Now that the lockout is in full swing, we invite you to get acquainted with those who are the owners of the teams, those bigwigs who do not agree to bear the losses and have gone on strike.
Many people know all the general managers and presidents of clubs who work for hire, but a number of owners, in fact, are hidden from millions of eyes. There is Mark Cuban, who publicly decides everything on his team, and there are owners who completely trust either their offspring or loyal subordinates. We will not divide them into “best” and “worst”. Let's just briefly talk about each of the 30 NBA club owners.
Team values and annual club revenues are based on data as of the end of 2010 (according to Forbes magazine).
Northwestern Division
Denver Nuggets - Stan Kroenke (actual owner son - Josh Kroenke)
Owner group: Liberty Media, the parent company of Ascent Entertainment Group, which sold the team to Stan Kroenke, still owns a 6.5% stake.
Club purchase price:$202 million (2000)
Current value of the team: $316 million
Annual income: $116 million
Education: MBA, University of Missouri
Other business areas: in 2000, Kroenke bought not only the Denver Nuggets for $450 million, but also the Colorado Avalanche with the Pepsi Center in addition. But this, of course, is not all. The tycoon also owns the St. Louis Rams NFL team, the Colorado Rapids baseball team, the Colorado Mammos National Lacrosse League team, and a controlling stake in the London-based Arsenal soccer team. The clubs, which are based in Colorado, are under almost complete control of his son John. Interestingly, Stan Kroenke's wife is the niece of Sam Walton, the founder of Wal-Mart.
Of course, sports teams aren't the only thing the tycoon, whose net worth is estimated at $2.6 billion, is involved with. He is the chairman of the board of the construction company THF Realty, which specializes in improving the facades of houses and the appearance of buildings in metropolitan areas. Kroenke Sr. is also the owner of Napa Valley vineyards, known throughout America.
Denver's achievements: The Nuggets have made the playoffs for eight consecutive seasons. In addition, in 2009 they reached the Western Conference finals, although the other seven entries into the postseason did not advance beyond the first round.
Owner's philosophy: Even before his son John began to take full control of the Nuggets, Stan Kroenke was the type of owner who was not accustomed to interfering in the internal workings of the team. He tends to trust his subordinates and fully rely on their decisions. As for the club's policy, Stan was more inclined to nurture young talent than to invite already established superstars to the team, although Allen Iverson may serve as an exception.
Key tags:
We continue our series of articles about club nicknames. This time we are going with you to the National Basketball Association (NBA). In this article we will talk about the history of team names in the NBA Eastern Conference, and, naturally, we will talk about the nicknames that the clubs have. Why are the Boston Celtics nicknamed "The Celts"? Why are the New York Knicks nicknamed the "Short Pants"? How did the Toronto Raptors become the Dinosaurs if they were the Predators? How did a historical event in the United States give its name to an NBA club? What is the origin of the Detroit Pistons nickname "Pistons"? How did “Pacers” appear in the NBA? Why are the Milwaukee Bucks the Bucks if they are the Bucks? Where did “Magicians”, “Wizards”, “Magicians” and “Sorcerers” come from in the NBA? And what does the heat of Miami have to do with the name of the club? You will find answers to these questions in this article.
(Boston Celtics) - nicknames: “Celts”, “Boston Celts”.
The Boston Celtics team was founded in 1946. The club had to wait ten years before winning its first NBA trophy. In total, the Celtics became champions of the National Basketball Association 17 times. Between 1959 and 1966, the team won eight consecutive league titles, an unmatched record among any team in a North American professional league. The name “Celtics” (Celts) was invented by the hockey and basketball functionary, the founder and then owner of the club, Walter Brown. In addition to the Celtics, which was subsequently chosen, he also considered the options: Unicorns, Olympians and Whirlwinds. The name "Boston Celtics" is associated with the events that took place in the mid-19th century in Ireland and the USA, namely with the mass migration of the Celtic people to the States. In the years 1845-1859 in Ireland, due to a poor potato harvest, a period began that went down in history as the “Great Famine” (Potato Famine in Ireland). The Celts, in search of a better life, migrated to the United States, most of the migrants moved to Boston. At the time Brown came up with the name for the team, Boston had one of the largest Irish communities in the United States, and they were thrilled that the team would be called the Celts. The Boston Celtics mascot is Lucky the Leprechaun.
(Brooklyn Nets) - nicknames: "Nets".
The Brooklyn Nets are based in Brooklyn, New York. Since 1967, the team changed its name four times before eventually becoming the Brooklyn Nets. The birth of the team dates back to 1967. The founder of the team is industrial magnate Arthur Brown, who called his brainchild “New York Americans”. A few months before the start of the ABA (American Basketball Association) regular season, Brown had to move the club to Teaneck, New Jersey, and change the name to the New Jersey Americans. Just a year later, Brown had the opportunity to bring the team back to New York. When the move was completed and all problems were resolved, the club owner again decided to change the name, now to the New York Nets. In 1975, the New York Nets applied to participate in the NBA, but after being rejected, they continued to play in the ABA. In 1976, the ABA and NBA merged, and the New York Nets, respectively, ended up in the National Basketball Association. Only a year later, management decides to return to New Jersey, and once again changes the name of the club, now to the New Jersey Nets. In 2009, Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov became the sole owner of the club, purchasing a controlling stake. In 2012, management decided to move to Brooklyn. After it took place, the team was given a new name, which it bears to this day - “Brooklyn Nets”. The Nets nickname comes from the basketball hoop. The Brooklyn Nets mascot is Brooklyn Knight.
(New York Knicks) - nicknames: “Shortpants”, “Knicks”, “New Yorkers”.
The New York Knickerbockers (abbr. New York Knicks) appeared in 1946 and were a BAA (Basketball Association of America) team. That same year, the NBA and BAA merged, resulting in the New York Knicks joining the National Basketball Association. The name "Knicks" is short for "Knickerbockers". It comes from the word "Knickerbocker" - the literary pseudonym of the American romantic writer, "father of American literature" - Washington Irving. Under this pseudonym he wrote the book "History of New York". The word "Knickerbocker" itself translates as "breeches", "pants longer than the knee", hence the team's nickname - "Short Pants". These pants were worn by the Dutch settlers who founded New York in the 17th century. Subsequently, all residents of New York began to be called this. The nickname "Knicks" is a derivative of "Knicks". The New York Knicks don't have a mascot.
(Toronto Raptors) - nicknames: “Predators”, “Reptiles”, “Dinosaurs”, “Canadians”.
