这个赛季够乱的，也够奇的！
NBA60年历史上第二高得分纪录诞生、绯闻缠上球星、歌星妻子允许球星丈夫寻欢、“小土豆”成为扣篮王……OK，下面就让我们再次重温本赛季之十大拍案惊奇。
NO.1 81分先生
本赛季发生的最让人张大嘴巴的事情，竟是一位球星疯狂般地在比赛中飙分，一举拿下NBA60年历史上个人单场第二高分。
1961年12月8日，靠打了3个加时赛，“铲车”张伯伦得到78分。1962年3月2日，张伯伦单场得到了100分。这些不可思议的高得分，在NBA历史上树起了一座座史诗般的丰碑。2006年1月23日，一位球星杀将出来，在一场比赛中得到了81分，让张伯伦的78分纪录做古，也撼动了那个神圣不可犯的100分。他就是湖人“小飞侠”科比，在这天湖人主场与猛龙比赛中，科比下半场拿下55分，在41分钟内46投28中，其中三分球13投7中，罚球20次得18分，四节得分分别为14分、12分、27分和28分，率湖人122比104击败猛龙。当比赛还剩43.4秒科比被换下场时，整个斯台普斯球馆响起了震耳欲聋的“MVP，MVP”喊声！
科比的81分，在NBA掀起了巨大的“81分风浪”。那场比赛的门票，成为球迷们收藏的珍品；第二天上班后，球迷们互相打听的第一件事是“你看那场比赛了吗”；NBA名人堂的工作人员，向科比索取这场比赛时所穿的球鞋以作名人堂收藏。科比还自封了一个外号，他向队友们说：“就叫我81分先生吧！”
惊奇指数：★★★★★★★★★☆
NO.2 “AK47”走火
允许自己的丈夫和别的女人上床？这样荒唐的事，还是头一回听说。没错，2006年3月13日，基里连科的妻子、前俄罗斯流行音乐当红歌星洛帕托娃，就大度地给了“AK47”可以“走火”的权利。
她对《盐湖城论坛报》说，我和基里连科结婚6年了，虽未到7年之痒，但我深知，他一年有7个月要在美国比赛，包括女人在内的诱惑肯定很大。托娃认为堵不如疏，并允许基里连科一年可以有一次外遇。她说：“你越禁止他们做一些事情，这些事情对他们就越有诱惑力，运动员们都有这样的性格。这和我们教育孩子一样，你越对他们说，‘没有披萨，没有披萨，没有披萨。’他们越想得到披萨，不想要其他的东西了。” 托娃说：“我和基里连科达成了协议，如果他这样做了，然后告诉我这是信任，而不是欺骗。但我不会要求得到同样的待遇，我不想和别的男人上床。” 托娃开玩笑地说，当我这段访问公开后，会有许多女孩整夜守在基里连科酒店门外的。
基里连科对妻子的开明感到惊讶，但他并不打算去这样做：“她的话让人吃惊，但我不想这样做。”
惊奇指数：★★★★★★★★★☆
NO.3 绯闻缠上“小皇帝”
勒布朗·詹姆斯，加盟NBA后就人气冲天，并被打上了乔丹接班人的标签。这位22岁的高中生球星，虽有了和他同岁的未婚女友，并于2004年10月初为他生了个大胖儿子，但“小皇帝”对绯闻好象有天生的嗜好，2006年3月12日，他竟让同为NBA球星的尼克斯队后卫——“阿Q”理查德森戴了“绿帽子”。
这天晚上，詹姆斯率骑士到迈阿密与热火队较量，他自始至终打得很兴奋，并抢下了47分的高分。但骑士却在领先15分情况下被逆转。遭遇两连败的“小皇帝”却看不出丝毫的沮丧，比赛一结束，他便消失在了夜幕中。没多久，迈阿密一家夜总会的舞厅里，出现了詹姆斯的身影，身边多了位娱乐名人——通俗歌星布兰迪。穿着极具诱惑力的布兰迪，性感的嘴唇一直笑着和詹姆斯相拥着在舞池中忘情地跳舞。在夜总会消遣的人，都瞪大了眼睛看着他们。詹姆斯长相憨厚，甚至有些土里土气，但他对布兰迪却很大方，一出手便是一枚镶有50克拉钻石的手表。
此事传出后，詹姆斯的母亲和经纪人都矢口否认，说根本没这么回事。从“小皇帝”此前曾厚着脸皮约会俄罗斯网坛美少女莎拉波娃的前科来看，此事他并不是做不出来。
惊奇指数：★★★★★★★★☆☆
NO.4 新版英雄救美
一副老实相的尼克斯中锋安东尼奥·戴维斯是现任NBA球员工会主席，2006年1月20日，在看见老婆受欺负后，他竟不顾正在血战的加时赛，窜上10排看台去保护老婆，他当即被驱逐出场。
作者： 〓遗失の美好〓 封 2006-5-31 06:42 回复此发言 删除
