The NBA: A Comprehensive Guide
Richard WeissKey Takeaways
- The NBA has 30 teams: 15 in the Eastern Conference and 15 in the Western Conference, with three divisions of five teams in each conference.
- Each team plays 82 regular-season games, 41 at home and 41 away. The 2026-27 regular season runs from October 20, 2026 to April 11, 2027.
- Sixteen teams make the playoffs. Seeds 7 through 10 in each conference play a Play-In Tournament for the last two spots, and every playoff series is best of seven.
- The New York Knicks are the most recent champions. They beat the San Antonio Spurs 4-1 in the 2026 NBA Finals for their first title since 1973.
- Topps, owned by Fanatics, has been the exclusive NBA and NBPA trading card licensee since October 2025.
Table of Contents
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is the top professional basketball league in North America. It has 30 teams, 29 in the United States and one in Canada, split into the Eastern and Western Conferences, and each team plays 82 regular-season games. Below are all 30 teams by division, the 2026-27 schedule, the playoff format, and who makes NBA trading cards today.
NBA at a Glance
The league was founded on June 6, 1946 as the Basketball Association of America and took the NBA name in 1949. It has 30 teams in two conferences, and each conference has three divisions of five teams. The commissioner is Adam Silver. The Boston Celtics hold the record with 18 championships.
NBA Teams by Division
Teams, arenas and locations as of October 6, 2026. The earlier version of this table left out the Northwest Division and used several old arena names. Both are fixed here.
Eastern Conference
| Division | Team | Arena | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atlantic | Boston Celtics | TD Garden | Boston, MA |
| Atlantic | Brooklyn Nets | Barclays Center | Brooklyn, NY |
| Atlantic | New York Knicks | Madison Square Garden | New York, NY |
| Atlantic | Philadelphia 76ers | Xfinity Mobile Arena | Philadelphia, PA |
| Atlantic | Toronto Raptors | Scotiabank Arena | Toronto, ON |
| Central | Chicago Bulls | United Center | Chicago, IL |
| Central | Cleveland Cavaliers | Rocket Arena | Cleveland, OH |
| Central | Detroit Pistons | Little Caesars Arena | Detroit, MI |
| Central | Indiana Pacers | Gainbridge Fieldhouse | Indianapolis, IN |
| Central | Milwaukee Bucks | Fiserv Forum | Milwaukee, WI |
| Southeast | Atlanta Hawks | State Farm Arena | Atlanta, GA |
| Southeast | Charlotte Hornets | Spectrum Center | Charlotte, NC |
| Southeast | Miami Heat | Kaseya Center | Miami, FL |
| Southeast | Orlando Magic | Kia Center | Orlando, FL |
| Southeast | Washington Wizards | Capital One Arena | Washington, DC |
Western Conference
| Division | Team | Arena | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northwest | Denver Nuggets | Ball Arena | Denver, CO |
| Northwest | Minnesota Timberwolves | Target Center | Minneapolis, MN |
| Northwest | Oklahoma City Thunder | Paycom Center | Oklahoma City, OK |
| Northwest | Portland Trail Blazers | Moda Center | Portland, OR |
| Northwest | Utah Jazz | Delta Center | Salt Lake City, UT |
| Pacific | Golden State Warriors | Chase Center | San Francisco, CA |
| Pacific | LA Clippers | Intuit Dome | Inglewood, CA |
| Pacific | Los Angeles Lakers | Crypto.com Arena | Los Angeles, CA |
| Pacific | Phoenix Suns | Mortgage Matchup Center | Phoenix, AZ |
| Pacific | Sacramento Kings | Golden 1 Center | Sacramento, CA |
| Southwest | Dallas Mavericks | American Airlines Center | Dallas, TX |
| Southwest | Houston Rockets | Toyota Center | Houston, TX |
| Southwest | Memphis Grizzlies | FedExForum | Memphis, TN |
| Southwest | New Orleans Pelicans | Smoothie King Center | New Orleans, LA |
| Southwest | San Antonio Spurs | Frost Bank Center | San Antonio, TX |
NBA Schedule Overview
Each team plays 82 regular-season games, 41 at home and 41 away. Since the 2023-24 season the schedule also includes the NBA Cup, an in-season tournament. Every Cup game except the final counts toward the regular season. These are the league's key dates for 2026-27:
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| October 20, 2026 | Regular season starts |
| October 30, 2026 | Emirates NBA Cup group play starts |
| December 11, 2026 | NBA Cup Championship, Hinkle Fieldhouse, Indianapolis |
| February 11, 2027 | Trade deadline |
| February 19 to 21, 2027 | NBA All-Star 2027, Phoenix |
| April 11, 2027 | Regular season ends |
| April 13 to 16, 2027 | Play-In Tournament |
| April 17, 2027 | Playoffs begin |
NBA Playoffs and the NBA Finals
Eight teams from each conference make the playoffs. The top six in each conference qualify directly. Teams that finish 7th through 10th play the Play-In Tournament for the No. 7 and No. 8 seeds:
- The 7th-place team hosts the 8th-place team. The winner is the No. 7 seed.
- The 9th-place team hosts the 10th-place team. The loser is out.
- The loser of the 7 vs 8 game hosts the winner of the 9 vs 10 game for the No. 8 seed.
Every playoff round is a best-of-seven series, ending with the NBA Finals between the two conference champions in June.
| Season | Champion | Opponent | Series |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | New York Knicks | San Antonio Spurs | 4-1 |
| 2024-25 | Oklahoma City Thunder | Indiana Pacers | 4-3 |
| 2023-24 | Boston Celtics | Dallas Mavericks | 4-1 |
| 2022-23 | Denver Nuggets | Miami Heat | 4-1 |
| 2021-22 | Golden State Warriors | Boston Celtics | 4-2 |
Who Makes NBA Trading Cards?
Topps, owned by Fanatics, returned as the exclusive NBA and NBPA trading card licensee in October 2025. These are its first fully licensed NBA cards since the 2009-10 season. Panini held the license for the 16 seasons in between, so Panini basketball cards made after that changeover are not NBA licensed and carry no team logos.
The first product under the new license was 2025-26 Topps Basketball, released October 23, 2025. 2026-27 Topps Flagship Basketball is set for October 22, 2026. See every date in our 2026 sports card release calendar.
The license also brought two chase cards to basketball: the 1/1 Rookie Debut Patch Autograph, made with a patch worn on the player's jersey in their debut game, and the Gold NBA Logoman patch cards. Browse our basketball cards, learn what a rookie card is, or see the most valuable basketball cards of all time. We also have guides to MLB and the NFL.
Sources
- NBA teams by division (NBA.com)
- Key dates for the 2026-27 NBA season (NBA.com)
- NBA champions by season (NBA.com)
- Fanatics, NBA and NBPA trading card partnership (NBA.com)
- National Basketball Association: arenas, founding, season format (Wikipedia)
- 2026 NBA Finals (Wikipedia)
- NBA play-in tournament (Wikipedia)
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