National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). It is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada and is considered the premier professional basketball league in the world.[3]
"NBA" redirects here. For other uses, see NBA (disambiguation).Sport
30
United States (29 teams)
Canada (1 team)
645 Fifth Avenue
New York, New York, U.S.[2]
Denver Nuggets
(1st title)
Boston Celtics
Los Angeles Lakers
(17 each)
The league was founded in New York City on June 6, 1946, as the Basketball Association of America (BAA).[1] It changed its name to the National Basketball Association on August 3, 1949, after merging with the competing National Basketball League (NBL).[4] In 1976, the NBA and the American Basketball Association (ABA) merged, adding four franchises to the NBA. The NBA's regular season runs from October to April, with each team playing 82 games. The league's playoff tournament extends into June, culminating with the NBA Finals championship series. As of 2020, NBA players are the world's best paid athletes by average annual salary per player.[5][6][7]
The NBA is an active member of USA Basketball (USAB),[8] which is recognized by the FIBA (International Basketball Federation) as the national governing body 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 Midtown Manhattan, while its NBA Entertainment and NBA TV studios are directed out of offices located in Secaucus, New Jersey. In North America, the NBA is the third wealthiest professional sport league after the National Football League (NFL) and Major League Baseball (MLB) by revenue, and among the top four in the world.[9]
The Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers are tied for the most NBA championships with 17 each. The reigning league champions are the Denver Nuggets, who defeated the Miami Heat in the 2023 NBA Finals.
The Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics are tied for the most championships with each having 17 NBA Finals wins.[120] The Golden State Warriors and Chicago Bulls have the third- and fourth-most, respectively, with seven and six titles.
Current teams that have no NBA Finals appearances:
NBA Cares
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.[149]
