As a fan of basketball, you may wonder how many games you have to look forward to in a standard NBA season.
To give teams a chance to play other teams across the country, the NBA created a season that pits teams against one another.
The season follows a formula for a certain number of games that a team plays in their own division.
We found out how many games in a typical NBA season and what you need to know about NBA seasons.
How Many Games In NBA Season? (Breakdown)
There are 82 games in a standard NBA season.
Teams play 41 of those games at home while the other 41 games are in the respective opponents’ cities.
If teams make it into the NBA finals, then they play an additional 28 games.
These series consist of seven games called the playoffs.
There are four series of seven games each.
Each series represents a different division.
The team that makes it to the final game of the finals plays will have played 110 games in an entire NBA season.
When including every team as a whole, there are 1,230 games in a season.
Special circumstances can reduce the number of games.
During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the NBA season had only 72 games.
Who Do Teams Play Against In The NBA Season?
A team starts the season by playing other teams in their division.
They play those teams four times for a total of 16 games.
Once the gathering multiples time of the NBA starts, a team will then play six other groups from the other two divisions.
The total number of games for this next set of games is 24.
Besides the gathering multiples, they also play the staying four groups.
Those games equate to 12 total.
Finally, the team plays the other teams in the gathering.
The total number of games played during this part of the season is 30.
When Do The NBA Playoffs Start?
Before the playoffs begin, all the teams involved in the season play their divisions.
They play their standard 82 games.
The goal is to rank high.
Only the top teams from each division can play in the playoffs.
Those teams are the ones who ranked high during their 82 games prior to the playoffs.
After the 82 games are over, the playoffs tend to start around the first or second quarter of the year.
The finals for the NBA championship are in June.
How Many NBA Teams Are There?
Shortly after forming the NBA, the organization put together 11 teams.
Since then, the sport has seen rapid expansion.
A total of 30 teams now play in the NBA.
While 29 of the teams are from the United States, one of them is based in Canada.
The 30 teams make up two conferences.
There are the Western and the Eastern Conferences.
Those conferences are then split into smaller divisions.
The divisions are regional and give a better description as to where the team is originally from.
The divisions are:
- Northwest
- Southwest
- Central
- Southeast
- Pacific
- Atlantic
Within each division is five teams.
They’re broken up as follows.
1. The Northwest Division
The Northwest division started in the 2004–2005 NBA season.
The teams that make up the Northwest division include:
- The Denver Nuggets of Denver, CO
- The Minnesota Timberwolves of Minneapolis, MN
- The Utah Jazz of Salt Lake City, UT
- The Oklahoma City Thunder of Oklahoma City, OK
- The Portland Trail Blazers of Portland, OR
The team that’s won the most in that division is the Oklahoma City Thunder team.
They have six championships to their name.
The Denver Nuggets come in at second with five championships under their belt.
Unfortunately, the Minnesota Timberwolves have never won a championship.
During the 2020–2021 NBA season, the championship went to the Utah Jazz.
2. The Southwest Division
The Southwest division also had its inception in the 2004–2005 season.
This division has a reputation for fierce competitiveness.
The teams that make up the Southwest division include:
- The Dallas Mavericks of Dallas, TX
- The Memphis Grizzlies of Memphis, TN
- The San Antonio Spurs of San Antonio, TX
- The New Orleans Pelicans of New Orleans, LA
- The Houston Rockets of Houston, TX
In the Southwest division, the San Antonio Spurs are the highest-winning team.
They have nine wins to their name.
The Houston Rockets come in at second with four wins.
The last team is the Memphis Grizzlies.
They’ve never won a Southwest division title.
The Southwest division also has four NBA championships to its name.
The Spurs won most of the championships, but the Mavericks have one once.
In the 2020–2021 season, the Dallas Mavericks won the division title.
3. The Pacific Division
The Pacific Division has been going strong since the 1970–1971 season.
At that point, the NBA had grown from 14 to 17 teams.
The teams that make up the Pacific division include:
- The Golden State Warriors of San Francisco, CA
- The Los Angeles Lakers of LA, CA
- The Los Angeles Clippers of LA, CA
- The Sacramento Kings of Sacramento, CA
- The Phoenix Suns of Phoenix, AZ
The team with the most titles in the Pacific division is the Los Angeles Lakers.
They have a total of 24 titles.
The Golden State Warriors have a total of seven division titles, making them the second-most-winning team.
They also won five of their titles consecutively.
The Phoenix Suns won the most recent division title in 2020–2021.
The Pacific division also has several NBA championships to their name.
They have a total of 18 NBA championships.
Most of those championships came from the Lakers.
They won 12 NBA championships.
