From 1946 to today
The journey of American basketball
Understand the rules, revisit the games and follow the people who shaped the NBA, WNBA, college basketball, the ABA and Team USA.
A place to begin
Find the story behind the game
Start with the rules, examine a champion, or revisit a game. Each route connects an explanation to the records and further reading.
01 · 3 min read
Understand the season
Learn what a game changes: the standings, a playoff place or a series.
How the NBA Season Works: From Opening Night to the Finals →
02 · 3 min read
Read a team beyond its trophies
Use the 2004 Pistons to examine a roster, a playoff route and the evidence behind a reputation.
How to Read a Championship Team: The 2004 Detroit Pistons →
03 · 3 min read
Look inside a famous game
Meet the college teams behind the Magic–Bird headline, using the 1979 final's game record.
Magic, Bird and the 1979 Final: The Game Behind the Rivalry →
Stories
All stories →NBA
1999
The 1999 Spurs: A First Championship in an Unusual Season
NBA · June 25, 1999
The 1999 Spurs: A First Championship in an Unusual Season
A shortened schedule, a dominant playoff run and a one-point clincher: how to understand San Antonio's first NBA title on the terms of its own season.
3 min read
Team USA · Summer 1992
The Dream Team: How Barcelona 1992 Changed Basketball Forever
Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and nine more legends on one roster. Why the 1992 U.S. Olympic team was assembled, how it played, and what it left behind.
4 min read
ABA
1967–76
The Red, White and Blue Ball: How the ABA Invented Modern Basketball
ABA · 1967–1976
The Red, White and Blue Ball: How the ABA Invented Modern Basketball
The three-point line, the slam dunk contest and Dr. J. The rebel league lasted only nine seasons, but its ideas now define the NBA.
4 min read
NBA · 1956–1969
Eleven Rings: Bill Russell and the Art of Winning
Eleven championships in thirteen seasons, the last two as the NBA's first Black head coach. How Bill Russell redefined what a great player is for.
4 min read
NBA · June 2016
Down 3–1: How the 2016 Cavaliers Pulled Off the Greatest Finals Comeback
Against a 73–9 Golden State team, Cleveland faced elimination three straight times. The block, the shot and the stop that ended a 52-year drought.
4 min read
WNBA · 1997–2000
Four for Four: The Houston Comets and the WNBA's First Dynasty
The WNBA's first four championships all went to one team. How Cynthia Cooper, Sheryl Swoopes and Tina Thompson built a dynasty — and why the Comets no longer exist.
3 min read
Play
All games →Journeys
All journeys →4 stories + quiz
College Basketball's Big Moments
Texas Western in 1966, Wooden's UCLA, NC State's 1983 run and Laettner's shot — the stories that shaped March.
4 stories + quiz
Finals: Dynasties and Comebacks
Four NBA Finals stories — Russell's Celtics, Jordan's last shot, the Spurs' answer to 2013 and Cleveland's 3–1 comeback — then a quiz.
4 stories + quiz
Women's Basketball Milestones
From Pat Summitt's Tennessee and UConn's 111 straight wins to the first WNBA dynasty and the league's first dunk.
Latest champions
History →Most recent title in our records for each competition.
Coming up in the NBA
This season →- BOS @ DETTue, Oct 20 · 3:00 PM ET
- PHI @ NYKTue, Oct 20 · 7:00 PM ET
- OKC @ SASTue, Oct 20 · 9:30 PM ET
- MIN @ MIAWed, Oct 21 · 7:30 PM ET
Schedule data as of 2026-10-12. Tip-off times Eastern.