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2 NBA无奇不有——本赛季十大拍案惊奇
加时赛激烈异常，当一次暂停后，双方教练正在紧张地布置战术。戴维斯却突然飞身从技术台边越过前排坐位，直奔第10排看台而去。“我看见有人正在冲击我的妻子，人身安全受到威胁，我必须采取行动。”戴维斯赛后说。他赶到妻子身边时，却发现妻子并没受到任何攻击，为避免事态激化，戴维斯当即被驱逐离场。尽管戴维斯冲上看台是为了帮助被他人攻击的妻子，尽管戴维斯是NBA球员工会主席，但只要做了违犯NBA规定的事，不管是谁，不管出于什么动机，都要受到处罚。 此事造成了很坏影响，NBA对他禁赛5场。
NBA副总裁斯图·杰克逊解释道：“戴维斯的做法可以让人理解，但不管什么原因，球员都不能冲上观众席。对他禁赛5场，没有罚款已经是手下留情了。”
惊奇指数：★★★★★★★★☆☆
NO.5 六打五超级笑话
世界之大，无奇不有，2006年1月24日步行者与鹰队比赛中，竟出现了6人打5人的超级笑话。这天比赛第三节的一次暂停后，比赛打了好一会儿，裁判突然发现，步行者队在场上打球的不是5个人，而是6个人。哨声急促响起，步行者队被判技术犯规。这样的失误，在NBA中实属罕见。这个小插曲让步行者有些措手不及，鹰队却在上半场48比56落后的不利情况下，第三节趁步行者混乱之机，打出了27比15的大反攻。第四节步行者仍未“醒”来，被鹰队打了个29比23，最后94比104输了4分。
“这样的情况确实少见，但情况发生后，我们却栽在了这上面。”步行者前锋史蒂芬·杰克逊悻悻地说。
惊奇指数：★★★★★★★★☆☆
NO.6 和解纪念日
奥尼尔和科比，这对积怨长达10年之久的仇人，在2006年1月17日“马丁·路德·金纪念日” 的特殊日子，哥俩终结了恩怨实现了和解，成就了一段NBA佳话。
??? 这天的和解来得让人措手不及，因为在2005年圣诞大战中，两人甚至都没互相看对方一眼。这天比赛前，两位主角作为各自球队的队长友好握手，并紧紧拥抱在一起，让人惊喜不已。“他先向我走来，我忙迎向前，就这样我们和好了。这一切来得太突然，我感到有些惊讶。”科比惊喜地说。开球前，“OK”又一次拥抱，斯台普斯中心球迷用掌声和呼喊声欢呼这一历史性时刻。这天是科比女儿生日，他的第2个孩子即将出生，奥尼尔向他表示祝贺。“我感觉很好，我们之间发生过太多不愉快，但现在一切都结束了，我祝奥尼尔在迈阿密好运。”科比说。
奥尼尔和科比的和解，是著名的“指环王”拉塞尔促成的。“我的行动来自拉塞尔的建议。”奥尼尔说，拉塞尔在西雅图和他谈过这个问题，我问他职业生涯里是否憎恨哪位球员，他说从来没有。他建议我和科比握手，过去的让他过去，一切向前看。 拉塞尔手上戴有11枚总冠军戒指，是NBA历史上获得总冠军最多的球员，上世纪50年代后期、60年代中前期，他和张伯伦进行了长达10年的巅峰对决，结下了许多恩怨。“今天是马丁·路德·金纪念日，他是和平的大使。拉塞尔告诉我，虽然很多人认为他和张伯伦互相憎恨，但他们之间只有爱。他和张伯伦几乎每星期都会交谈几次。人家能这么做，我为什么不能这么做？”奥尼尔长大了，听上去心胸那么宽广。
惊奇指数：★★★★★★★☆☆☆
NO.7 飞越“土豆”
说起NBA扣篮大赛，不得不提起一个人，他就是身高只有1.70米的“土豆” 安东尼·杰罗姆·韦伯。1996年扣篮大赛上，他用令人叹为观止的反身双手灌篮，击败了两届扣篮王威尔金斯夺得冠军，成为NBA扣篮大赛史上最矮的扣篮冠军。
20年后，“土豆”再现扣篮赛场，不过他是以场外指导和“道具”的身份参与的。在他帮助下，身高1.75米的尼克斯新秀内特·罗宾逊凭飞跃“土豆”的扣篮，在2006年全明星扣篮大赛上击败76人“小皮蓬”伊戈达拉，夺得扣篮大赛冠军，成为扣篮史上第2位身高不过6英尺的冠军。
“土豆二世”的表演时刻出现在决赛第二扣。罗宾逊竟请出了“土豆”韦伯。韦伯穿上当年夺冠球衣，站到罚球线与篮筐中间，小罗助跑后，韦伯在篮下将球击地传给小罗，后者高高跃起飞过前辈，将皮球砸进篮筐！全场一片惊叹，就连科比、奥尼尔等巨星，也惊得张大了嘴巴，50分，5名评委都举起了10分的牌子。加赛中，罗宾逊仍玩高难度，他从中线处开始助跑，采用的是胯下换手后将球直接砸向篮板接反弹球扣篮。由于动作难度相当大，做了14次后才获成功，经过1个多小时血战，小罗终于继承了韦伯的衣钵。