The Toronto Raptors are currently the only NBA team representing Canada. The Raptors were founded in 1993 and joined the National Basketball Association in 1995 when management decided to expand the league to include Canadian teams. Along with the Toronto Raptors, the Vancouver Grizzlies also entered the NBA, but in 2001 the club changed its place of residence from Vancouver, Canada to Memphis, Tennessee, USA. Since then, Toronto has been the sole representative of the “country of maple leaves”. Initially, it was planned to give the team the name “Toronto Huskies”, as a memory of the old team from Toronto, which played in the BAA in the 1946\1947 season, and also to borrow the emblem of the old team. However, the decision was made to choose a different name and logo because the Huskies logo (featuring a husky puppy) resembled the logo of another NBA team, the Minnesota Timberwolves (the logo features a wolf). The management decided to announce a competition to name the team. More than 2,000 options for the club name and emblems were sent, of which only nine were left for consideration: "Beavers", "Bobcats", "Tyrannosaurs", "Hogs", " Dragons", "Scorpions", "Raptors", "Tarantulas" and "Grizzlys". The club was eventually named the Toronto Raptors. The choice in favor of the Raptors was made due to the great popularity of the film Jurassic Park, which premiered three months earlier. The fact is that although “Raptors” is translated as “Predators,” this team name has a slightly different meaning. "Raptors" is short for "Velociraptor" (Velociraptor) - a genus of predatory bipedal dinosaurs from the family dromaeosaurids. That's why the Toronto Raptors are nicknamed "The Dinosaurs." The mascot of the Toronto Raptors team is also a dinosaur - The Raptor.
Philadelphia 76ers(Philadelphia 76ers) - nicknames: “76ers”, “Sixers”.
The Philadelphia 76ers were founded in 1946 and were originally called the Syracuse Nationals. The team's home until 1963 was Syracuse, New York, USA. When Philadelphia lost its Philadelphia Warriors franchise in 1963, who moved to San Francisco, the Syracuse Nationals decided to move the team to the largest city in Pennsylvania. Following the move, the Syracuse Nationals were renamed the Philadelphia 76ers. The name of the team was given in honor of the signing of the US Declaration of Independence, which took place in 1776 in Philadelphia. The Sixers nickname is short for 76ers. "Sixers" is used even more often than "Seventy-sixers." The Philadelphia 76ers do not have a team mascot.
(Detroit Pistons) - nicknames: “Pistons”, “Pistons”.
In 1941, the progenitor of the current Detroit Pistons was founded in Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA. A club called the Fort Wayne (Zollner) Pistons played in the NBL (National Basketball League). In 1948, the National Basketball Association expanded and the club joined the NBA. In 1957, the management decided to move the team to Detroit, Michigan, USA, and in the meantime change the name of the club to the Detroit Pistons. Translated from English, "Pistons" means "Pistons". This name was invented by team owner Fred Zollner when the club was based in Fort Wayne. He was also the owner of the Zollner Corporation, which produced pistons for trucks, cars and trains. When the club moved to the city of Detroit, which was already the center of the US automobile industry, the name, naturally, was not changed, because it ideally suited the team from the “motor city.” The nickname “Pistons” is official, but “Pistons” is just a derivative of “Pistons”, invented by Russian-speaking fans. The Detroit Pistons' mascot is Hooper the horse.
(Indiana Pacers) - nicknames: “Pacers”, “Indy”, “Pacers”.
The Indiana Pacers were founded in 1967. The club is based in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. The Pacers originally played in the ABA until they joined the NBA in 1976. The nickname "Pacers" is a translation of the word "Pacers". Equestrian sports have always been very popular in Indiana. The name "Pacers" refers to the trotter pacer. A pacer is a horse whose main, natural gait is ambling. Ambling is a special movement of a horse or other four-legged animal, consisting of unilateral rearrangement of legs. The nickname "Indy" is short for "Indiana", and the nickname "Pacers" is a derivative of "Pacers". The Indiana Pacers mascot is Boomer. Boomer is an energetic cat who loves to dance and throw balls into the basket after jumping high.
(Cleveland Cavaliers) - nicknames: “Cavalrymen”, “Horsemen”, “Cavs”.
In 1970, the National Basketball Association decided to expand the league and accepted the Cleveland Cavaliers team, whose home was Cleveland, Ohio, USA. The Cavaliers name was the idea of Jerry Tomko, the father of former baseball pitcher Brett Tomko. His version won the competition, which was announced by the club's management. In addition to the "Cavaliers", the following options were also offered: "Jays", "Foresters" and "Presidents". Team owner Nick Mileti chose to call the team "The Cavalry" rather than something else. His choice is determined by the fact that the names “Horsemen” and “Cavalrymen” are associated with masculinity, courage and determination, with the ability not to be afraid to move towards difficulties and overcome them. The nickname "Cavs" is short for "Cavaliers". The Cleveland Cavaliers have two mascots: Moondog and Sir CC the Musketeer. Both are designed to entertain fans at Cavs home games.
(Milwaukee Bucks) - nicknames: "Deer", "Bucks".
As a result of the expansion of the National Basketball Association in 1968, the Milwaukee Bucks were admitted to the NBA. The team is based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA, and has never moved to another city. The name for the club was chosen through a competition. As a result, the name “Bucks” was chosen, which was suggested by one of the fans. Translated from English, "Buck" means "Deer". It so happened that the word “Bucks” can be translated as “Bucks”, “Dollar”, so the second nickname of the team is “Bucks”. The Milwaukee Bucks' mascots are Bango the Buck and Bango the Buck Jr.
(Chicago Bulls) - nicknames: “Bulls”, “Bulls”, “Beef”.
The Chicago Bulls club was born in 1966. The team is based in Chicago, Illinois, USA. The Bulls are the third NBA team ever to come from Chicago. Before them were the Chicago Packers (1961-1962), who later moved to Washington and became the Wizards, and the Chicago Stacks, who played from 1946 to 1950. The Chicago Bulls' nickname is "Bulls," and some fans call the team "Beef," and it's probably clear why. The thing is that the word "Bulls" is translated as "Bulls". The name "Bulls" was given to the team for a reason. "Bull" is a symbol of power, strength, stability, prosperity and, of course, strength. The club's management wanted to instill fear in their opponents with just the name. Plus, the name "Bulls" is very short and easy to read. Among other things, Chicago is the main center for the production and export of beef to cities located on the Atlantic coast. The Chicago Bulls mascot is Benny the Bull.
(Atlanta Hawks) - nicknames: “Eagles”, “Hawks”.
