La National Basketball Association o NBA es la principal liga estadounidense de baloncesto profesional. La NBA se fundó en Nueva York el 6 de junio de 1946 como la Basketball Association of America. Adoptó el nombre actual en 1949, tras la unión de varios clubes de la desaparecida National Basketball League. El partido inaugural fue New York Knicks vs. Toronto Huskies, el 1 de noviembre de 1946 con el Maple Leaf Gardens de Toronto como escenario. Fue visto por 7.090 espectadores. La liga tiene sus oficinas oficiales situadas en la Olympic Tower en la Quinta Avenida 645 de Nueva York. Los estudios de la NBA Entertainment y NBA TV están localizados en Secaucus, Nueva Jersey. After the summer holidays arrive in October training sessions that allow the coaching staff to evaluate players (especially rookies), study the weaknesses and strengths of the team, prepare players for the regular season and decided by the 12 men who completed the template (and three more on the inactive list if needed). The teams can assign players with less than two years of experience in the league to the NBA Development League (D-League). Then begins a series of exhibition games before the regular season starts the first week of November. In the regular season each team plays 82 games, split evenly between home and away games. The calendar is not the same for everyone. The teams face opponents from their own division four times, before the other two divisions of their conference, three or four times, and against the other conference twice a year. Therefore, a computer can be easy or difficult the calendar, depending on the division or conference in which it is located. After recent changes in calendar format of the NHL, the basketball is the only American League class in which all franchises faced against each other during the regular season, and the season ticket that guarantees to see to your computer each time they come to town to play during the regular season. In February, the NBA is interrupted to celebrate the annual All-Star Game. The fans are put to the vote throughout the United States and Canada, and through the Internet. The most voted player at each position in each conference and headline begin in the All-Star of his lecture. The coaches of their respective leagues are responsible for choosing the 7 remaining players. The coaches that best win-loss balance carried his team through February are responsible for managing the team of his lecture, and can not run in consecutive years. The West and East are facing, and the player who best performance made during the event will be awarded the All-Star MVP. Another attraction of the weekend of the stars is the match between the rookies (rookies) and sophomores (sophomores) and triples competitions (5 cars with 4 standard balls each and one tricolor whose value is twice). Make the most triple plays in a defined time with a maximum of 30) of mates (a jury of five senior judges, usually retired players with experience in the type of mates), skills (a course with different obstacles to perform in the shortest possible time) and field goal contest per team (4 teams are chosen or areas. In each has to be a current NBA player, one retired and one WNBA player. There are different areas denote the court that are the same for all teams. winning team is jumper from all positions in the shortest time possible). After the All-Star, is the deadline for transfers. After that day, teams can not trade players until end of season, although it is allowed to sign free agents and players fired. Many transfers are made shortly before or during that time, making that day one of the most hectic for teams throughout the year. In April, the regular season ends. During that time, the voting period starts the individual awards season. The award for best sixth man receives the player who has contributed off the bench (without holding on your computer). The rookie of the year goes to the top rookie, while the award for Most Improved Player receives, as its name suggests, the most improved player from one season to another. The defensive player in the league gets the award for best defender, coach of the year for the best coach of the season, and the MVP to the best player. Additionally, Sporting News award given annually unofficial (but widely adopted) the best executive of the season. In the postseason also disclose the best three year quintets and the two rookies and defensive. The NBA Playoffs are three rounds of competition between sixteen teams spread across the Western Conference and the Eastern Conference. The winners of the first round (or conference quarterfinals) advance to the Conference Semifinals, then to the conference finals and the winners of the NBA Finals, played between the champions of each conference. Beginning in late April, with eight teams in each conference classified. Until the 2005-2006 season, the top three from each conference were determined by the top finishers in each division, followed in turn win-loss balance. This rule generated much controversy and that year was crucial to be abolished and that because she fought second round the two best teams in the Western Conference as to record, the Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs. Dallas despite being second in winning percentage in the conference fell to No. 4 thus should face the number 1 in the second round while other teams with the worst record sencillo.Era had a clear path for both Dallas and prejudice to San Antonio though they had been the best in the regular season. From the 2006-2007 season, the top four teams, the three division champions and the best second, are matched taking into account the total number of games won and lost, so that the top two teams from each conference would not face not until the end of the championship. The position of the four remaining equipment is determined by the winning percentage of each. The division champion will not be guaranteed to have the advantage in the playoffs of the playoffs, something unusual in American sports. The advantage of course is strictly based on win-loss balance during the regular season, without regard to division winners. The American Airlines Arena Miami Heat prepared for a playoff. Having a record high offers several advantages. Since the first seed will play against eighth, second against seventh, third against sixth and fourth against fifth, having a better balance usually means that you will face a weaker team. The franchise with the best record has the advantage in every playoff series, including the first round. This means that, for example, if the receiving team to sixth place has better balance than the third-placed sixth field would benefit, even though the third team to have a place in the highest classification. The playoff series follow a competition format. Each tie is the best of seven games, moving from the first series to win four games, while the loser is eliminated from the playoffs. In the next round, the winning team plays against another of the same conference. Thus, all but one are eliminated from the playoffs in each conference. In every round except the NBA Finals, 2-2-1-1-1 model is followed, meaning that the team with home field advantage will play home games 1, 2, 5 and 7, while will rival in games 3, 4 and 6. Already in the end, it follows the 2-3-2 model, in which the team with home field advantage plays home matches 1, 2, 6 and 7 (Games 6 and 7 if necessary), and the other team in the 3, 4 and 5 (Game 5 only if necessary), the 2-3-2 format is done in order to avoid making the exhausting travel from one site to another, and thus give concentration as long as the teams for playoff games. In the final round, facing the champions of each conference to the best of seven games. The first to win four games, will be known as the champion of the NBA. It is held annually in June and was champion honors with the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy. The idea of ​​calling the Larry O’Brien championship trophy is in honor of NBA commissioner David Stern preceding, Larry O’Brien. Each player of the winning team, as well as coach and general manager, is given a championship ring. In addition, the league awards the MVP of the Finals, they normally get a player from the winning team, although this is not a standard. There has only been one exception to date: Jerry West received the Finals MVP in 1969 (first season that this award was delivered) even though the Lakers did not win the ring.