NBA

The National Basketball Association (NBA), with teams from the United States and Canada, the major professional basketball league in the world. The NBA has 30 teams(clubs) and the calendar consists of a playing season every year. The 30 NBA teams are divided into two conferences, the Eastern and Western, each of which has three divisions. The Eastern Conference is divided into the Atlantic, Central and Southeast Divisions. The Western Conference is divided into the Southwest, Northwest and Pacific Divisions. Each Division has 5 teams.
Each NBA team conducts a training camp in October to determine its 12-player roster. Training camp allows each team to evaluate players, especially rookies (first-year players), to assess the team's strengths and weaknesses, and to prepare players for the upcoming season through a series of on-court drills and practice of offensive and defensive strategy. After a series of exhibition games(generally referred to as pre-season games), the NBA begins its regular season in the first week of November. Every team plays 82 games in the regular season, after which 16 teams advance to the playoffs.
In February(almost mid-way through the regular season) the NBA interrupts its season to celebrate the annual NBA All-Star Game, featuring the game's best players as selected by the general balloting of fans throughout the United States and Canada. After the 25-week NBA season concludes in April, a total of 16 teams qualify for the playoffs (8 teams from each conference). In each conference the three division winners are guaranteed a playoff spot. The remaining playoff spots in each conference are awarded on the basis of win-loss records to the five next-best teams, regardless of division. The playoffs start with the teams with better records playing the teams with worse records in a best-of-five(race-to-three) series. In subsequent rounds best-of-seven(race-to-four) series are played. The playoffs continue in this elimination scheme until a conference champion is crowned. The champions from the Eastern and Western conferences then meet in a best-of-seven series(The Finals) to determine the NBA champion.