The Atlanta Hawks, or Atlanta Hawks, as you like, was founded in 1946. The team changed its name four times before finally becoming the Atlanta Hawks. The club was originally called the Buffalo Bisons, based in Buffalo, New York, and played in the NBL. After thirteen championship games, management had to move the team to Moline, Illinois and change its name to the Tri-Cities Blackhawks. In 1949, the NBA absorbed the BAA, the league expanded, and the Blackhawks joined the National Basketball Association. The club bore the name "Tri-Cities Blackhawks" for almost five years, until in 1951 the club again changed its place of registration. This time the team moved to Milwaukee and the Blackhawks were shortened to the Hawks. In 1955, the Milwaukee Hawks moved again, this time to the city of St. Louis, Missouri, where they would remain for thirteen years, and along the way changed their name to the St. Louis Hawks. Three years after moving to St. Louis, the team became the NBA champion and won the Walter Brown Cup (1958), awarded to the NBA winner from 1949 to 1977 (later replaced by the Larry O'Brien Cup). In 1968 the team moved to Atlanta, Georgia, USA and is based there to this day. Naturally, the club's name was also changed to Atlanta Hawks. The name "Hawk", as mentioned earlier, comes from "Blackhawk" (Black Hawk), which in turn refers to the events of 1832, when a fierce war was fought between the American settlers of Illinois and the Sauk and Fox Indian tribes, which went down in history as the “Black Hawk War.” Black Hawk is a real person, the leader of the Sauk tribe, who led the military actions of the Sauks and Foxes against the United States. The official nickname of the Atlanta Hawks is the Hawks, but they are also called the Eagles, which is also correct. The Atlanta Hawks' mascot is Harry the Hawk.
(Washington Wizards) - nicknames: “Wizards”, “Sorcerers”, “Wizards”, “Sorcerers”.
In 1961, the Chicago Packers (Packers) club was born - the progenitor of the current Washington Wizards. The club's home was Chicago, Illinois. A year later, the club changed its name to the Chicago Zephyrs, and a year later moved to Baltimore, Maryland, after which it became known as the Baltimore Bullets. After ten years in Baltimore, the club changed its residence again, moving in 1973 to Landover, Maryland, while changing the club's name to the Capital Bullets, and a year later to the Washington Bullets. In 1978, the team won the National Basketball Association title. In 1997, the club was renamed the Washington Wizards and firmly established itself in Washington. The idea to turn the Bullets into the Wizards came from club owner Abe Pollin. He believed that the name “Bullets” had become obsolete, and besides, “Bullets” was associated with violence, and such names were not particularly welcomed in the United States. The Washington Wizards have many nicknames. "Wizards" is a direct translation of the English word "Wizards". The nicknames “Sorcerers”, “Sorcerers” and “Wizards” are synonyms of this word. The Washington Wizards mascots are G-Wiz and G-Man.
(Miami Heat) - nicknames: “Miami Heat”, “Hits”, “Miami Heat”, “Ogonki”.
The Florida club was founded in 1988, and that same year joined the National Basketball Association when the league decided to expand. Miami joined the NBA along with such teams as Minnesota, Charlotte and Orlando. The name "Hit", which translated from English means "Heat", "Heat", turned out to be the most popular in the competition for the team's name, winning by a large margin. The choice of fans in favor of “Hit” is easily explained: firstly, it’s a really cool name, short and sounding, and secondly, for a team from sunny and hot Florida, the name “Hit” is just perfect. It is extremely rare that a team is called “Ogonyki”, which is not very correct. The Miami Heat's mascot, Burnie, is a fiery, red-haired creature wearing glasses with the word "Miami" on it and a basketball for a nose and mouth.
(Orlando Magic) - nicknames: "Magicians".
The Orlando Magic is another representative of the state of Florida along with the Miami Heat. The team was founded in 1989, the same year it joined the NBA as a result of the league's expansion. The club is based in Orlando. Although Orlando received an NBA franchise in 1989, the idea of creating a team in the “theme park capital of the world” appeared back in 1985. The name "Magic" was chosen because it came first in a competition to name the new club. In addition to “Magic”, the following options were also offered: “Hit” (Heat), “Juice” (Juice) and “Tropics” (Tropics). The name "Hit" was eventually given to another team from Florida - "Miami", and "Juice" and "Tropics" seemed to the management to be frivolous names, completely unsuitable for a team with ambitious plans. As a result, “Magic” turned out to be out of competition, but not because nothing better was offered; on the contrary, the management considered that calling the team “Mages,” which is how the word “Magic” is translated, was a very good idea. In fact, the nickname “Mages” is the only one, but the team is sometimes called “Wizards”, “Wizards”, and “Sorcerers”. Although this is not entirely true, who will condemn these people?! The Orlando Magic's mascot is Stuff the Magic Dragon.
All NBA regular season teams:
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Atlantic Division
Boston Celtics
Miami Heat
New Jersey Nets
New York Knicks
Orlando Magic
Philadelphia 76ers
Washington Wizards
Central Division
Atlanta Hawks
Charlotte Hornets
Chicago Bulls
Cleveland Cavaliers
Detroit Pistons
Indiana Pacers
Milwaukee Bucks
Toronto Raptors
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Midwest Division
Dallas Mavericks
Denver Nuggets
Houston Rockets
Minnesota Timberwolves
San Antonio Spurs
Utah Jazz
Memphis Grizzlies
Pacific Division
Golden State Warriors
Los Angeles Clippers
Los Angeles Lakers
Phoenix Suns
Portland Trail Blazers
Sacramento Kings
Seattle SuperSonics
Rules for the NBA regular season
Each team plays 82 matches per season, of which 41 are at home and 41 are away. Teams from the same division play each other four times (two home games, two away), and teams from different conferences play each other twice (once at home, one away). Each team from the Midwest Division plays four games against teams from the Pacific Division (two home, two away) and vice versa. Because there is one more team in the Eastern Conference, each Atlantic Division team plays four games (two home, two away) against six teams and three games against two Central Division teams, while Central Division teams play four times against five teams and three times each with two Atlantic Division teams.
Playoff games
Sixteen NBA teams, eight teams each from the Eastern and Western Conferences, qualify for the playoffs. The division winner with the best record in each conference is assigned number 1, the winner of the other division is assigned number 2, and the rest are assigned numbers 3 through 8 according to their record (win-loss record). Pairs for the first round are made up as follows: 1st number plays with 8th, 2nd with 7th, 3rd with 6th and 4th with 5th. The winners of the first round pairs advance to the conference semifinals. The strongest of the first pair meets the winner of the fourth pair, the winner of the second pair meets the winner of the third. The winners of the semifinals advance to the conference finals, and the teams that prevail in those finals play in the NBA Finals.
The first round of competition consists of five matches, and each subsequent round, including the NBA finals, of seven. The first round is played using the 2-2-1 system, and all subsequent rounds, except the NBA Finals, are played using the 2-2-1-1-1 system. The NBA Finals are played using a 2-3-2 system. Moreover, the team with the best results of the regular NBA tournament plays the first two and last two games on its own court.
In each series of games, the advantage in choosing a site remains with the team that showed the best results in the regular tournament, regardless of its place in the division. Thus, if the division winner were to play the runner-up in another division, then whoever had the best regular season record in the NBA season would have the first choice of court.