作者： 〓遗失の美好〓 封 2006-5-31 06:42 回复此发言 删除
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3 NBA无奇不有——本赛季十大拍案惊奇
罗宾逊赛后喜滋滋地说：“看到我表演各种高难度扣篮，大家可能纳闷，这小子怎么有这么好的弹跳力？我确实给大家带来了惊喜。”韦伯说：“他创造了历史，许多年后，他可以跟自己的孩子们讲述今天发生的事情。”
惊奇指数：★★★★★★★☆☆☆
NO.8全明星舞蹈秀
2006年休斯敦全明星赛的球星出场仪式极具创意。随着交响乐在黑暗的体育馆中响起，东部明星队的教练和替补球员分列场地两边。此后，东部的5位先发球员从地下“升”起后，他们突然扭动身躯，跳起了非常搞怪的舞蹈，有点像踢踏舞。
西部明星队教练和替补球员进入场地后，马里昂和加内特也相继跳起了舞蹈，“狼王”的动作像极了中国的皮影戏。西部5位先发出场后竟在纳什引领下，接力棒似地跳起了霹雳舞，非常传统的姚明也在众目睽睽之下展现了自己的舞姿。“这个主意来自纳什，我们在休息室看到东部明星队正在练一套舞蹈。我们当然不能输给他们，于是，纳什建议大家跳这样的舞蹈，大家都非常同意，这个舞蹈很有创意。”麦迪泄露了天机。
此外，全明星们的比赛服也颇具特色，怎么看怎么像武大郎在戏中穿的“裙装”。东部明星队的球衣上身是白色，球裤是深兰色，西部队上身是红色，球裤则是白色。由于全明星们穿的背心下摆与短裤颜色一样，再加上短裤设计得比较肥，这身比赛服看上去非常肥大，特别是短裤更像一条朝鲜族妇女穿的裙子，非常搞笑。
惊奇指数：★★★★★★★☆☆☆
NO.9 愚人节玩笑
2006年4月1日，正是美国当地时间的“愚人节”， ESPN发布了一条消息：火箭队已经与队中的防守专家鲍文签下了一份6年5400万美元合同，这条消息并没得到火箭总经理道森证实。道森说：“拥有鲍文这样的球员，是火箭队的荣幸，他在NBA干了7年，一直是一个不知疲倦的蓝领工人，他的防守很好，能够增加我们前场的板凳深度。”火箭主帅范甘迪欣喜地说：“鲍文是一位每场能轰下1.4分、1.4个篮板的球员，我们太高兴拥有这样的球员了！”
知道鲍文底细的人，都对这条消息一头雾水，是不是火箭老板脑子灌水了，怎么会给这样的“垃圾球员”这样一份肥约呢？经证实，这是一出愚人节的恶作剧，一向严谨的ESPN玩起了幽默，并将开涮的对象对准了火箭和鲍文。
遭涮后的鲍文，并没有和ESPN翻脸，而是就势玩起了炒作术。他在火箭队此后的10天客场之旅时，在火箭官网上开了“鲍文博客”，记载这6个客场中发生的一些趣事。别说，鲍文在博客中透露的一些火箭内幕消息，还很受博迷们的喜欢呢！
惊奇指数：★★★★★★☆☆☆☆
NO.10 偷天大盗
在球场上无所不能的“闪电侠”，却看不住放在眼皮底下的汽车，2006年3月19日，他的两部汽车上的8只轮胎，全部被梁上君子盗走。
这天早晨醒来后，韦德突然发现自己的两部汽车——2006最新款黑色道奇公羊和英菲尼蒂QX56 SUV越野车，全都没了“腿”。价两万美金的8个轮胎和一套昂贵的铬合金修车装备全被人盗走。“闪电侠”赶紧报了警。这个小区发生这样的情况不多，警局一下派了7名警察及其它工作人员，到了位于迈阿密皮内克斯特街59号的韦德家中。
现场勘查的结果让韦德夫妇哭笑不得。小偷们并没有怕惊醒韦德，他们实施盗窃时，两部汽车的警报器曾刺耳地响过。但由于这天晚上韦德在与来访的凯尔特人比赛中，在一度落后25分困难情况下，用30分、6个篮板、3次抢断，完成了大逆转。身体太累，加上由于兴奋睡得太晚，韦德夫妇竟没有听见汽车警报器的响声，让小偷从容地将轮胎卸走。
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去自己翻译吧
ladies and gentlemen
