The Atlantic Division What Teams are in the NBA’s Atlantic Division? The Eastern Conference Divisions & Teams What divisions are in the NBA’s Eastern Conference? In the modern NBA, divisions are essentially meaningless in terms of playoff seeding. With that change, NBA divisions lost their last bit of influence. However, NBA owners agreed to do away with the format in 2015, opting to seed the entire 1-8 seeds solely by regular season record. Before, the divisional winners were guaranteed a top-4 seed for the playoffs. The seeding changed again starting in the 2015-2016 season. The seeding was changed so that the top 4 seeds in each conference would be set by regular season record only, ensuring that the teams with the best records in each conference wouldn’t meet until the Conference Finals barring an upset. Assuming there were no upsets meant that the two best teams in each conference would play each other in the second round, which was disadvantageous for both the NBA and the teams. The NBA saw that if two teams had the best record in their conference but were in the same division, they would be seeded 1st and 4th for the playoffs. However, they still keep the rule that divisional winners would be guaranteed a top-3 seed for the playoffs. This caused the NBA to restructure the divisions, moving from two in each conference to three. In 2004, the NBA added the Charlotte Hornets, the thirtieth team in the league. The NBA structured it this way so the top two teams in the conference wouldn’t play each other before the Conference Finals. This meant that the winner of each division was awarded the number one and number two seed for the playoff. The 2006-2007 Divisional Rule Changesīefore 2004, the NBA only had two divisions in each conference. The rules also changed in the 2017 season. In the past, they were significant, with the top seed in each conference being reserved for the division winner, which the NBA changed in 2006. If you want the truth, besides the playoff seeding, divisions don’t matter all that much in the NBA anymore. The team with the most division titles is the Los Angeles Lakers, who have won the Pacific Division 23 times. Of course, division winners also get the bragging rights that come with being on top. Likewise, if a team has numerous above-average teams, such as the Pacific Division, the records may be worse because they’ll have to battle it with other top teams more. ![]() Because divisional opponents play each other more than any other team, a division with three incredibly weak teams might lead to the top team having a better record. The only other impact divisions will play is in overall team record, especially for teams with several very strong or very weak teams in their division. There are some other minor reasons when we discuss if NBA divisions really do matter, but all in all, they don’t. ![]() This means teams who do better in their division get a better playoff spot. While it isn’t common, in the event of a tie with a team’s record, the team with a higher standing in their division will be awarded the higher playoff seed in their conference standings. 30 games played against the Opposite Conference Opponentsĭivisions might play a factor in a team’s playoff seeding.36 games played against Conference Opponents.16 games played against Divisional Opponents.An NBA regular season schedule for a team will look like this: ![]() With 82 games in the regular season, divisional opponents will play each other more than any other league team. This means that each of the five teams in the division will play sixteen games total against their division opponents. To ease this load, the NBA has each division team play the other division opponents four total times.Įach team in a division will play two games away and two games at home against every other divisional team. ![]() Since the NBA encompasses all of the United States (and Toronto!), teams spend a ton of time traveling. The NBA splits teams into divisions geographically to help travel logistics for NBA teams during the regular season. Keep reading to learn which teams are in which divisions, some notable players that play in those divisions, and some division history. Each division has five total teams, and with all six divisions accounted for, it makes up the 30 NBA teams in the league. The six NBA divisions are the Atlantic, Central, and Southeast Divisions in the Eastern Conference and the Northwest, Pacific, and Southwest Divisions in the Western Conference. And while we may not be in the heyday of inter-division rivalries, some people still aren’t aware that the NBA has divisions. Divisions are the forgotten child of the NBA regional sorting, with most people only considering each team’s respective conference.
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