National Basketball Association

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The National Basketball Association (NBA) is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. With thirty franchised member clubs (29 in theUnited States and one in Canada), the NBA is widely considered to be the premier men's professional basketball league in the world. It is an active member of USA Basketball (USAB),^[1] which is recognized by FIBA (also known as the International Basketball Federation) as thenational governing body for basketball in the United States. The NBA is one of the four major North American professional sports leagues. NBA players are the world's best paid sportsmen, by average annual salary per player.^[2]
The league was founded in New York City on June 6, 1946, as the Basketball Association of America(BAA).^[3] The league adopted the name National Basketball Association in 1949 after merging with the rival National Basketball League (NBL). The league's several international as well as individual team offices are directed out of its head offices located in the Olympic Tower at 645 Fifth Avenue in New York City. NBA Entertainment and NBA TV studios are directed out of offices located in Secaucus, New Jersey.