Bet on the Top NBA teams

The NBA teams are located all over the U.S. and the league is one of the most popular sports leagues in the country.

We have a look at all NBA teams and are going to find out how many NBA teams are there and how many teams that makes the NBA playoffs. Also, we are going to have a look at the NBA worst teams and on the contrary the best teams in the NBA. And of course, we will provide you with a complete NBA teams list.

Local Pennsylvania Teams

When scanning the NBA teams list, you find out that Pennsylvania has one team on the roster. The Philadelphia 76ers have been in PA since 1963 when they relocated from New York. While this team is the only one currently in PA, there have been a few others over time.

Local Pennsylvania teams

The Philadelphia Warriors were in PA between 1946 to 1962. After they moved to San Francisco, they became the Golden State Warriors. Since then, the Philadelphia 76ers have called Philadelphia their basketball home.

There have been Pennsylvanian basketball teams in other leagues too, such as:

  • Pittsburgh Ironmen (Basketball Association of America)
  • Pittsburgh Condors (American Basketball Association)
  • Steel City Yellow Jackets (American Basketball Association)
  • Erie BayHawks (NBA G League)
  • Harrisburg Horizon (Eastern Basketball Alliance)
  • Harrisburg Lady Horizon (Women’s Eastern Basketball Alliance)

The 76ers may only have entered PA in 1963, but it’s history with the NBA goes further back. The team formed in 1946 as the Syracuse Nationals. They are one of eight teams from the original NBA teams, making them one of the oldest NBA teams still around. 

All NBA Teams and Conference Structure 

Below you find a complete NBA teams list with all the NBA teams. The NBA is split into two main Conference Teams: Eastern and Western. Each category holds three divisions based on location. So how many NBA teams are there out there? The number of teams in NBA is a total of 30 teams. Here are the NBA team structures including all nba teams.

NBA Eastern Conference Teams                                             

Atlantic DivisionCentral DivisionSoutheast Division
Boston CelticsChicago BullsAtlanta Hawks
Brooklyn NetsCleveland CavaliersCharlotte Hornets
New York KnicksDetroit PistonsMiami Heat
Philadelphia 76ersIndiana PacersOrlando Magic
Toronto RaptorsMilwaukee BucksWashington Wizards

NBA Western Conference Teams

Pacific DivisionSouthwest DivisionNorthwest Division
Golden State WarriorsDallas MavericksDenver Nuggets
Los Angeles ClippersHouston RocketsMinnesota Timberwolves
Los Angeles LakersMemphis GrizzliesOklahoma City Thunder
Phoenix SunsNew Orleans PelicansPortland Trailblazers
Sacramento KingsSan Antonio SpursUtah Jazz

NBA playoffs – How many teams make the NBA playoffs?

A usual question for NBA fans is how many teams that makes the NBA playoffs each year. The answer is that the playoffs actually consist of the top eight teams from each NBA conference, making it a total of 16 teams in the NBA playoffs.

Teams rank according to win-loss records through the regular season. This process is called seeding, where the team with the best season record is the number 1 seed. More about the NBA rules you can find out here.

The NBA playoffs

The playoffs play out in a traditional bracket format, or “playoff tree”. In other words, the winner of one series will play against the winner of another series. Teams will play against each other in a best-of-seven format, which eliminates the losing team from the bracket.

Playoff Brackets 

Here is an example of what the playoff brackets look like:

Quarter-FinalsRound 11st vs 8th – 2nd vs 7th – 3rd vs 6th – 4th vs 5th
Semi-FinalsRound 21–8 vs 4–5 winners – 2–7 vs 3–6 winners
Conference FinalsRound 3Semi-Final Winners
NBA FinalsRound 4Conference Winners

Playoff Game Location Framework 

There is also a location framework for the playoffs:

Location 12 GamesHome Advantage Team
Location 22 Games 
Location 11 Game (if necessary)Home Advantage Team
Location 21 Game (if necessary) 
Location 11 Game (if necessary)Home Advantage Team

 Wildcards & Byes 

The term ‘Wildcards’ referred to teams in each conference that didn’t qualify in their divisions for the playoffs normally, but this hasn’t been in use since the 2015-2016 season. 

Bye weeks, while in use in the NFL, don’t have utility in the NBA post-season. Instead, the reward for a #1 seed is getting favorable, winnable matchups in the first couple weeks of the playoffs.

If you bet on a wildcard to win the playoffs, of course you get good odds at the different betting sites in Philly.

NBA Team Performance  

It’s easier to bet on top NBA teams when you look at team performance. Historical statistics are a good indication of patterns and expectations, where you can see what might unfold in an upcoming season. It’s a decent betting strategy for any NBA team you want to bet on in Pennsylvania.

We’re going to look at the 76ers performance in the NBA, followed by the legacy of the top NBA teams.

Philadelphia 76ers team legacy and past performance 

The Philadelphia 76ers have a long history of winning a few NBA seasons and are considered as one of the best NBA teams. As the Syracuse Nationals, the first Eastern Division victories came in 1950, 1952, and 1955. While they lost the NBA finals in the first two games, they snatched the NBA Championship in 1955.

After they became the 76ers in 1963, the first divisional win came with the 1965-1966 season. This fantastic victory preceded more division wins for over the next two seasons. They lost two NBA finals again but won the NBA cup in 1967.

