The National Basketball Association (NBA), founded in June of 1946, is the top professional basketball league in the United States of America. The league, commissioned by David Stern, consists of 30 teams, organized by two conferences—East and West—and three divisions within each respective conference. Fans all over buy tickets to games or tune in on television regularly to watch their favorite teams play during the 82-game regular season. Each team competes for one of the eight available playoff spots (per conference). Every year, the two teams that survive the three rounds of best-of-seven, elimination style playoffs earn the honor to play in the NBA Finals, hoping to earn the title of the best team in the league.