The National Basketball Association (NBA) is the major professional basketball league in North America. The league was founded in 1946 as the Basketball Association of America (BAA). The league adopted its current name at the start of when it merged with the National Basketball League (NBL). The league currently consists of thirty teams, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada. Each team plays 82 games in the regular season. Eight teams from each of the league's two conferences qualify for the playoffs. The winners of the Conference finals advance to the finals to determine the NBA champions.
The Boston Celtics have had or tied for the best regular season record a record 19 times. They won the Eastern Conference 11 times, while the Los Angeles Lakers won the Western Conference 19 times. The Celtics have won 18 NBA championships, the most in NBA history. The Lakers also have a record 32 Finals appearances. The Celtics and the Lakers had played each other in the Finals for a record 12 times. The Celtics won 9 of their matchups while the Lakers have only won 3.
The best single regular season record was recorded by the Golden State Warriors in the . In that season, the Warriors recorded 73 wins and 9 losses with a winning percentage of .890, surpassing the 72-win 1995–96 Chicago Bulls, though the Bulls went on to win the Eastern Conference and the NBA championship. The 1996 Bulls and the 2016 Warriors are the only teams to win at least 70 games in a single season.
The Eastern champions have won 41 championships while the Western champions have won 37 championships. The defunct Central Division won one championship in 1950. Of the 78 championships, 35 of them were won by the teams who had or tied for the best regular season record. In 10 other occurrences, the teams who had or tied for the best regular season record, lost the Finals. Six teams that had the best regular season record and won the championships in the same season, were named to the list of Top 10 Teams in NBA History announced at the league's 50th anniversary in 1996. The Celtics, the Bulls, the Lakers and the Philadelphia 76ers each had two teams selected, while the Detroit Pistons and the New York Knicks each had one team selected.
List
Year Top seed Record Year Eastern champion Western champion Year Champion No. of teams No. of games Notes Ref. Regular season Playoffs Finals Washington Capitols 49–11 (.817) 1947 — — 1947 Philadelphia Warriors 11 60–61 Inaugural season (as BAA);started with 11 teams St. Louis Bombers 29–19 (.604) 1948 — — 1948 Baltimore Bullets 8 48 4 teams folded prior to the season;1 ABL team joined Rochester Royals 45–15 (.750) 1949 — — 1949 Minneapolis Lakers 12 60 4 NBL teams joined Syracuse Nationals 51–13 (.797) 1950 — — 1950 Minneapolis Lakers 17 62–68 BAA merged with NBL and was renamed NBA;2 teams folded prior to the season;6 NBL teams joined;1 expansion team joined Minneapolis Lakers 44–24 (.647) 1951 — — 1951 Rochester Royals 11 66–69 3 teams left the NBA for the NPBL; 3 teams folded prior to the season;1 team folded during the season;the first All-Star Game was held Rochester Royals 41–25 (.621) 1952 — — 1952 Minneapolis Lakers 10 66 Minneapolis Lakers 48–22 (.686) 1953 — — 1953 Minneapolis Lakers 10 69–71 Minneapolis Lakers 46–26 (.639) 1954 — — 1954 Minneapolis Lakers 9 72 1 team folded prior to the season Syracuse NationalsFort Wayne Pistons 43–29 (.597) 1955 — — 1955 Syracuse Nationals 9 72 1 team folded during the season Philadelphia Warriors 45–27 (.625) 1956 — — 1956 Philadelphia Warriors 8 72 Boston Celtics 44–28 (.611) 1957 — — 1957 Boston Celtics 8 72 Boston Celtics 49–23 (.681) 1958 — — 1958 St. Louis Hawks 8 72 Boston Celtics 52–20 (.722) 1959 — — 1959 Boston Celtics 8 72 Boston Celtics 59–16 (.787) 1960 — — 1960 Boston Celtics 8 75 Boston Celtics 57–22 (.722) 1961 — — 1961 Boston Celtics 8 79 Boston Celtics 60–20 (.750) 1962 — — 1962 Boston Celtics 9 80 1 expansion team joined Boston