The National Basketball Association (abbreviated NBA) is an American-Canadian professional basketball league. The league is an active member of USA Basketball, a division of the Fédération Internationale de Basketball in the United States. ¹⁾

The Basketball Association of America (BAA) was established in 1946 and the first game was played between the Toronto Huskies and the New York Knickerbockers. The BAA and the National Basketball League (NBL) combined in 1949 and became the National Basketball Association. ²⁾

The NBA consists of 30 teams. They are separated into the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference. There are three divisions of five teams at each conference. ³⁾

Each team in the NBA plays 82 regular-season games. They play 41 games at home and 41 away. During the season, every team in the NBA plays every other team at least once. ⁴⁾

There were only two games played on Christmas Eve throughout the entire history of the NBA: once in 1960, and again in 1967.⁵⁾

LeBron James was dubbed “The Chosen One” on the cover of Sports Illustrated in February 2002. LeBron then had the word “CHOSEN 1” tattooed on his shoulder. He was just a student in high school at the time. ⁶⁾

In 2009, 2010, 2012, and 2013, LeBron James was named the NBA's Most Valuable Player (MVP). Only Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Michael Jordan have earned more MVP awards. Just LeBron James and Bill Russell have won four NBA MVP awards in the last five years. ⁷⁾

As of 2020, LeBron James is the current NBA player with the most career points. After Kareem-Abdul Jabbar and Karl Malone, he is in third place all-time. ⁸⁾

Only a handful of players have ever achieved this feat. James appeared in every final from 2010 to 2018. James won three championships in that period in 2012, 2013, and 2016. ⁹⁾

Kobe has made the NBA All-Star Game astounding 18 times. The only player in history to have more choices than that is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who appeared in 19. ¹⁰⁾

Kobe Bryant retired as the Laker's all-time leading scorer and was the fourth-highest scorer in NBA history with 33,643 career points. ¹¹⁾

Kobe Bryant is also going down in history as the NBA's all-time leader in missed shots. ¹²⁾

In 1999, Michael Jordan came to the top of the 20th-century list of the best North American athletes of all time. The rating was made on the basis of a poll where fans and the public could vote to rate their favorite players of all time. Michael Jordan ranked first and Babe Ruth, who was a professional baseball player, ranked second. He also ranked above other great athletes, such as Muhammad Ali and Kobe Bryant. ¹³⁾

Over the years, Michael Jordan's jersey number has been emblematic of the sporting community. As a result, many competitors even try to have the same number on their jersey as Michael Jordan. In addition, number 23 has a particular significance for Michael Jordan, since this was his high school and college jersey number. ¹⁴⁾

Jordan won six NBA Championships, 14 NBA All-Stars, and five NBA Most Valuable Player Honors. In 1988, he was Defensive Player of the Year. ¹⁵⁾