuggets.[80]. Find out more. The NBA is an active member of USA Basketball (USAB),[7] which is recognized by the FIBA (International Basketball Federation) as the national governing body for basketball in the United States. The first preseason games were played on October 1, 2009, and replacement referees from the WNBA and NBA Development League were used, the first time replacement referees had been used since the beginning of the 1995–96 season. At the same time, the black viewership increased to 47 percent, while Hispanic (of any race) stood at 11% and Asian viewership stood at 8%. The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. Following the Warriors are the Chicago Bulls with six championships and the San Antonio Spurs with five championships, all since 1999.
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