Former Tennessee State basketball coach Harold Hunter dies". The City Paper. March 7, 2013. Archived from the original on November 2, 2013 . Retrieved March 30, 2013. The Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics are tied for the most championships with each having 17 NBA Finals wins. The Golden State Warriors and Chicago Bulls have the third- and fourth-most, respectively, with seven and six titles. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) began an investigation on July 19, 2007, over allegations that veteran NBA referee Tim Donaghy bet on basketball games he officiated over the past two seasons and that he made calls affecting the point spread in those games. [74] On August 15, 2007, Donaghy pleaded guilty to two federal charges related to the investigation. Donaghy claimed in 2008 that certain referees were friendly with players and "company men" for the NBA, and he alleged that referees influenced the outcome of certain playoff and finals games in 2002 and 2005. NBA commissioner David Stern denied the allegations and said Donaghy was a convicted felon and a "singing, cooperating witness". [75] Donaghy served 15 months in prison and was released in November 2009. [76] According to an independent study by Ronald Beech of Game 6 of the 2002 Western Conference Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and Sacramento Kings, although the refs increased the Lakers' chances of winning through foul calls during the game, there was no collusion to fix the game. On alleged "star treatment" during Game 6 by the referees toward certain players, Beech claimed, "there does seem to be issues with different standards and allowances for different players." [77]

Having a higher seed offers several advantages. Since the first seed begins the playoffs playing against the eighth seed, the second seed plays the seventh seed, the third seed plays the sixth seed, and the fourth seed plays the fifth seed, having a higher seed means a team faces a weaker team in the first round. The team in each series with the better record has home-court advantage, including the First Round. Before the league changed its playoff determination format for the 2006–07 season, this meant that, for example, if the team that received the sixth seed had a better record than the team with the third seed (by virtue of a divisional championship), the sixth seed would have home-court advantage, even though the other team had a higher seed. Therefore, the team with the best regular season record in the league is guaranteed home-court advantage in every series it plays. For example, in 2006, the Denver Nuggets won 44 games and captured the Northwest Division and the third seed. Their opponent was the sixth-seeded Los Angeles Clippers, who won 47 games and finished second in the Pacific Division. Although Denver won its much weaker division, the Clippers had a home-court advantage and won the series in 5. Well, the contract between the NBA and Spalding ended, and they “ could not agree on terms” for a new deal (i.e. money 🤑). Leandro Barbosa, Brazil – NBA champion with Golden State Warriors (2015), [113] 2007 Sixth Man Award winner. Sheridan, Chris (October 26, 2009). "NBA refs to return for regular season". ESPN . Retrieved August 5, 2010.On July 6, 2017, the NBA unveiled an updated rendition of its logo; it was largely identical to the previous design, except with revised typography and a "richer" color scheme. The league began to phase in the updated logo across its properties during the 2017 NBA Summer League. [88] Mathewson, TJ (March 7, 2019). "TV is biggest driver in global sport league revenue". GlobalSportMatters.com . Retrieved December 25, 2020. Peterson, Robert W. (2002). Cages to Jump Shots: Pro Basketball's Early Years. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 0-8032-8772-0. NBA In-Season Tournament to debut in 2023-24 season". NBA.com. July 8, 2023 . Retrieved July 8, 2023.

Rosen, Charley (2009). The First Tip-Off: The Incredible Story of the Birth of the NBA. McGraw-Hill Professional. ISBN 978-0-07-148785-6. The research suggesting NBA players may perform slightly better with a smaller ball, as we discussed. Even small improvements could add up over the course of a game or season.

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Johnson, Alex (June 13, 2019). "Toronto Raptors beat Golden State Warriors for first NBA title". NBC News . Retrieved April 7, 2020.

The NBA is also the only league that regularly schedules games on Christmas Day. [92] The league has been playing games regularly on the holiday since 1947, [93] though the first Christmas Day games were not televised until 1983–84. [94] Games played on this day have featured some of the best teams and players. [92] [93] [94] Christmas is also notable for NBA on television, as the holiday is when the first NBA games air on network television each season. [93] [94] Games played on this day have been some of the highest-rated games during a particular season. During the regular season, each team plays 82 games, 41 each home and away. A team faces opponents in its own division four times a year (16 games). Each team plays six of the teams from the other two divisions in its conference four times (24 games), and the remaining four teams three times (12 games). Finally, each team plays all the teams in the other conference twice apiece (30 games). This asymmetrical structure means the strength of schedule will vary between teams (but not as significantly as the NFL or MLB). Over five seasons, each team will have played 80 games against their division (20 games against each opponent, 10 at home, 10 on the road), 180 games against the rest of their conference (18 games against each opponent, 9 at home, 9 on the road), and 150 games against the other conference (10 games against each team, 5 at home, 5 on the road). Helin, Kurt (October 29, 2013). "Record 92 foreign players on NBA rosters to start season" . Retrieved December 8, 2016. Goldaper, Sam (October 29, 1989). "NBA '89–90; Turnovers, 2 More Teams And Questions". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331 . Retrieved April 9, 2019.

Following the summer break, teams begin training camps in late September. Training camps allow the coaching staff to evaluate players (especially rookies), scout the team's strengths and weaknesses, prepare the players for the rigorous regular season and determine the 12-man active roster (and a 3-man inactive list) with which they will begin the regular season. Teams have the ability to assign players with less than two years of experience to the NBA G League. After training camp, a series of preseason exhibition games are held. Preseason matches are sometimes held in non-NBA cities, both in the United States and overseas. The NBA regular season begins in the last week of October. As far as we are aware, there has not been an NBA game in which a non-NBA basketball was used. The NBA has strict rules and regulations regarding the size and specifications of the ball that is used in games, and all teams are required to use the official NBA ball. NBA Commissioner David Stern Statement on Settlement Between Sonics and the City of Seattle". NBA.com. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. July 2, 2008. Archived from the original on July 5, 2008 . Retrieved December 31, 2018.