By the early 1980s the NBA was plagued by money-losing franchises, low attendance, declining television ratings, and limited national appeal. The league soon rebounded under the leadership of David Stern, NBA commissioner from 1984, who helped transform it into an international entertainment company. Aggressive marketing highlighted star players such as Magic Johnson (Johnson, Magic), Larry Bird, and, especially, Michael Jordan (Jordan, Michael). Other innovations included league limits on player salaries, lucrative broadcast rights for network and cable television, and expanded All-Star Game festivities.

The NBA membership was divided into two conferences, each with three divisions. There were 30 teams, aligned as follows:

The top-ranking teams at the end of each season engage in a play-off to determine the NBA champion, which claims the title of world champion. Probably the most outstanding team in NBA history was the Boston Celtics, which, led by centre Bill Russell (Russell, Bill), won 11 of 13 titles from 1956/57 to 1968/69. Other dominant clubs were the Minneapolis (later Los Angeles) Lakers in the 1950s, the Los Angeles Lakers in the '80s, and the Chicago Bulls in the '90s.