i will be giving you a speech today on the history of NBA.
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is the world's premier men's professional basketball league and one of the major professional sports leagues of North America.
The league was founded in New York City, United States on June 6, 1946 as the Basketball Association of America (BAA). The league adopted the name National Basketball Association in the autumn of 1949 after merging with the rival National Basketball League. The league's several international and individual team offices are directed out its head offices located in the Olympic Tower at 645 Fifth Avenue in New York City. NBA Entertainment and NBA TV studios are directed out of offices located in Secaucus, New Jersey.
History
Further information: List of NBA seasons
The Basketball Association of America was founded in 1946 by the owners of the major sports arenas in the Northeast and Midwest, most notably Madison Square Garden in New York City. Although there had been earlier attempts at professional basketball leagues, including the American Basketball League and the National Basketball League, the BAA was the first league to attempt to play primarily in large arenas in major cities. During its early years, though, the quality of play in the BAA was not obviously better than in competing leagues or among leading independent clubs such as the Harlem Globetrotters. For instance the 1947 ABL finalist Baltimore Bullets moved to the BAA and won its 1948 title, followed by the 1948 NBL champion Minneapolis Lakers who won the 1949 BAA title. On November 1, 1946, the Toronto Huskies hosted the New York Knickerbockers which the NBA now regards as its first game to be played in the league's history.
