NBA tournament is followed globally and we know it can be hard for true NBA fans to find deep and well-covered stats. That is why SofaScore offers in-depth live scores, team lineups, standings and much more. There are endless possibilities to analyze the entire season and to follow favorite teams and players. Before sharing the most important NBA facts, make sure to check our main page for basketball live scores and follow every game and every result at any time.  

What every fan needs to know about NBA 

NBA or National Basketball Association is a professional basketball league in North America for men and is one of the top basketball competitions in the world. The league is the most popular global basketball competition with the recognizable logo with Jerry West silhouette made in 1969.

The competition started in 1946 when the Basketball Association of America (BAA) merged with the competing National Basketball league (NBL). Today there are 30 teams that compete every year for the title of the NBA champion.

NBA tournament structure 

NBA competition consists of two main conferences, East and West, with 15 teams being part of each of the conferences. Additionally, each conference consists of three divisions that determine home and guest games. SofaScore is one of the many providers of NBA and basketball scores, standings and results for each conference and every game.

There are three main parts of each NBA season:

1. Preseason - the series of friendly games used as a warm-up for the regular season
2. Regular season - overall 82 games that each team plays
3. Playoffs - the knockout phase with 8 best teams from the East and best 8 teams from the West conference 

The best 8 teams from each conference enter the conference Playoffs and the quarterfinal clashes. The first team that wins 4 games moves to the next round and the best teams from each conference meet in a grand NBA final.  

Most successful NBA teams 

The two most successful teams in NBA history are the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics, both with 17 titles. Golden State Warriors and Chicago Bulls both hold 6 championship titles and San Antonio Spurs won the title 5 times.

Using SofaScore web and mobile apps, you can track current rankings, stats and lineups of each team in the league.

Best players and managers in NBA  

NBA history was full of great players and their achievements. The most followed categories when comparing players are usually top points, assists, rebounds, blocks and steals categories. 

• The top 3 scorers of all time are Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone and Lebron James, who is still an active player
• The top 3 players with the most assists are John Stockton, Jason Kidd and Steve Nash. Out of the active players, Chris Paul is placed in the 6th position on the all-time list.
• The best players in the rebound category are Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The highest-ranked active player is Dwight Howard in the 12th position.
• The top 3 players in the steals category are John Stockton, Jason Kidd and Michael Jordan. The highest-ranked active player is Chris Paul in the 5th position.
• The players with the most blocks on the all-time list are Hakeem Olajuwon, Dikembe Mutombo and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The highest-ranked active player is Dwight Howard in the 13th position. 
• The top 3 managers with the most wins during their careers are Don Nelson, Lenny Wilkens and Gregg Popovich, who is still actively coaching San Antonio Spurs

That is it in a nutshell. If you want to know more about SofaScore basketball features, make sure to check out our player heatmaps and follow your favorite player game-by-game.