4. The Southeast Division
This is also another recently created division.
It started in the 2004–2005 NBA season.
It’s part of the Eastern Conference.
The teams that make up the Southeast division include:
- The Atlanta Hawks of Atlanta, GA
- The Charlotte Hornets of Charlotte, NC
- The Miami Heat of Miami, FL
- The Washington Wizards of Washington, DC
- The Orlando Magic of Orlando, FL
The Miami Heat is responsible for the most division wins.
They carry 10 titles to their name.
The Orlando Magic comes in at second with four division titles.
The last spot goes to the Washington Wizards with one title.
The Miami Heat also have the record for the most consecutive wins in the Southeast division.
That record is four consecutive title wins.
The 2020–2021 title champions were the Atlanta Hawks.
There are three NBA championships that the Southwest division has claimed.
The Miami Heat won each championship.
5. The Central Division
Originally known as the Midwest division, the Central Division came out of it and added a few other teams to its roster.
It started in the 1970–1971 NBA season.
The teams that make up the Central division include:
- The Chicago Bulls of Chicago, IL
- The Cleveland Cavaliers of Cleveland, OH
- The Indiana Pacers of Indianapolis, IN
- The Detroit Pistons of Detroit, MI
- The Milwaukee Bucks of Milwaukee, WI
Of those teams, the Milwaukee Bucks have the most division titles.
They have 10.
The Detroit Pistons come in second with nine division titles.
The most recent division title went to the Milwaukee Bucks for the 2020–2021 season.
The Central division claims 13 NBA championships.
The Chicago Bulls are the most responsible for the championships, earning them six.
Of all the divisions, the Central division has the most teams that have won at least one championship.
6. The Atlantic Division
The Atlantic division is the final division that makes up the NBA teams.
This division started in the 1970–1971 season.
Canada is also a part of this division.
The teams that make up the Atlantic division include:
- The Philadelphia 76ers of Philadelphia, PA
- The Toronto Raptors of Toronto, ON, Canada
- The Boston Celtics of Boston, MA
- The Brooklyn Nets of New York City, NY
- The New York Knicks of New York City, NY
The Boston Celtics have the most division titles.
They have won 22 titles thus far.
They also have won the most NBA championships for the Atlantic division.
As a whole, the Atlantic division has won nine championships.
The Boston Celtics are responsible for six of those wins.
During the 2020–2021 season, the Philadelphia 76ers won the division title.
Why Does The NBA Shorten And Lengthen Seasons?
In certain circumstances, the NBA may choose to add or remove a number of games from the NBA season.
During its inception, the NBA decided to increase the number of games played in a season.
As they gained more teams to the roster, the need for more games arose.
This also helped extend the length of the season which had more fans able to visit and watch their favorite teams play at stadiums.
The 2020–2021 season saw a reduction in games because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The NBA wanted to do its part in protecting the players and fans.
By reducing the number of games, they gave each less of a chance of spreading the virus to one another.
They also instituted the use of bubble games.
These were games where the players had to stay isolated in hotel rooms.
They had little contact in the world, so they could stay uninfected and play the game.
How Many Games Will Be In The 2021–2022 NBA Season?
The NBA will return to its standard 82-game schedule during the 2021–2022 NBA season.
The season will start mid-October and run through mid-April.
The 2021–2022 season will mark the 75th season since the NBA started.
What Are The Most Points A Team Has Ever Scored In The NBA Championships?
During the 1983 season, the Detroit Pistons scored 186 points against the Denver Nuggets’ 184 points.
To date, 186 points are the highest point value that an NBA team has ever scored.
Has An NBA Player Ever Scored 100 Points In A Game?
Yes, Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points during a game in 1962.
He was playing for the Philadelphia Warriors at the time.
They were in a match against the New York Knicks.
The Philadelphia Warriors ended up winning 169-147.
To date, Wilt Chamberlain is the only NBA player to have ever scored 100 points in a game.
Has Any Team Ever Gone Undefeated In The NBA Season?
No, none of the NBA teams have ever completed a season without losing a few matches.
The team that has come closest to remaining undefeated in a season is the Golden State Warriors.
During the 2015–2016 season, the Golden State Warriors won 73 games and only lost 9.
There has also never been a team that has only ever lost matches during the NBA season.
The team that has come closest to losing all their matches in a season is the Philadelphia 76ers.
During the 1972–1973 season, the Philadelphia 76ers won only nine games.
They lost 73 games.
Conclusion
A standard NBA season has 82 games.
When you multiply all the teams in every division together, the total number of games comes out to be 1,230.
The NBA season has its teams play against their own division before playing against other divisions in the country.
They can also add and remove the number of games in a season based on safety concerns.
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