Following the 1949 season, the BAA agreed to merge with the NBL, expanding the National Basketball Association to seventeen franchises located in a mix of large and small cities, as well as large arenas and smaller gymnasiums and armories. In 1950, the NBA consolidated to eleven franchises, a process that continued until 1954, when the league reached its smallest size of eight franchises, all of which are still in the league (the Knickerbockers, Celtics, Warriors, Lakers, Royals/Kings, Pistons, Hawks, and Nationals/76ers).
While contracting, the league also saw its smaller city franchises move to larger cities. The Hawks shifted from "Tri-Cities" (the area now known as the Quad Cities) to Milwaukee and then to St. Louis; the Royals from Rochester to Cincinnati, the Pistons from Fort Wayne to Detroit.
Although Japanese-American Wataru Misaka technically broke the NBA color barrier in the 1947-48 season when he played for the New York Knicks, 1950 is recognized as the year the NBA integrated with the addition of African American players by several teams including Chuck Cooper with the Boston Celtics, Nat "Sweetwater" Clifton with the New York Knicks, and Earl Lloyd with the Washington Capitols. Today, more than fifty years later, the NBA is made up of players of many different races, with diverse backgrounds and cultures. The majority (80%) of NBA players today are African American.
During this period, the Minneapolis Lakers, led by center George Mikan, won five NBA Championships and established themselves as its first dynasty.
To liven up play, the league introduced the 24-second shot clock in 1954.
In 1956, rookie center Bill Russell joined the Boston Celtics, who already featured guard Bob Cousy and coach Red Auerbach, and went on to lead the club to eleven NBA titles in thirteen seasons. Center Wilt Chamberlain entered the league in 1959 and became the dominant individual star of the 1960s, setting new records in scoring and rebounding. Russell's rivalry with Chamberlain became one of the great individual rivalries in the history of team sports.
Through this period, the NBA continued to strengthen with the shift of the Minneapolis Lakers to Los Angeles, the Philadelphia Warriors to San Francisco, and the Syracuse Nationals to Philadelphia, as well as the addition of its first expansion franchises.
In 1967, the league faced a new external threat with the formation of the American Basketball Association. The leagues engaged in a bidding war for talent. The NBA landed the most important college star of the era, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (then known as Lew Alcindor), who together with Oscar Robertson led the Milwaukee Bucks to a title in his second season, and who later played on five Laker championship teams.
However, the NBA's leading scorer, Rick Barry jumped to the ABA, as did four veteran referees—Norm Drucker, Earl Strom, John Vanak and Joe Gushue.
The ABA also succeeded in signing a number of major stars, including Julius Erving, in part because it allowed teams to sign college undergraduates. The NBA expanded rapidly during this period, one purpose being to tie up most viable cities. Following the 1976 season, the leagues reached a settlement that provided for the addition of four ABA franchises to the NBA, raising the number of franchises in the league at that time to 22.
The league added the ABA's innovative three-point field goal beginning in 1979 to open up the game. That same year, rookies Larry Bird and Magic Johnson joined the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers, respectively, initiating a period of significant growth in fan interest in the NBA throughout the country and the world. Bird went on to lead the Celtics to three titles, and Johnson went on to lead the Lakers to five.
Michael Jordan entered the league in 1984 with the Chicago Bulls, providing an even more popular star to support growing interest in the league. By 1989, further expansion had raised the number of teams in the league to 27. During the 1990s, Jordan went on to lead the Bulls to six titles. (1991-1993,1996-1998)
The 1990s also saw greater globalization. The 1992 Olympic basketball Dream Team, the first to use current NBA stars, featured Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, and Magic Johnson. A growing number of NBA star players also began coming from other countries. Initially, many of these players, such as 1994 NBA MVP Hakeem Olajuwon of Nigeria, first played NCAA basketball to enhance their skills. An increasing number, though, have moved directly from playing elsewhere in the world to starring in the NBA, such as 2002 NBA Rookie of the Year and 2006 World Championships MVP Pau Gasol of Spain, first pick in the 2002 NBA Draft Yao Ming of China, 2002 World Championships and Eurobasket 2005 MVP Dirk Nowitzki of Germany, and 2004 Olympic Tournament MVP Manu Ginobili of Argentina. Today, young players from the English-speaking world tend to attend U.S. colleges before playing in the NBA (notable examples are 2005 and 2006 MVP Steve Nash, a Canadian, and 2005 top draft pick Andrew Bogut of Australia), while other international players generally come to the NBA from professional club teams. The NBA is now televised in 212 nations in 42 languages. In 1996 the NBA created a women's league, the Women's National Basketball Association, and in 2001 created an affiliated minor league, the National Basketball Development League, now called the NBA Development League.
