What Is the NBA? How the Season, Playoffs and Rules Work
What is the NBA and how does it work? A simple guide to its history, 30 teams, the 82-game season, the play-in and playoffs, key rules and top teams.
Every autumn a new season tips off and the NBA shoots up the search charts, from the US to Saudi Arabia and across the Arab world. But what is the NBA exactly, how does its long season work, and what are the rules that make it different? Here is a clear, beginner-friendly guide.
What is the NBA?
NBA stands for the National Basketball Association, the world’s best-known and strongest professional basketball league. It has 30 teams: 29 in the United States and one in Canada, the Toronto Raptors.
The league was founded in New York on 6 June 1946 as the Basketball Association of America (BAA). In 1949 it absorbed teams from a rival league and took the name NBA. Since then it has become the destination for top players from every continent.
How the league is organised
The 30 teams are split into two conferences of 15 teams each:
- the Eastern Conference
- the Western Conference
Each conference is divided into three divisions of five teams, grouped mostly by geography.
The season: October to June
An NBA season has four main stages:
| Stage | Roughly when | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Regular season | October to April | Each team plays 82 games |
| NBA Cup | November and December | An in-season tournament; most of its games count in the standings |
| Play-In Tournament | Mid-April | Teams seeded 7 to 10 in each conference fight for two spots |
| Playoffs and Finals | April to June | 16 teams, every series best of seven |
The top six teams in each conference go straight to the playoffs, and the play-in decides seeds seven and eight. Four rounds follow, each won by the first team to four wins, until the East and West champions meet in the NBA Finals. The winner lifts the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
Key NBA rules
- Five players per team on the court, with unlimited substitutions.
- Four 12-minute quarters, 48 minutes in all (international games last 40 minutes).
- Five-minute overtime periods if the score is tied, repeated until there is a winner. Basketball has no draws.
- A 24-second shot clock for each possession.
- Scoring: two points inside the arc, three from beyond it, one for a free throw.
- Six personal fouls and a player fouls out of the game.
If you enjoy understanding the rules of other sports, see our guide to football’s offside rule.
Did you know? The 24-second shot clock didn’t exist in the league’s early years, and some teams would simply hold the ball instead of shooting. When it was introduced in 1954, scoring jumped sharply and the game became faster and far more exciting.
The most successful NBA teams
| Team | Titles up to 2026 |
|---|---|
| Boston Celtics | 18 |
| Los Angeles Lakers | 17 |
| Golden State Warriors | 7 |
| Chicago Bulls | 6 |
The New York Knicks won the 2025–26 title against the San Antonio Spurs, their first championship since 1973.
Frequently asked questions
When does the NBA season start?
The regular season usually starts in the second half of October, and the Finals normally end in June of the following year. That is why seasons are written with two years, such as “2026–27”.
Why are NBA games on so early in the Middle East?
Most games are played in the evening in North America, which lines up with the early-morning hours in the Gulf, the Levant and Egypt because of the time difference.
What is the NBA Cup?
An in-season tournament launched in 2023. All 30 teams play in groups, then a knockout bracket leads to a final. Results of most of its games also count toward the regular-season standings.
How many games are in an NBA season?
Each team plays 82 regular-season games: 41 at home and 41 away.
Key takeaway
The NBA is North America’s professional basketball league, founded in 1946, with 30 teams in two conferences. Its season runs from October to June: 82 regular-season games, then the play-in and best-of-seven playoffs, all the way to the Finals and the Larry O’Brien Trophy. Once you know that simple structure, following the league becomes much more fun.
