The basketball league was founded in New York City on June 6, 1946, as the Basketball Association of America. The league adopted the name National Basketball Association on August 3, 1949, after merging with its rival National Basketball League. 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.
The League reaches a climax in May or June each year, and in 2016 the NBA Finals are scheduled for June 2. The 2015–16 NBA season is the 70th season of the National Basketball Association. The regular season began on Tuesday, October 27, 2015 at the United Center, home of the Chicago Bulls. The featured match was between the Chicago Bulls and the Cleveland Cavaliers. The league, and basketball season concludes with the NBA Finals on June 2.
The National Basketball Association or NBA is the major men’s professional basketball league in North America. Although basketball is now played in many places around the world, the NBA is widely considered to be the top men’s professional basketball league in the world, and the USA are additionally the current Olympic gold medal holders.
Participation in the NBA Finals is the aim of all the contestants of a league consisting of 30 franchised member clubs, 29 are in the United States and one is in Canada. The NBA is an active member of USA Basketball, USAB, which is recognized by FIBA, the International Basketball Federation, as the national 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. Basketball is one of the most popular sports in the world. This is even truer in the USA, where it ranks within the top 3.
Over 26 million Americans play basketball. More than four million participate in an organized league of some sort. The highest earning NBA players receive multimillion dollar salaries annually, and the game has a huge spectator base and online following. With so many people playing, and so much money tossed around in basketball, it should come as no surprise that it also has a truly huge and very active betting community online.
The competition, and basketball league size and structure means that there are always opportunities for a sports wager. Sports betting is exceptionally popular in basketball, and from the qualifiers to the playoffs and then, of course the NBA Finals, the opportunities to place a bet on your team are widely available. The essential wagers that punters will find on the road to the NBA Finals is betting on the game winners and wagering on handicapped games. Betting on game winners is the most commonly placed bet within the NBA, and gives the punter a chance to place bets on who they think will be the winning team of a specific game. Good game knowledge means an added advantage.