In 1998 the NBA owners began a lockout which lasted 191-days and was settled on January 18, 1999. As a result of this lockout the 1998-99 NBA season was reduced from 82 to 50 games, which were all played in early 1999.
Today, the NBA has reached 30 franchises and continues to evolve as one of the premier sports leagues in the world.
Location of NBA teams, conferences and divisionsOn June 29, 2006, a new official game ball was introduced for the 2006-07 season, marking the first change to the ball in over 35 years and only the second in 60 seasons. Manufactured by Spalding, the new ball features a new design and new synthetic material that Spalding claims offers a better grip, feel, and consistency than the original ball. However, many players have been vocal in their disdain for the new ball, saying that it is too sticky when dry, and too slippery when wet. The NBA has promised to do extensive testing of the new ball, but so far has shown no indication that it plans to return to the older leather ball. Also new in 2006, the NBA team jerseys will now be manufactured by Adidas after the company purchased Reebok, the previous kit supplier.
History
Further information: List of NBA seasons
The Basketball Association of America was founded in 1946 by the owners of the major sports arenas in the Northeast and Midwest, most notably Madison Square Garden in New York City. Although there had been earlier attempts at professional basketball leagues, including the American Basketball League and the National Basketball League, the BAA was the first league to attempt to play primarily in large arenas in major cities. During its early years, though, the quality of play in the BAA was not obviously better than in competing leagues or among leading independent clubs such as the Harlem Globetrotters. For instance the 1947 ABL finalist Baltimore Bullets moved to the BAA and won its 1948 title, followed by the 1948 NBL champion Minneapolis Lakers who won the 1949 BAA title. On November 1, 1946, the Toronto Huskies hosted the New York Knickerbockers which the NBA now regards as its first game to be played in the league's history.
Following the 1949 season, the BAA agreed to merge with the NBL, expanding the National Basketball Association to seventeen franchises located in a mix of large and small cities, as well as large arenas and smaller gymnasiums and armories. In 1950, the NBA consolidated to eleven franchises, a process that continued until 1954, when the league reached its smallest size of eight franchises, all of which are still in the league (the Knickerbockers, Celtics, Warriors, Lakers, Royals/Kings, Pistons, Hawks, and Nationals/76ers).
While contracting, the league also saw its smaller city franchises move to larger cities. The Hawks shifted from "Tri-Cities" (the area now known as the Quad Cities) to Milwaukee and then to St. Louis; the Royals from Rochester to Cincinnati, the Pistons from Fort Wayne to Detroit.
Although Japanese-American Wataru Misaka technically broke the NBA color barrier in the 1947-48 season when he played for the New York Knicks, 1950 is recognized as the year the NBA integrated with the addition of African American players by several teams including Chuck Cooper with the Boston Celtics, Nat "Sweetwater" Clifton with the New York Knicks, and Earl Lloyd with the Washington Capitols. Today, more than fifty years later, the NBA is made up of players of many different races, with diverse backgrounds and cultures. The majority (80%) of NBA players today are African American.
During this period, the Minneapolis Lakers, led by center George Mikan, won five NBA Championships and established themselves as its first dynasty.
To liven up play, the league introduced the 24-second shot clock in 1954.
In 1956, rookie center Bill Russell joined the Boston Celtics, who already featured guard Bob Cousy and coach Red Auerbach, and went on to lead the club to eleven NBA titles in thirteen seasons. Center Wilt Chamberlain entered the league in 1959 and became the dominant individual star of the 1960s, setting new records in scoring and rebounding. Russell's rivalry with Chamberlain became one of the great individual rivalries in the history of team sports.