NBA and FIBA Rules*
*FIBA (International Amateur Basketball Federation)
Kind of sport Basketball
Base June 6, 1946, New York
A country USA,Canada
Number of teams
30
Supervisor
David Stern
Tagline Where Amazing Happens
Current winner
Miami Heat
Maximum titles
Boston Celtics (17)
Website NBA.com
National Basketball Association, NBA(English) National Basketball Association, NBA ) is a men's professional basketball league in North America, specifically the United States and Canada. It is one of the four major professional sports leagues in North America, along with the NHL, Major League Baseball and the NFL. It was founded in 1946 as the Basketball Association of America and, merging with the National Basketball League, was renamed the National Basketball Association.
By 2011, the Association included 30 teams, which were geographically divided into Eastern and Western conferences, and each conference, in turn, was divided into three divisions of five teams. During the regular season, each team plays 82 matches, based on the results of which participants in the playoffs are selected. In the playoffs, teams play according to the Olympic system, up to 4 victories in their conference. The two conference champions meet each other in the main final, where the winner of the NBA title is determined.
The NBA's 2010 revenue was $3.8 billion and, with expenses of just over $3.6 billion, operating income for the year was $183 million and a profit margin of 4.8%.. The average player salary in 2010 was $4.8 million per year, more than any other sports league in the world. The NBA headquarters is located on the 19th floor Olympic Tower on Fifth Avenue in New York.
Story
Just a few years after the very concept of the game was created by James Naismith in the winter of 1891, news began to appear about the creation of numerous, initially local, basketball leagues. These leagues were based in major cities on the East Coast of the United States: Philadelphia, Boston, New York. On November 7, 1896, the first professional match in the history of basketball took place: in the city of Trenton, New Jersey, the local team of the Young Men's Christian Association met with a team of a similar organization from Brooklyn; To pay for the premises, spectators had to be charged a certain entrance fee. After paying for the rent of the temple where the match took place, the players divided the remaining money among themselves; as a result, each of them became $15 richer. Fred Cooper, as captain, received $16, becoming for a time the highest paid basketball player in history. Trenton's team won 16-1.
The first professional league appeared in 1898 and united 6 teams from Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The National Basketball League was not the only such organization, but, unlike its competitors, it lasted 5 years in its original form: at that time, teams often moved from one league to another, and often such leagues existed for only a few weeks.
One of the first professional basketball teams to become famous throughout the country was the Original Celtics (in no way related to the modern Celtics), formed in 1914 and recreated after the First World War. Not only were the Celtics so invincible that they wandered from league to league in search of worthy opponents and invariably left the tournament due to lack of competition, but they were also innovators, creating the concept of zone defense and introducing the first player contracts. Lou Bender was the star of that team. The Harlem Globetrotters, created by Abe Saperstein in 1927, had a significant influence on the popularization of basketball.
At the beginning of the 20th century, basketball remained much less popular than football and hockey, but in the mid-1920s it began to increasingly gain popularity. In 1925, the American Basketball League was created by NFL President Joseph Carr as the first attempt to collect all the best teams in the country, and formally, after 1933, as the East Coast League, it existed until 1955.
Birth of the NBA
Competition between the ABL, recreated in 1937 by the NBL and
NASS , a college sports league founded in 1938, continued during wars , and after it, until the appearance BAA June 6, 1946 . The BAA, more than any other league, became the basis for the modern NBA. Having impressive financial resources, the founders of the league, represented by the owners of large hockey arenas, headed by the president Maurice Podolof placed an emphasis on moving such a promising and rapidly developing sport as basketball to such largest arenas in the country as “ Boston Garden and Madison Square Garden.
The first meeting took place in Toronto at Maple Leaf Gardens, where the local Huskies hosted the Knickerbockers from New York. Thus, the main difference between the leagues was that the NBL clubs included the leading players in the country, but the BAA matches were played in large stadiums, although they were not high-scoring, largely due to the lack of a 24-second rule. And if in the debut season of the BAA, the Philadelphia Warriors team led by leader Joseph Fulks, originally created for the new league, became the champion, then the Baltimore Bullets who celebrated the victory in ’48 and the Minneapolis Lakers in ’49 were guests from neighboring leagues (ABL and NBL, respectively).
On August 3, 1949, a meeting was held between the owners of the NBL and BAA, at which an agreement was signed to unite the two leagues and create a single National Basketball Association, which initially included 17 teams - 3 divisions of 5 or 6 teams. In 1950, 6 teams left the NBA, and in 1954 the number of teams was reduced to 8, and all eight still exist today: Knicks, Celtics, Warriors, Lakers, Royals / Kings, Nationals/76ers, Pistons and Hawks.
Despite the fact that Japanese-American Wataru Misaka became the first “colored” player in the BAA in 1948, 1950 is considered the year the first African-American player appeared in the NBA. By 2011, the percentage of black players in the league was approximately 80%.
The first six seasons of the NBA were marked by the undeniable advantage of the former NBL club - the Lakers team from Minneapolis, which managed to win five championships during this time, only in 1951, due to a large number of injuries among the players, lost the right to play in the final series to the Rochester Royals club ", which ultimately became the winner. The Lakers owed their success primarily to their center George Mikan.
This nearsighted (even wearing thick glasses on the court) native of Illinois became the first true center, personally developing many playing techniques that simply did not exist before him. Averaging 22 points per game (28 while playing in the BAA), with the entire team averaging 80 points, Miken forced Association officials to change the rules. The introduction of the three-second zone and its expansion led to the forced removal of tall players from the ring: this rule is often called the “Miken rule”. Mikan, named the best player of the first half of the 20th century by the Associated Press, retired from professional sports and the subsequent relocation of the Lakers to the West Coast in Los Angeles, ending the first decade of the NBA.
NBA emblem
In 1969, Alan Siegel, the founder and head of the company
Siegel+Gale dealing with issues branding , was created by order of the league itself emblem National Basketball Association. Initially, while viewing photos from the archive SPORT magazine , Siegel's attention was drawn to the image Jerry West - legendary Los Angeles Lakers player. Using West's silhouette as a basis, Siegel said he submitted about 50 of his own logo options to the association for consideration during the design process., but Walter Kennedy (NBA commissioner from 1963 to 1975) insisted on creating an emblem similar to the one that had been approved in Major League Baseball a little earlier (in 1968) ( GLB ) - player silhouette and blue-white-red color set. The choice of colors was dictated by the desire to equate basketball with baseball in the title of All-American game, using the colors in the emblem USA flag . The final version of the emblem was officially adopted and has been used as a trademark since 1971. Alan Siegel for designing the logo as fee received 3.5 thousand dollars.The leadership of the league itself is against associating the logo with one player. David Stern, through his spokesman, Tim Frank, stated that he did not know whether Jerry West was the symbolic person, adding only that "there is no evidence to support this." Jerry West said in an interview that he was very honored by the honor, but added that "it is unlikely that it will ever be officially recognized that it is really me." In the words of Alan Siegel, the creator himself, "the logo has become such a ubiquitous, classic symbol and central focus of their [NBA's] corporate identity and licensing program that there is no need to identify it with one specific player."
peak of popularity
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
In 1969, the Milwaukee Bucks selected Lewis Alcindor Jr. with the first pick in the draft. After winning the 1971 championship, he converted to Islam and changed his name to the more recognizable one today - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Under this name, he became known throughout the world as the center of the Lakers (traded in 1975), who played for the club for fourteen seasons and became the NBA champion five times. Having spent 20 years in professional basketball and leaving it in 1989, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar holds the NBA record for points scored, minutes played, field goals made, field goals made, and fouls earned. In addition to Jabbar, the stars of the 1970s included Artis Gilmore, Billy Cunningham, Dave Cowens, Julius Erving, Bob McAdoo, Bill Walton and Moses Malone (all of whom were regular season MVPs from '71 to '79), but also Walt Frazier. , and Pete Maravich, and many others contributed to the development of the NBA.
