NBA

A professional basketball league in the United States and Canada, with the world's highest level of basketball competitiveness and commercial scale.

NBA

Overview

The NBA (National Basketball Association) is a professional basketball league based in the United States and Canada, founded in 1946. It is a basketball league boasting the world's highest level of competition and commercial scale, with 30 teams divided into the Eastern and Western Conferences, determining a champion through the regular season, playoffs, and Finals. The NBA has established itself as a core axis of the global entertainment industry beyond a mere sports league, forming a worldwide fandom through superstars such as LeBron James and Stephen Curry.

Key Details

History and Timeline

The predecessor of the NBA was the BAA (Basketball Association of America), launched in 1946, and it acquired the name NBA when it merged with the NBL in 1949. In the 1950s George Mikan, in the 1960s the rivalry between Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain, in the 1970s Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and in the 1980s the rivalry between Magic Johnson and Larry Bird raised the league's popularity step by step. In particular, the dynasty of Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls in the 1990s was the decisive opportunity that made the NBA a global brand. Since then, a star lineage continuing from Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant to LeBron James and Stephen Curry in the 2010s and to Nikola Jokić, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Luka Dončić, and Victor Wembanyama in the 2020s has sustained the league's commercial success.

League Structure

The regular season consists of 82 games per team, with 30 teams participating, 15 in each of the Eastern and Western Conferences. Each conference is further divided into three divisions. To qualify for the playoffs, a play-in tournament is operated in which teams ranked 7th to 10th compete, and the main playoffs are conducted as best-of-seven series. The NBA Finals, where the Eastern and Western champions face each other, is the final stage of the season. Starting with the 2023-24 season, the In-Season Tournament (NBA Cup) was introduced, and a separate cup competition is held during the regular season.

Draft and Salary Cap

The NBA Draft, held every June, selects a total of 60 players over two rounds, and a league reverse-order system gives higher draft positions to lower-ranked teams. The league maintains competitive balance among teams through a soft salary cap, luxury tax, and apron rules. The new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) signed in 2023 took effect from the 2024-25 season, strengthening the second apron rule and trade restrictions, and introduced a rule requiring at least 65 regular-season games played as an eligibility requirement for individual awards.

Major Teams and Rivalries

The Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers are traditional powerhouses competing for the league's most championships, with 18 and 17 titles respectively. The Golden State Warriors built a dynasty with four championships since the 2010s, and the Chicago Bulls, Miami Heat, Denver Nuggets, and Oklahoma City Thunder are also named as strong teams. Lakers-Celtics and Warriors-Cavaliers are counted among representative rivalries.

Economy and Media

The NBA is a massive sports business with annual revenue exceeding $10 billion as of 2024. In 2025, it signed an 11-year media rights contract worth about $77 billion with ESPN/ABC, NBC, and Amazon Prime Video, which will apply from the 2025-26 season. Uniform patch sponsorships, jersey sales, and revenue from overseas markets including China also account for a large share.

Korea and the NBA

In Korea, Ha Seung-jin (하승진) was selected by Portland in the 2004 draft, and Lee Hyun-jung (이현중) played in the G League. Domestic broadcasts are carried through SPOTV and Coupang Play, among others, and the domestic fan base is steadily growing.

Latest Trends

In the 2024-25 season, the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Indiana Pacers to win their first championship since the franchise's founding, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander won both the regular-season MVP and Finals MVP. In February 2025, Luka Dončić was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in a swap for Anthony Davis, causing one of the biggest shocks in league history, and Victor Wembanyama was ruled out for the season due to a blood clot in his shoulder. At the 2024 Paris Olympics, the U.S. national team led by LeBron James, Curry, and Kevin Durant won the gold medal. In the 2025 draft, Cooper Flagg was selected first overall by the Dallas Mavericks, and the Boston Celtics are pursuing a franchise sale valued at $6.1 billion, with franchise values hitting all-time highs. The league continues its global expansion through entry into Europe (NBA Europe), diversification of media rights, and establishment of the In-Season Tournament.

NBA