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NBA – news, schedules and current odds

NBA, the National Basketball Association, is a major American basketball league that is the largest in the world. The league contains the best teams from the US and Canada. NBA is where the best players and the best teams meet.

On this page you will be updated with news, schedules and current odds for all matches in the NBA.

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The NBA really started with another name Basketball Association of America, BAA but merged in 1949 with the National Basketball League, (NBL) and then got the new name.

The fact that the league started from the beginning was very much about the fact that the ice hockey arenas needed to be filled between the hockey seasons with more attractive sports, and the choice fell on basketball.

The teams in the NBA

In total, the NBA consists of 30 teams at the moment. The league is divided into two conferences with three divisions each.

Eastern Conference

Atlantic Central Southeast
Boston Celtics Chicago Bulls Atlanta Hawks
Brooklyn Nets Cleveland Cavaliers Charlotte Hornets
New York Knicks Detroit Pistons Miami Heat
Philadelphia 76ers Indiana Pacers Orlando Magic
Toronto Raptors Milwaukee Bucks Washington Wizards

Western Conference

Northwest Pacific  Southwest
Denver Nuggets Golden State Warriors Dallas Mavericks
Minnesota Timberwolves Los Angeles Clippers Houston Rockets
Oklahoma City Thunder Los Angeles Lakers Memphis Grizzlies
Portland Trail Blazers Phoenix Suns New Orleans Pelicans
Utah Jazz Sacramento Kings San Antonio Spurs

The history of the NBA

Owners of the major arenas in the northeast and western United States as well as Canada had for a long time tried to fill them with various arrangements to attract crowds and earn revenue. They teamed up and thought about how to fill the stadiums when there was no ice hockey. The choice fell on basketball and the Basketball Association of America basketball league was founded in 1946 and the first game was played in Toronto, Canada on November 1, 1946. The new thing with this league was that it was played in big cities and it naturally attracted crowds, and there was room in the arenas.

Basket ball

The other leagues that exist were played in smaller cities and not the same size in arenas. In this way, the BAA league grew in size and became more popular.

Now a merger with the National Basketball League took place on August 3, 1949, creating the new NBA league. Suddenly, a greater number of teams and games took place in both large and smaller cities. The number of teams in the league was continuously reduced and the game then disappeared from the smaller towns. During the years to come, many changes took place, including the introduction of the shot clock and the 24-second rule. This was to counter passive play and meant that you have to try to score goals or make contact with the basketball basket within 24 seconds, otherwise the ball will pass to the opponent.

Playoffs in the NBA

The playoffs are held at the end of the season and consists of a seven game playoff round.

The top eight teams in each division (Conference East and West) are qualified for the playoffs. Thus, all stages of the playoffs are best played by seven matches. To win, you have to move on to four of the best of seven matches.

In the first part, 16 teams play, then eight, then four and finally two teams meet in a series in the best of seven. The winner of this meeting is the NBA Champion that year.

Most playoffs in the NBA

If we start from the year 2020 and look back, we can see a number of teams that have made many appearances in these playoffs. The format has been adjusted several times over the years in the playoffs, but it can be summed up that it has never been easy to make it to the playoffs and even less to win the big title.

Los Angeles Lakers 61
Boston Celtics 57
Philadelphia 76ers 49
Atlanta Hawks 46
Detroit Pistons 42
New York Knicks 41
San Antonio Spurs 39
Chicago Bulls 35
Golden State Warriors 35
Portland Trail Blazers 35

Most NBA title wins

A number of teams have made great strides through the ages in this NBA, but the Boston Celtics and LA Lakers still have a distinctive position as most champions. Here are the top 5 of all time winners in the NBA.

Boston Celtics 17
Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lakers 16
Philadelphia/San Francisco/Golden State Warriors 6
Chicago Bulls 6
San Antonio Spurs 5
Frequently Asked Questions
How many teams play in the NBA?

The league currently has 30 teams.

How many Canadian teams play in the NBA?

Currently, there is only one Canadian team in the NBA - the Toronto Raptors. Until the 2001/2002 season, the Vancouver Grizzlies also played in the NBA.

Which is the best NBA team of all time?

In terms of number of championship titles, the Boston Celtics are in the top with 17 titles. The LA Lakers have 16 titles and are also the team that went to the playoffs most times in history. They have gone to the playoffs 61 times, while the Celtics have "only" gone to the playoffs 57 times.