However, by the end of the decade, there was a downward trend in public interest in basketball - weak attendance and low television ratings did not foretell a bright future for the league, if not for the resurgent duel of the Celtics and Lakers.
Magic Johnson
The confrontation between these teams stretches throughout the history of the NBA (in total they won 33 championship titles in 64 editions; 12 meetings in the Finals), but it became especially intense and colorful with the arrival of first Larry Bird (1978) and then Irvine “Magic” in the league. "Johnson (1979). From 1980 to 1989, each year one of the teams reached the final, but it was only in 1984 that they first fought for the main title among themselves. The seven-game series was won by the Celtics, but the Lakers took revenge the following year, in 1985, opening the scoring in a historic confrontation with the Celtics in the final series (8-0 up to that point). The last time Bird and Johnson met was in the 1987 final, where again the Lakers were stronger. The rivalry between these two players went down in history. It is believed that it was Larry and Magic who “saved” the NBA and provoked the beginning of a restoration of interest in the Association after a series of scandals related to drugs, racism and increasingly deteriorating relations between team owners and players.
An important event for the further growth of the NBA was the appointment of David Stern as Commissioner of the NBA in 1984. Having replaced Larry O'Brien in this post and continuing to be the Association's chief businessman to this day, Stern took the league to a new level - both financial and gaming.
In 1980, the 23rd team, the Dallas Mavericks, appeared in the league, in 1988 the NBA was replenished with teams from Miami and Charlotte (later New Orleans), and in 1989 the Minnesota Timberwolves and Orlando Magic debuted in the league. .
In the late 1980s, the Pistons from Detroit won two titles in a row (1989, 1990), nicknamed the “bad boys” for their strong and often dirty, but productive defensive play, especially in their own half of the court.
But a little earlier, in 1984, a man appeared in the National Basketball Association who forever changed the perception of the game among millions of fans and became the face of basketball for many years.
Michael Jordan
Michael Jeffrey Jordan was selected 3rd overall by the Chicago Bulls in the 1984 draft. A Rookie of the Year in 1985, he surprised everyone with 63 points in Game 2 of the 1986 first-round playoff series and earned his first regular-season MVP title in 1988 (despite Jordan's incredible 37.1 points per game average). Magic Johnson won the award the previous season). But Jordan had to wait in the wings until the 1990-91 season, having faced an insurmountable barrier in the playoffs in the form of the Pistons for three seasons in a row..
After receiving his second MVP title and winning the championship in 1991, he repeated a similar procedure a year later, only in the third year losing the title of best player of the regular season to Charles Barkley. This fact did not prevent Jordan and the Bulls from becoming champions for the third time in a row and Michael receiving the title of the Most Valuable Player of the Finals for the third time in a row.
After Jordan’s temporary retirement from professional basketball due to “loss of interest in the game,” Hakeem Olajuwon, the center of the Houston Rockets, who became the best player of the 1994 championship, the best player of the final series of 94 and 95, and only the third player in NBA history to achieve a quadruple-double (four years later, David Robinson would become the fourth).
21 months after switching to baseball, Jordan returned to the NBA, sparking the biggest jump in the Association's popularity ratings. The scenario of the first three-pit was repeated, and on January 13, 1999, Jordan retired for the second time as “the best player to ever step onto the basketball court,” winning 6 championships in 8 years and making the Chicago Bulls 90- 's to the list of the greatest teams in the history of the NBA.
The 90s became the peak of popularity of basketball in the USA and beyond. The matchups between great centers such as David Robinson, Hakeem Olajuwon, Dikembe Mutombo, Patrick Ewing and Shaquille O'Neal made history. The heyday of Karl Malone and John Stockton, Shawn Kemp and Gary Payton came at the end of the millennium, as did the strongest individual performances of Clyde Drexler, Charles Barkley, Grant Hill, Penny Hardaway and many others.
In 1995, the league's expansion into Canada brought the Vancouver Grizzlies and Toronto Raptors into the NBA, although the Bears later moved to Memphis, leaving the Dinosaurs as the only team north of the US-Canadian border. In 1998, a lockout began that lasted 204 days, and as a result, the regular season was shortened to 50 games. The San Antonio Spurs became champions for the first time in history.
In the 21st century
Since 1998, the Western Conference has come to the fore with the San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Lakers, who have won a combined 9 titles in 13 years. Its hegemony was stopped only by the Detroit Pistons in 2004, the Miami Heat in 2006, and the Celtics in 2008.
The recent period of NBA history is more characterized by a pronounced reliance on two or three star players rather than on building a coherent and even team: Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, who led the Lakers to 3 championships in a row (2000-2002), “towers” twins" Duncan and Robinson in "San Antonio" (1999-2003), Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O'Neal in "Miami" in 2006, "Big Trio" Pierce-Garnett-Allen, who returned to Boston, long forgotten for 22 years failures, the smell of victories in 2008, and the James-Wade-Bosh trio brought together in the Miami Heat club as a result of the 2010 offseason. In their first year playing together, the Heat reached the finals, where they lost to the Dallas Mavericks with a score of 4-2. For the Mavericks, this victory was the first in the history of the club, as well as a long-awaited championship for such veterans as Jason Kidd, Shawn Marion and Dirk Nowitzki.
In 2004, after the Charlotte Bobcats joined the association, the number of NBA teams reached thirty.
Initially there were 11 teams in the League. Under the influence of various reasons, their number varied, especially in the early years, but then gradually increased, reaching the current maximum of thirty. Twenty-nine of them are located in the United States, and one, the Toronto Raptors, is in Canada. All teams are divided into two conferences based on geography - Western and Eastern, each of which, in turn, consists of three divisions of 5 teams each.
The Boston Celtics have the largest number of championships won - 17. In second place are the Los Angeles Lakers with 16 titles, and if we also take into account performances in the NBL, the number of final victories will be equal. In third place are the Chicago Bulls with 6 titles; all six were mined over a period of 8 years during the nineties. The San Antonio Spurs were victorious four times, the Sixers, Warriors and Pistons three times.