The Sixers saw a lousy run from 1971 to 1976, ranging between fourth and eight places in the East Conference. Their performance picked up after that with some first and third place division results. With three more NBA Finals losses, the team wouldn’t win the NBA cup again until the 1982-83 season. 

Team performance dropped again, with the worst result of 15th in the 1995-96 season. Where the Sixers had participated in numerous playoffs in their NBA history, they went seven seasons without qualifying for playoff games. 

The closest the Sixers came to snatching the championship again was in 2001. However, they lost in the finals. In the last two seasons, they finished third, while currently standing 6th in the East Conference.

Which are the Best NBA teams and past performance 

Every season, the NBA posts power rankings for the best NBA teams. It’s based on past performance in previous seasons before the current season begins. During the season, the NBA updates the rankings to show whether teams improved or dropped in performance.

If we look at the best teams in NBA right now, experts are pretty aligned that these are the top 5 teams right now:

  • Golden State Warriors
    The team from San Fransisco have been in top for a long time
  • Boston Celtics
    Boston celtics have been one of the best teams of several years. They often advances to at least the conference final.
  • Milwaukee Bucks
    Milwaikee won the finals 2021 and are always a big threat for the NBA championship
  • Memphis Grizzlies
    The Grizzlies haven’t hade so great results last years. But many experts think they will be one of the teams with best results in the near future.
  • Phoenix Suns
    The Suns lost the finals season 2021, so they should definitely be counted in for this list of the best NBA teams.

Most of these teams have been top ranked for several years. Its very rare that one of the worst NBA teams one year, turn around and become one of the best teams the next season.

Usually the top teams stay there for several years, with small changes where some teams go from mid-level team to a top team with good win streak for example.

NBA all star teams

The NBA All Star Game is played each year with the best players from the basketball league in USA. Historically the teams have been consists of the best players in each conference – The Eastern Conference and the Western Conference.

However, in 2018 the NBA changed the format to a totally different style. It was decided that two team captains should be picked from the league. These two All Star Team captains then have the luxury to pick their own team.

NBA all star teams

The captains can then choose their team players from a pool of all stars to create the best possible NBA All Star Team. As a standard there are a pool of 60 players from each conference that can be picked by the team captains.

NBA worst teams

We have talked a lot about which teams are the best in NBA and also about the All Star Teams with the best players. Now we are going to discuss the worst teams in NBA.

Of course there are several factors to include when deciding which teams that should get the honorably mention as the worst team in NBA. We have looked into the last seasons results, which of course is the easiest way to find out what teams that not are performing at a good level.

Without mutual order, here are the five worst teams in NBA right now according to us:

  • Houston Rockets
  • Orland Magic
  • Detroit Pistons
  • Oklahoma City Thunder
  • Indiana Pacers

Notable team rivalries in the NBA 

Many gamblers define the NBA by the top rivalries in its history. They use these stats when preparing pre-match bets for the same rivalries. While things can change, it provides an idea of the possible game patterns that teams could repeat.

The Detroit Pistons and Chicago Bulls have rivalries that go back as far as the 1980s and 1990s. In the 1988-1989 season, Michael Jordan was the key player for the Bulls. The Pistons used this to their advantage by fouling Jordan as much as possible.

An older rivalry dates back to 1965 two years after the 76ers formed. They faced the Boston Celtics in the playoffs of the Eastern Conference. With the Celtics leading by 110-109 in the last few seconds, the Sixers had one last shot with the ball in hand. John Havlicek stole it back, and the Celtics won the NBA championship after that.

This rivalry would continue for decades to come. After 1977, they faced off in the NBA five times within nine seasons. While the Celtics had beaten them several times in the past, the Sixers won three of the five matchups.

These are just a few examples of NBA rivalries. Here are a few more instances:

YearRivalry
1959Celtics vs Knicks
196576ers vs Celtics
1970Knicks vs Bullets
1984Celtics vs Knicks
1985Celtics vs Knicks
1989Pistons vs Bulls
1994Knicks vs Bulls
2008Celtics vs Knicks
2010Celtics vs Knicks

Notable NBA players in Pennsylvania 

Pennsylvania has been home to some of the best NBA players of all time. Some of them hold Hall of Fame titles, while fans refer to others as superstars. We’re going to take a look at some of the most notable NBA players to hail from PA.

The late Kobe Bryant inherited his love for basketball from his father Joe Bryant, who was also an NBA player. He started playing in Lower Merion High School, where they recognized him as one of PA’s top players. He joined the NBA in 1996 with the Hornets, and then transferred to the Lakers.

Wilt Chamberlain is another player who was born in PA. He was such an exceptional player, earning numerous awards in different categories. One of the NBA teams he played for was the 76ers. He was listed as the 9th ‘Top NBA Player Of All Time’ and the 9th ‘Best Athlete Of All Time.’

T. J. McConnell also played for the Sixers, with an award for the 36th ‘Best Philadelphia 76er Of All Time.’ He earned all-state honors in high school. In 2019, he transferred to the Indian Pacers.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Yes. Pennsylvania have on basketball team. The team is called The Philadelphia 76ers.

The owner of Philadelphia 76ers are the sports and entertainment company Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment.

The team Philadelphia 76ers are worth around $2.5 billion according to experts.

Author

This site uses cookies to enhance user experience. See cookie policy