Celtics 58–22 (.725) 1963 — — 1963 Boston Celtics 9 80 Boston Celtics 59–21 (.738) 1964 — — 1964 Boston Celtics 9 80 Boston Celtics 62–18 (.775) 1965 — — 1965 Boston Celtics 9 80 Named as one of the Top 10 Teams in NBA History Philadelphia 76ers 55–25 (.688) 1966 — — 1966 Boston Celtics 9 80 Philadelphia 76ers 68–13 (.840) 1967 — — 1967 Philadelphia 76ers 10 81 1 expansion team joined;named as one of the Top 10 Teams in NBA History Philadelphia 76ers 62–20 (.756) 1968 — — 1968 Boston Celtics 12 82 2 expansion teams joined Baltimore Bullets 57–25 (.695) 1969 — — 1969 Boston Celtics 14 82 2 expansion teams joined New York Knicks 60–22 (.732) 1970 — — 1970 New York Knicks 14 82 Named as one of the Top 10 Teams in NBA History Milwaukee Bucks 66–16 (.805) 1971 Baltimore Bullets Milwaukee Bucks 1971 Milwaukee Bucks 17 82 3 expansion teams joined; 25th anniversary season Los Angeles Lakers 69–13 (.841) 1972 New York Knicks Los Angeles Lakers 1972 Los Angeles Lakers 17 82 Named as one of the Top 10 Teams in NBA History Boston Celtics 68–14 (.829) 1973 New York Knicks Los Angeles Lakers 1973 New York Knicks 17 82 Milwaukee Bucks 59–23 (.720) 1974 Boston Celtics Milwaukee Bucks 1974 Boston Celtics 17 82 Boston Celtics 60–22 (.732) 1975 Washington Bullets Golden State Warriors 1975 Golden State Warriors 18 82 1 expansion team joined Golden State Warriors 59–23 (.720) 1976 Boston Celtics Phoenix Suns 1976 Boston Celtics 18 82 Los Angeles Lakers 53–29 (.646) 1977 Philadelphia 76ers Portland Trail Blazers 1977 Portland Trail Blazers 22 82 ABA merged with NBA;4 ABA teams joined Portland Trail Blazers 58–24 (.707) 1978 Washington Bullets Seattle SuperSonics 1978 Washington Bullets 22 82 Washington Bullets 54–28 (.659) 1979 Washington Bullets Seattle SuperSonics 1979 Seattle SuperSonics 22 82 Boston Celtics 61–21 (.744) 1980 Philadelphia 76ers Los Angeles Lakers 1980 Los Angeles Lakers 22 82 Boston Celtics 62–20 (.756) 1981 Boston Celtics Houston Rockets 1981 Boston Celtics 23 82 1 expansion team joined;35th Anniversary season Boston Celtics 63–19 (.768) 1982 Philadelphia 76ers Los Angeles Lakers 1982 Los Angeles Lakers 23 82 Philadelphia 76ers 65–17 (.793) 1983 Philadelphia 76ers Los Angeles Lakers 1983 Philadelphia 76ers 23 82 Named as one of the Top 10 Teams in NBA History Boston Celtics 62–20 (.756) 1984 Boston Celtics Los Angeles Lakers 1984 Boston Celtics 23 82 Boston Celtics 63–19 (.768) 1985 Boston Celtics Los Angeles Lakers 1985 Los Angeles Lakers 23 82 Boston Celtics 67–15 (.817) 1986 Boston Celtics Houston Rockets 1986 Boston Celtics 23 82 Named as one of the Top 10 Teams in NBA History Los Angeles Lakers 65–17 (.793) 1987 Boston Celtics Los Angeles Lakers 1987 Los Angeles Lakers 23 82 Named as one of the Top 10 Teams in NBA History Los Angeles Lakers 62–20 (.756) 1988 Detroit Pistons Los Angeles Lakers 1988 Los Angeles Lakers 23 82 Detroit Pistons 63–19 (.768) 1989 Detroit Pistons Los Angeles Lakers 1989 Detroit Pistons 25 82 2 expansion teams joined;named as one of the Top 10 Teams in NBA History Los Angeles Lakers 63–19 (.768) 1990 Detroit Pistons Portland Trail Blazers 1990 Detroit Pistons 27 82 2 expansion teams joined Portland Trail Blazers 63–19 (.768) 1991 Chicago Bulls Los Angeles Lakers 1991 Chicago Bulls 27 82 Chicago Bulls 67–15 (.817) 1992 Chicago Bulls Portland Trail Blazers 1992 Chicago Bulls 27 82 Named as one of the Top 10 Teams in NBA History Phoenix Suns 62–20 (.756) 1993 Chicago Bulls Phoenix Suns 1993 Chicago Bulls 27 82 Seattle SuperSonics 63–19 (.768) 1994 New York Knicks Houston Rockets 1994 Houston Rockets 27 82 San Antonio Spurs 62–20 (.756) 1995 Orlando Magic Houston Rockets 1995 Houston Rockets 27 82 Chicago Bulls 72–10 (.878) 1996 Chicago Bulls Seattle SuperSonics 1996 Chicago Bulls 29 82 2 expansion teams joined; 50th anniversary season;Named as one of the Top 10 Teams in NBA History Chicago Bulls 69–13 (.841) 1997 Chicago Bulls Utah Jazz 1997 Chicago Bulls 29 82 Utah Jazz 62–20 (.756) 1998 Chicago Bulls Utah Jazz 1998 Chicago Bulls 29 82 San Antonio Spurs 37–13 (.740) 1999 New York Knicks San Antonio Spurs 1999 San Antonio Spurs 29 50 Season delayed and shortened due to a lockout Los Angeles Lakers 67–15 (.817) 2000 Indiana Pacers Los Angeles Lakers 2000 Los Angeles Lakers 29 82 San Antonio Spurs 58–24 (.707) 2001 Philadelphia 76ers Los Angeles Lakers 2001 Los Angeles Lakers 29 82 Sacramento Kings 61–21 (.744) 2002 New Jersey Nets Los Angeles Lakers 2002 Los Angeles Lakers 29 82 San Antonio Spurs 60–22 (.732) 2003 New Jersey Nets San Antonio Spurs 2003 San Antonio Spurs 29 82 Indiana Pacers 61–21 (.744) 2004 Detroit Pistons Los Angeles Lakers 2004 Detroit Pistons 29 82 Phoenix Suns 62–20 (.756) 2005 Detroit Pistons San Antonio Spurs 2005 San Antonio Spurs 30 82 1 expansion team joined Detroit Pistons 64–18 (.780) 2006 Miami Heat Dallas Mavericks 2006 Miami Heat 30 82 Dallas Mavericks 67–15 (.817) 2007 Cleveland Cavaliers San Antonio Spurs 2007 San Antonio Spurs 30 82 Boston Celtics 66–16 (.805) 2008 Boston Celtics Los Angeles Lakers 2008 Boston Celtics 30 82 Cleveland Cavaliers 66–16 (.805) 2009 Orlando Magic Los Angeles Lakers 2009 Los Angeles Lakers 30 82 Cleveland Cavaliers 61–21 (.744) 2010 Boston Celtics Los Angeles Lakers 2010 Los Angeles Lakers 30 82 Chicago Bulls 62–20 (.756) 2011 Miami Heat Dallas Mavericks 2011 Dallas Mavericks 30 82 Chicago Bulls 50–16 (.758) 2012 Miami Heat Oklahoma City Thunder 2012 Miami Heat 30 66 Season delayed and shortened due to a lockout Miami Heat 66–16 (.805) 2013 Miami Heat San Antonio Spurs 2013 Miami Heat 30 81–82 Celtics and Pacers played 81 games due to the cancellation of a scheduled April 16, 2013 game (following the Boston Marathon bombing) San Antonio Spurs 62–20 (.756) 2014 Miami Heat San Antonio Spurs 2014 San Antonio Spurs 30 82 Golden State Warriors 67–15 (.817) 2015 Cleveland Cavaliers Golden State Warriors 2015 Golden State Warriors 30 82 Hornets and Pelicans traded history Golden State Warriors 73–9 (.890) 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers Golden State Warriors 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers 30 82 Golden State Warriors 67–15 (.817) 2017 Cleveland Cavaliers Golden State Warriors 2017 Golden State Warriors 30 82 Houston Rockets 65–17 (.793) 2018 Cleveland Cavaliers Golden State Warriors 2018 Golden State Warriors 30 82 Milwaukee Bucks 60–22 (.732) 2019 Toronto Raptors Golden State Warriors 2019 Toronto Raptors 30 82 Last 82-game season until Milwaukee Bucks 56–17 (.767) 2020 Miami Heat Los Angeles Lakers 2020 Los Angeles Lakers 30 64–75 Season suspended and shortened due to COVID-19 pandemic Utah Jazz 52–20 (.722) 2021 Milwaukee Bucks Phoenix Suns 2021 Milwaukee Bucks 30 72 Season delayed and shortened due to COVID-19 pandemic Phoenix Suns 64–18 (.780) 2022 Boston Celtics Golden State Warriors 2022 Golden State Warriors 30 82 75th anniversary seasonSeason returned to a normal 82-game slate from October to April Milwaukee Bucks 58–24 (.707) 2023 Miami Heat Denver Nuggets 2023 Denver Nuggets 30 82 Boston Celtics 64–18 (.780)2024Boston CelticsDallas Mavericks2024Boston Celtics3082Oklahoma City Thunder 68–14 (.829)2025Indiana PacersOklahoma City Thunder2025Oklahoma City Thunder3082Oklahoma City Thunder 64–18 (.780)2026New York KnicksSan Antonio Spurs2026New York Knicks3082Regular seasonPlayoffsFinalsNo. of teamsNo. of gamesNotesRef.YearTop seedRecordYearEastern championWestern championYearChampion
Notes
Each year is linked to an article about that particular BAA/NBA season. Each year is linked to an article about the BAA/NBA playoffs in that year. Each year is linked to an article about the BAA/NBA Finals in that year. Number of teams that participated in that particular season, including any teams that folded during the season. Number of regular season games played by each team. All team additions and subtractions occurred before the start of the season unless stated otherwise.