NBA Draft
NBA Draft - an annual event, one of the most important parts of the off-season, in which all 30 clubs are given the opportunity to select, acquire the rights and sign a contract with young promising players. In most cases, these are students from American colleges and universities who have completed or are continuing their education at the time of the draft. There are also 42 instances of players being drafted straight out of high school; three of them were selected 1st overall.
The draft takes place in two rounds. The first 14 places are reserved by clubs that did not qualify for the playoffs. They participate in a lottery, where the order of choice is played out. The lottery is held from
1985 . Before 1985, all teams outside the playoff zone had an equal chance of receiving either number; From 1966 to 1984, the No. 1 overall pick in the draft was decided by a coin toss to decide the bottom team in both divisions, with the remaining teams selected in reverse order of their regular season finish. In 1987, the procedure changed and only the first three numbers were drawn in the lottery. In 1990, a rule was introduced to give the worst team in the association the maximum chance for the first pick in the draft. Also, until 1989, the number of rounds of the draft was directly dependent on the number of players who applied for participation in it., but even being selected, for example, in the 21st round (as in 1960), most players remained unclaimed by clubs, so the number of rounds was gradually reduced to two (as of 2011). Thus, the number of players entering the league without being drafted has increased. Among them - Ben Wallace, Brad Miller, Timofey Mozgov.Also, until 1966, there were so-called “territorial peaks”: A team, by giving up its highest draft pick, could choose out-of-turn a player from any college within a 50-mile radius of the team's arena location. The purpose of this right was to attract more local fans familiar with the player from his playing for college to the games of their “native” NBA team. This is how both Oscar Robertson and Paul Arizin , and Wilt Chamberlain, and Gail Goodrich , and many others (22 players in total; 11 of them inducted into the Hall of Fame).
Structure
14 balls, numbered 1 to 14, are placed in a lottery drum from which 4 are drawn at random. The number of the ball drawn is not important, so there are 24 combinations of the same set of four numbers. Refusing the order in which the balls appear, the total is 1001 combinations. Of these, 1000 are distributed among teams that did not make it to the playoffs, and one (11x12x13x14) is not used.
Teams are ranked in reverse order of their regular season rankings and determine their chances based on that order. The lottery takes place in the presence of witnesses who certify that all 14 balls are present and that they are all placed in the drum. The reel spins for 20 seconds before the first ball is drawn, and 10 seconds for the next three. NBA officials determine which team owns the winning combination, after which the balls are returned to the reel and the process is repeated for the second and third picks. Currently, envelopes are used for the final stage of the draft lottery. If the new combination belongs to a previously winning club or belongs to the only unused one, the drawing is repeated until a unique winner is determined. After the three lucky lottery winners are determined, the remaining teams are selected in order inversely proportional to their place in the regular season. This lottery ensures that any team will have a pick no later than three rounds from where it was supposed to be.
Rules
All American players have the opportunity to declare for the draft while in college. Until 2005, they had the right to nominate at any time from the time they graduated from school, and foreigners - only when they reached 18 years of age. Starting in 2006, the NBA changed the rules: all players, regardless of where they live, can only enter the draft in the year of their 19th birthday.
For youth, the league established two days of declaration of its intentions. Anyone wishing to enter the draft must declare on or before the first designated date. They can then attend NBA pre-draft camps or individual team tryouts, where they can demonstrate their skills and abilities to gain insight into their draft odds and potential pick numbers. If the reviews are negative, the player can remove his name from the prospect list at any time before the second date - the final declaration - a week before the draft.
If a player is lucky enough to be selected in the first round of the draft, the team is required to sign him to at least a two-year contract. For those selected in the second round, the team is not obligated to offer a guaranteed contract, but has the “rights to it” for three years.
Depending on the preferences or needs of a particular club, potential draft picks may be traded to another club in transfers. In this case, the rights to the player selected in the draft pass into the hands of another club. Thus, in February 2011, the Cleveland Cavaliers traded Mo Williams and Jamario Moon to the Clippers for Baron Davis and a first-round draft pick, which would later turn out to be the first overall pick in the draft and would be used by Dan Gilbert to select Kyrie Irving.
The most successful is the 1984 draft, which brought Hakeem Olajuwon, Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, Alvin Robertson, John Stockton and other future All-Stars and Hall of Famers into the league in the 1996 draft (Allen Iverson, Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash ) and “the best draft of the new millennium” - 2003 (LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh).
Regular season
In the summer, in July, the NBA Summer League tournament is held. Team rosters are formed from newcomers, reserve players who need game practice, or players not assigned to any team (undrafted students or free agents). The result of the command does not matter. Due to the lack of interest and necessity, Summer League play is mostly individual performances with a lot of turnovers and few interactions.
In the fall, training camps for NBA teams open, during which the roster is determined, the physical condition of the players and their readiness are revealed. A number of pre-season games are held in September. There is no exact quantity provided; Usually a team plays from 6 to 8 matches. The regular season starts in the last week of October.
During 171 days of the regular season
Each team plays 82 matches, of which:- 4 matches against each division opponent (4x4=16 games);
- 4 matches against each of the 6 teams in their conference (4x6=24 games);
- 3 matches against each of the 4 remaining teams in their conference (3x4=12 games);
- 2 matches with each team of the opposite conference (2x15=30 games).
In January, each club's management is required to provide a calendar of approximately 55 dates when their home ground will be available. The NBA is the only league that plays games on Christmas and other holidays, with official breaks in the schedule only occurring on Christmas Eve, All-Star Weekend and the NASS Division I final game. The start time of the games may vary depending on the wishes of television partners.
As a result, for each club it is possible to determine the so-called complexity of the schedule: it depends on the strength of the opponents in the division, the number of consecutive away games, the distance between cities that must be covered before the start of the game, the number of back-to-back games and the start time games.
Playoffs
The playoff stage begins at the end of April; the eight strongest teams from each conference take part in it. The top four spots in the conference go to the three winning teams in their divisions and the fourth team with the best winning percentage. The final placing of each of the first four teams is also determined by the win rate. Thus, the winning team of the division in the final standings of the conference cannot be lower than fourth place, and the team that is not the division champion with the highest win ratio can be “seeded” second. The next four places go to teams based on their win-loss balance.
The winner of “home court advantage” (the one who starts the series with games on home floor) is determined not by a higher place in the conference, but by the winning ratio. Thus, the first team of the regular season receives such an advantage at all stages and meets the eighth team of the conference, the second with the seventh, the third with the sixth, and the fourth with the fifth. The knockout system has undergone great changes from its introduction in 1947 to its current state, introduced in 2006 and in effect since the 2007 playoffs.
