NBA Schedule
Upcoming Games and Full Calendar
Getting into the NBA Schedule
Basketball was invented in 1891 by James Naismith. Naismith invented the game as a way to give his students something to do while indoors during the winter. Basketball has evolved heavily since then, and in the past 130+ years, it has changed dramatically.
The most prominent basketball league is the United States-based NBA. This is the league where the top players from across the world compete in as long as they are eligible. There are many other leagues too, as players can be found playing in China, Germany, and Russia, among dozens of other countries.
Basketball can be played both at a professional and recreational level, although most of what we see and hear of basketball is from the NBA. The NBA is one of the most powerful leagues in all professional sports.
The meticulous NBA schedule features 82 regular season games for each team, ensuring balanced home/away matchups and diverse opponents. Playoffs, starting in April, feature a single-elimination tournament with best-of-seven series to crown a champion. The schedule also includes the Summer League, Preseason, and All-Star Weekend. For the latest updates, visit the official NBA website.
History of Basketball Schedule
From October through April, the season normally consists of 82 games. Why did the owners come to a halt at the age of 82? Several things were considered.
To begin, the league needed to strike a balance between revenue from ticket sales (and broadcast partnerships) and the cost of player wages and other operating costs. Another concern is that playing an excessively lengthy schedule might harm players’ bodies. With these issues in mind, the owners decided, rather haphazardly, that 80 games played over roughly six months would be both profitable and practicable.
Players began working this schedule in the early 1960s, and it was only minimally modified as the league grew. The NBA has expanded to 12 clubs divided into two conferences during the 1967-68 season. Each of a franchise’s five conference opponents would be played eight times, followed by each of the other clubs seven times. Even when the league grew to its current capacity of 30 NBA teams, the 82-game total (five times eight, plus six times seven) remained constant.
Main Events on NBA Schedule
The NBA’s annual championship series is known as the NBA Finals. To determine the league champion, the Eastern and Western conference champions play a best-of-seven game series. The NBA schedule is a carefully crafted roadmap that guides basketball fans through an exciting season of hoops action.
The NBA Finals had a 2–2–1–1–1 format. To reduce cross-country travel, the format was altered to a 2–3–2 format in 1985, with the first two and last two games of the series being played at the arena of the club that gained home-court advantage during the regular season by having the better record. The 2–2–1–1–1 format was restored in 2014. The first two games are hosted by one team, while the next two games are hosted by the opposite team. The following three games are played alternatively at each team’s home arena if necessary.
The NBA All-Star Game is an exhibition basketball game held by the NBA in February that features 24 of the league’s best players. It is the main event of NBA All-Star Weekend, which takes place from Friday through Sunday. On March 2, 1951, the All-Star Game was held for the first time at the Boston Garden.
The NBA and the NBPA announced adjustments to the game structure on October 3, 2017, that would take effect in 2018. Instead of being separated by conference, the top vote leaders in each would be team captains, and a draft would be held to choose the rest of the starters and reserves, regardless of conference.
Basketball Main Venues
Madison Square Garden is the home of the New York Knicks and is the NBA’s and NHL’s oldest arena, but a $1 billion refurbishment completed in 2013 has maintained it competitive with newer venues. Madison Square Garden’s future has been the topic of heated discussion over the years, with some calling for its demolition to make room for an above-ground Penn Station. However, with little progress on that project and any successor projected to be costly, Madison Square Garden’s future should be secure for the time being.
The Golden State Warriors home, the Chase Center, is the newest NBA arena. It was built as part of a large-scale private development in San Francisco’s Mission Bay area, providing the Warriors a new home while also giving the city a significant indoor sports and entertainment arena that it has lacked for a long time. Since its introduction, the arena has received praise for its architecture, technology, and environmental friendliness, and future expansion might turn the region into a year-round destination.
Since its inception, Staples Center has been a busy arena, hosting NHL and WNBA clubs, as well as the Lakers and Clippers and a variety of non-sporting events such as concerts. Los Angeles Clippers are now looking to build a new arena in Inglewood that would open in 2024, but Staples Center’s other purposes should keep it busy for years to come, regardless of whether or not that plan comes to reality.
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The NBA All-Star game is held each year in February. Players will generally get a week off during this time.
The NBA has their members play 82 regular-season games each year.
NBA teams in the playoffs will face off with each other in a series that follows the 2-2-1-1-1 format.
The Golden State Warriors call the Chase Center home, and it was the most recently built arena in the country.
Basketball was invented in 1891 by James Naismith.