Through this period, the NBA continued to strengthen with the shift of the Minneapolis Lakers to Los Angeles, the Philadelphia Warriors to San Francisco, and the Syracuse Nationals to Philadelphia, as well as the addition of its first expansion franchises.
In 1967, the league faced a new external threat with the formation of the American Basketball Association. The leagues engaged in a bidding war for talent. The NBA landed the most important college star of the era, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (then known as Lew Alcindor), who together with Oscar Robertson led the Milwaukee Bucks to a title in his second season, and who later played on five Laker championship teams.
However, the NBA's leading scorer, Rick Barry jumped to the ABA, as did four veteran referees—Norm Drucker, Earl Strom, John Vanak and Joe Gushue.
The ABA also succeeded in signing a number of major stars, including Julius Erving, in part because it allowed teams to sign college undergraduates. The NBA expanded rapidly during this period, one purpose being to tie up most viable cities. Following the 1976 season, the leagues reached a settlement that provided for the addition of four ABA franchises to the NBA, raising the number of franchises in the league at that time to 22.
The league added the ABA's innovative three-point field goal beginning in 1979 to open up the game. That same year, rookies Larry Bird and Magic Johnson joined the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers, respectively, initiating a period of significant growth in fan interest in the NBA throughout the country and the world. Bird went on to lead the Celtics to three titles, and Johnson went on to lead the Lakers to five.
Michael Jordan entered the league in 1984 with the Chicago Bulls, providing an even more popular star to support growing interest in the league. By 1989, further expansion had raised the number of teams in the league to 27. During the 1990s, Jordan went on to lead the Bulls to six titles. (1991-1993,1996-1998)
The 1990s also saw greater globalization. The 1992 Olympic basketball Dream Team, the first to use current NBA stars, featured Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, and Magic Johnson. A growing number of NBA star players also began coming from other countries. Initially, many of these players, such as 1994 NBA MVP Hakeem Olajuwon of Nigeria, first played NCAA basketball to enhance their skills. An increasing number, though, have moved directly from playing elsewhere in the world to starring in the NBA, such as 2002 NBA Rookie of the Year and 2006 World Championships MVP Pau Gasol of Spain, first pick in the 2002 NBA Draft Yao Ming of China, 2002 World Championships and Eurobasket 2005 MVP Dirk Nowitzki of Germany, and 2004 Olympic Tournament MVP Manu Ginobili of Argentina. Today, young players from the English-speaking world tend to attend U.S. colleges before playing in the NBA (notable examples are 2005 and 2006 MVP Steve Nash, a Canadian, and 2005 top draft pick Andrew Bogut of Australia), while other international players generally come to the NBA from professional club teams. The NBA is now televised in 212 nations in 42 languages. In 1996 the NBA created a women's league, the Women's National Basketball Association, and in 2001 created an affiliated minor league, the National Basketball Development League, now called the NBA Development League.
In 1998 the NBA owners began a lockout which lasted 191-days and was settled on January 18, 1999. As a result of this lockout the 1998-99 NBA season was reduced from 82 to 50 games, which were all played in early 1999.
Today, the NBA has reached 30 franchises and continues to evolve as one of the premier sports leagues in the world.
Location of NBA teams, conferences and divisionsOn June 29, 2006, a new official game ball was introduced for the 2006-07 season, marking the first change to the ball in over 35 years and only the second in 60 seasons. Manufactured by Spalding, the new ball features a new design and new synthetic material that Spalding claims offers a better grip, feel, and consistency than the original ball. However, many players have been vocal in their disdain for the new ball, saying that it is too sticky when dry, and too slippery when wet. The NBA has promised to do extensive testing of the new ball, but so far has shown no indication that it plans to return to the older leather ball. Also new in 2006, the NBA team jerseys will now be manufactured by Adidas after the company purchased Reebok, the previous kit supplier.
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