Sports fans in Canada will know all about the National Basketball Association as the sport is one of the top activities within the country and one of the favourite pastimes for many who love to watch the competition unfold when it takes place on TV or at the venues. Check out our NBA betting page for some information on how to place bets on the NBA and where you can place them in Canada.
What is the NBA and how does it operate?
The NBA is the premier basketball league, with many who continue to check out the NBA schedule suggesting that it is the very best league in the entire sport. Indeed, it would be hard to argue with fans as the league continues to attract the best players from all around the world, including players from Canada.
The league – which typically starts in the last week of October and runs through to June for those who are fortunate enough to reach the NBA Finals – involves a total of 30 different teams that are split up into equal groups.
Half of these teams will be entered into the Eastern Conference, whereas the other 15 will be placed into the Western Conference. These Conferences are all split, as well, with each franchise organisation being placed into their own division: Atlantic, Central, Southeast, Northwest, Pacific and Southwest.
A total of 82 matches are traditionally played by each team in the regular season, with each team playing 41 games at home and 41 matches whilst on the road. This makes the NBA Canada schedule a little difficult for some fans, but they also get their fair share with the Toronto Raptors being the only team in the NBA standings each year.
In addition, the NBA Canada schedule could see the team from the region competing in the NBA playoffs if they do well but they will need to come in the top eight of the NBA standings in order to progress.
Each match is played as a best-of-seven series, with the winner advancing to the next round before the final two meet in the NBA Finals.
NBA Teams
As highlighted above, there is a total of 30 teams that compete within the NBA, but there is only one team in the NBA standings that is not located within the United States of America.
Representing the whole of Canada, although not always featuring NBA players from Canada, the Toronto Raptors have had a mixed few seasons, where they have shown they can win Championships, but can also struggle for consistency and be rather poor at times.
The other 29 teams that are in the NBA standings are located all around the rest of the country, which can make it hard for the NBA Canada fans to get around and see teams like the Raptors play, although the NBA Canada schedule is one that can be favourable at times.
Are there any other events?
There are a couple of different events that take place within the NBA schedule that will keep things very interesting for followers of the sport.
There is the NBA Draft that takes place annually and sees all of the best players that are eligible to be selected by teams for the upcoming season that will ultimately look to help make the team better. Players will typically be from a number of the best sports college, which is why there are a number of NBA players from Canada who get selected often.
The NBA Draft will usually take place at the end of June, whilst there is also the NBA All-Star Game that will take place in February, which will be like a festival of celebration for the sport and see the best players from each Conference compete on two teams against each other for a bit of fun.
Summary
The NBA is one of the most popular sports to take place in the United States of America and Canada, which is why so many will continue to check out the NBA Canada schedule when it is released, whilst also looking at the NBA standings throughout the season to check on how their team is doing.