The games are held according to the Olympic system: the winner in a series of up to 4 victories advances to the next round, the loser is eliminated. In the next round, the winning team of one pair invariably plays the winner of the other. All playoff games, including the Finals, are played in four rounds: the first round, the conference semi-finals, the conference finals and the grand final. The distribution of home-away playoff games (except for the Final) is carried out according to the 2-2-1-1-1 system. This means that the team from a higher place will play matches No. 1, 2 and, if necessary, 5 and 7 on its home floor. The weaker team, based on the results of the regular season, will play matches No. 3, 4 and 6 at home.
The NBA Finals games use a special system for distributing home and away games: 2-3-2. In a seven-game series, the team with the best balance after two home matches will have to play three matches away, after which it will end the series with two matches at home. The less successful team will play games 3, 4 and 5 in its home arena. This system has been used in the NBA Finals since 1985.
NBA Awards
Every year, the NBA presents a total of 12 awards to players, coaches and managers for various merits, achievements and contributions to the development and popularization of the game.
.Team
Larry O'Brien Cup
awarded to the winning team of the Final Playoff Series. Until 1978, a cup was awarded for similar merits Walter Brown . The cup remains in permanent storage with the winning team..Individual
The player who performs best in the All-Star Game receives the NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player award. Awarded since 1953, but was awarded belatedly to the best players of previous years (the All-Star Game has been held since 1951). The Rookie of the Year award is given to a player who is in his first year in the League and, in the opinion of sports journalists, has performed better than others during the regular season. Awarded since 1953. An alternative name is the Eddie Gottlieb Trophy. The Most Valuable Player of the Regular Season prize is one of the most prestigious and is also awarded to the best player of the regular season, according to journalists. Awarded since 1956, the alternative name is the Maurice Podolof Prize. The Coach of the Year Award is awarded to the best head coach of an NBA team, according to journalists. The second version of the name is the Red Auerbach Prize, introduced in 1963.
The Bill Russell Trophy (official name) is awarded to the best player in the NBA Finals. Only once, in the year the award was introduced, was it won by a representative of the losing team. Awarded since 1969, Bill Russell's name has been attached to the trophy since 2009. Beginning with the 1972-73 season, The Sporting News awarded the NBA Manager of the Year title to the best manager at the end of the regular season. Since 2009, the award has acquired the status of an official award presented by the NBA itself. The J. Walter Kennedy Award is awarded to a player or coach who is actively involved in community and charitable projects. Awarded by the Professional Basketball Writers Association since 1975. 1984 marked the first time the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year Award was awarded for his defensive achievements. The Best Sixth Man Award is given to the best player on the list who comes off the bench in the majority of matches of the season. The Most Improved Player Award is given to the basketball player who has achieved the greatest progress during one regular season. The NBA Sportsmanship Award is awarded to the player who exhibits the most integrity on the court.
NBA Economy
NBA players were the first among all American professional sports leagues to organize their own union, and this happened in 1954. In 1983, the first collective agreement on income was signed, which regulates the relationship between players and team owners as employees and employers. CBA (sometimes transliterated as KBA) - English. collective bargaining agreement - a collective agreement between representatives of the interests of players and club owners is the main document that spells out all the rules and nuances of the structure and functioning of the Association.
In the same year (1983) a “salary cap” was established. salary cap) - the maximum allowable amount of expenses of one club for paying players as salaries (that is, the sum of all salaries in the team). The so-called payrolls - the amounts that can be spent on salaries for individual players - directly depend on the Association’s income and are the same for all teams. But it was not always so.
For many years before this, all players in the league received approximately the same salary, which was just under a thousand dollars a month. But player salaries grew, and in 1964, Wilt Chamberlain became the first NBA player to cross the $100,000 mark in a season. Trying in every possible way to prove his advantage in the competition, Bill Russell from the Celtics signed a contract for a demonstrative amount of 100 thousand and one dollar, but already in 1968 Chamberlain put his signature on a contract worth 750 thousand over three years. In his first season in the league, the salary record passed to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and since then, the salaries of “star” players have steadily risen at an ever-increasing speed. From 1984 to the lockout in 1999, player salaries increased almost 10-fold.
Salary ceiling
The salary cap is an article in the KBA, according to which a certain maximum team-wide payments to players under contracts is established for all league clubs.
The NBA's salary cap is soft - there are many officially permitted exceptions when signing contracts with players and forming an overall picture of the club's economic situation.
The salary cap could be exceeded—significantly. However, for excess, club owners have to pay a special tax (luxury tax) to the league budget in the amount of 100% of the excess. Payments occur if wage costs exceed a certain tax level, also prescribed in the CBA ($70 million for 2011). The money is distributed among the other teams - equalizing the financial capabilities of the clubs.
There are also individual player income limits for both minimum and maximum salaries. For example, an NBA rookie cannot earn less than $473 thousand per year (in the 2010/11 season), and after only 5 years in the league the minimum salary exceeds the threshold of a million dollars. In turn, the maximum salary for a “first-year player” and for a person playing in the NBA for the sixth year is the same and is about 13 million per year. And for a veteran (more than 10 seasons), the salary cap exceeds 19 million.
Lockouts
There have been four lockouts in NBA history. The first lockout began on July 1, 1995, and lasted until September 21 of that year, resulting in the cancellation of summer training camps. On July 11, 1996, a second lockout occurred, which lasted just under three hours and was called the “three-hour war.”
But already in March 1998, the team owners decided to use the right to early review of the previously concluded agreement. Once again failing to reach a compromise on time, on July 1, 1998, the team owners announced a third lockout. The cornerstone of the longest lockout (204 days) was a court case, during which the question of whether clubs were obliged to pay players' wages in the absence of matches as such was decided. And if before the court verdict the players were in a safe situation, then after the problem was resolved in favor of the owners, the players stopped receiving money under contracts, many moved to play in Europe for a while. The position of the players' union was sharply shaken, and they were forced to make concessions, which led to the conclusion of a “truce” on January 6, 1999. After the agreement expired in 2005, both sides reached a consensus within just a few days.
At 12:01 p.m. on July 1, 2011, the fourth lockout in league history began. The demands of the club owners included a reduction in player salaries by 25% and the establishment of a “hard”, fixed salary cap at 45 million. The entire 2011/2012 season was under threat. On November 26, at a press conference, the end of the lockout was announced, which lasted 149 days. The new agreement between players and team owners was confirmed and entered into force on December 9, 2011; on the same day, training camps were opened and free agent signings were allowed. The 2011/2012 season schedule was shortened to 66 games, with the first games taking place on Christmas Day, December 25th.
NBA partners and sponsors
In addition to television contracts, the NBA partners with a variety of companies and organizations to provide products for use on and off the court.
The site itself is made from strictly defined varieties of trees, among which the monopolist is wood from maple trees. The varnish for covering the site must be tested by a special commission before it is applied to the surface of the site. Some clubs give preference to American companies, while others prefer foreign ones, in particular German ones.
The Spalding company is responsible for the designs of rings and shields; it is also the company that has priority when choosing rings and is the only acceptable one for balls used during training and games. After several cases of destruction of glass shields
The NBA has changed the structure itself, and now the shield cannot be broken if there is a powerful impact on the ring. The official NBA ball has only changed once, in 2006, when a new type of ball made from synthetic materials was introduced. But complaints and negative feedback from players about the quality of the ball forced David Stern to return to the previous leather version of the ball. Other parameters and attributes depend on the player personally. The basketball players' uniforms are provided by Adidas, but the choice of playing shoes remains up to the players.Until the mid-1980s, the most popular shoes in the NBA were Chuck Taylor All Stars from Converse. However, at this time, more and more players began to enter into exclusive contracts with various manufacturing companies. Company Nike at that time she also had many small contracts, but by the end of the 80s she decided to enter this market more actively and signed a contract with Michael Jordan for $1 million. Thanks to this policy, in the 1990s, 25% of players signed contracts with Nike, and another 60% wore its shoes. In the 2000s, Nike continued to maintain its leadership position, and the signing of LeBron James further strengthened it. Adidas And Reebok occupy second and third place respectively.
Television contracts with channels broadcasting association games are also important for the NBA's income. TV partners of the NBA are channels ABC,ESPN,TNT, and the channel NBA TV is a specialized basketball channel financed personally by the Association. The downside of this channel is the lack of rights to broadcast live matches.
NBA Store
NBA Store is a chain of retail stores specializing in the sale of NBA branded products.
The first such store was opened in September 1998 in New York, on Fifth Avenue, in building No. 666, located between 52nd and 53rd streets. In the store, with an area of 35 thousand square feet (~3300 m²), occupying almost three floors, NBA fans had the opportunity not only to purchase official equipment and paraphernalia of NBA clubs, many household items with NBA symbols, but also to hold a party or participate in a charity event. This store closed in February 2011 due to high rent. The new 6,000-square-foot store at 590 Fifth Avenue is scheduled to open in fall 2011.
The chain's first overseas store was opened in the capital of China, Beijing, on July 15, 2008, on Wangfujing Street. China is one of the most promising and extensive markets for the NBA: transactions with international clients bring only 10% of the NBA's total profits, but income from cooperation with Chinese companies increases every year by 50%, and the number of NBA fans among the population, according to studies, every year grows every year.
Presidents and commissioners
- Maurice Podolof (1946—1963)
- Walter Kennedy (1963—1975)
- Larry O'Brien (1975—1984)
- David Stern(since 1984)
Hall of Fame
The highest honor is induction of a player, coach, referee or any other basketball-related figure into the Basketball Hall of Fame. Since opening for the first time in 1959 at Springfield College, where basketball was invented (the Hall was later moved to other locations twice), it has included 303 people in 4 categories: players, coaches, referees, teams and other figures; three - John Wooden, Lenny Wilkens and Bill Sherman - were hired twice (as players and as coaches). Candidates are accepted into the Hall annually (although no one was accepted in 1967), the last ceremony took place on August 12: The Hall was replenished with ten more (6 players, 3 coaches and 1 activist) members
The popularity of the first “Dream Team” - the USA basketball team at the games in Barcelona in 1992 - was compared to the era of “Beatlemania”, because for the first time such stars as Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Clyde Drexler, Karl Malone, John Stockton came to a tournament of this kind , Chris Mullin, Charles Barkley, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Patrick Ewing and David Robinson.
It was after those Olympics that the NBA became a truly international organization. The players of the opposing teams sat on the bench with cameras and stood in line on equal terms with other people for autographs from the stars of the “Dream Team” of the first convocation.
Until the 2004 Olympic Games, the US team, now made up of leading NBA players, invariably took home gold medals, but already at the 2002 World Championships the Americans took 6th place, and came from Athens only with bronze medals. Having taken 3rd place in the World Championships in Japan, the Americans regained the crown of champions two years later at the Beijing Olympics, and two years later, in Turkey, they became world champions for the fourth time in history.
The NBA is the most popular basketball league on the planet. Basketball players from all over the world dream of playing there. Only the most talented and brightest players become players for league teams. NBA teams compete during the season to make the playoffs, and then a champion is determined.
Number of teams in the league
After the creation of the NBA, only 11 teams competed in it. But gradually the league expanded. There are currently 30 teams competing in the playoff series. Almost all the clubs playing in the most prestigious basketball league are located in the United States, and only one team, the Toronto Raptors, is from Canada. For convenience, NBA teams are divided into conferences, Western and Eastern. Each of them, in turn, is divided into 3 divisions of 5 teams each.
The most titled clubs
There was a time in the history of the league when NBA teams could not stand up to the Boston Celtics. The dominance continued between 1958 and 1969. During this time, the Boston team won 11 championships. The famous coach Red Auerbach made a great contribution to the club's historical success. This specialist knew how to find young talents and turn them into basketball stars. Over time, viewers could see the famous confrontation between the Celtics and Lakers.
There was a time when the fight for the championship of these clubs maintained the interest of fans in the NBA. From 1980 to 1989, one of these teams played in the playoff final. In 1984, the best NBA teams of the time finally faced each other in the finals. This event aroused great interest in the league. No one remained indifferent to such a historical event. In a bitter struggle after 7 matches, the Celtics club won. But the following year the Lakers took revenge. These days, NBA teams are evenly matched. All of them are capable of potentially winning the playoffs. This is why the league has a great rating. The Sacramento Kings and Atlanta Hawks have the longest losing streaks. These teams have not become champions for over 50 years since their founding.
Player draft
The NBA would not be able to maintain such high popularity if it were not for the annual rookie draft. Each team in the league has the right to acquire a young talented player. Newcomers are selected from colleges, or those who have already graduated become members of the teams. But there were cases when basketball clubs were strengthened by players who were still in school. Clubs that did not participate in the playoffs last season receive the rights to select the first 14 places. Since 1985, the NBA management decided to hold lotteries to determine the order of player selection. Thus, the weakest team in the league could later be strengthened by a rising basketball star. To compete for newcomers, a summer league tournament is held, which is also very popular among basketball fans.
Popular Players in NBA History
For outstanding achievements in the field of basketball, players, coaches, referees, teams and other figures are inducted into the basketball hall of fame. It was opened in 1959 at the birthplace of this sport at Springfield College. Then his location changed more than once. Currently, 303 people have been included in the Museum of Fame. There are cases in history when the achievements of athletes were entered into the museum twice. First as players and then as coaches.
Of course, player Michael Jordon is included in the museum of fame. The basketball player who made the club the most successful in the league in the 90s. He became a champion 6 times and received the “Best Player” award many times.
The league has made basketball one of the most popular sports in the world. Leading basketball players have large contracts, as well as multi-million dollar advertising fees. Thanks to the great popularity of basketball in the United States and abroad, many young people choose this sport.