When Does Basketball Season Start

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The 2017-18 NBA season is the 72nd season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The regular season began on October 17, 2017, earlier than previous seasons to reduce the number of "back-to-back" games teams are scheduled to play, with the 2017 runners-up Cleveland Cavaliers hosting a game against the Boston Celtics at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. Christmas games will be played on December 25. The 2018 NBA All-Star Game will be played on February 18, 2018, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. The regular season will end on April 11, 2018 and the playoffs will begin on April 14, 2018.

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Retirement

• On July 17, 2017, Paul Pierce signed a ceremonial contract with the Boston Celtics and officially retired as a Celtic after playing 19 seasons and winning one championship with the Celtics.
• On July 19, 2017, James Jones was announced to be the vice president of basketball operations for the Phoenix Suns, which signified his retirement after playing 14 seasons and winning two championships with the Miami Heat and one championship with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
• On August 4, 2017, Jason Maxiell signed a ceremonial contract with the Detroit Pistons and officially retired after playing 14 seasons.
• On August 15, 2017, Tayshaun Prince was announced to be assistant general manager for the Memphis Grizzlies, which signified his retirement after playing 15 seasons and winning one championship with the Detroit Pistons.
• On September 2, 2017, Primo? Brezec announced his retirement after 21 professional seasons. Brezec had played in Russia, Cyprus, Kuwait and his native country Slovenia since last playing in the NBA during the 2009-10 NBA season.
• On October 23, 2017, Ron Artest was hired as player development coach for the South Bay Lakers, the Los Angeles Lakers' NBA G League affiliate, thus ending his 18-year playing career with the NBA. During his career, he won one championship with the L.A. Lakers.
• On November 19, 2017, David Lee announced his retirement from the NBA via Instagram. Lee won an NBA championship with the Golden State Warriors back in 2015.
• On December 11, 2017, Matt Barnes announced his retirement from the NBA via Instagram. Barnes won an NBA championship with the Golden State Warriors in June 2017.

Free agency

Free agency negotiations began on July 1. Players began signing on July 6, after the July moratorium ended.

Coaching changes

Off-season

For the first time since the inauguration of the BAA, there would be no coaching changes entering the regular season. In fact, the 536 days from Dave Joerger being fired as coach of the Memphis Grizzlies to the day the Phoenix Suns fired Earl Watson as head coach would be the longest period in NBA history without any coaching changes occur.

In-season

• On October 22, 2017, the Phoenix Suns fired head coach Earl Watson and replaced him with the team's associate coach Jay Triano as interim head coach for the rest of the season.
• On November 27, 2017, the Memphis Grizzlies fired head coach David Fizdale and replaced him with the team's associate head coach J. B. Bickerstaff.

When Does Basketball Season Start Video

Preseason

The preseason began on September 30 and ended on October 13.

International games

The Golden State Warriors and Minnesota Timberwolves played two preseason games in China, at Shenzhen on October 5 and Shanghai on October 8. Minnesota won the first game 111-97, while Golden State emerged victorious in the second one, 142-110.

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Regular season

The regular season began on October 17, 2017. Christmas Day games will be played on December 25, 2017. The regular season will end on April 11, 2018.

By conference

Notes

• * - division leader

International games

On August 9, 2017, the NBA announced that the Brooklyn Nets would play two regular season games at Mexico City Arena in Mexico City, Mexico. On December 7, 2017, the Nets would play against the Oklahoma City Thunder and on December 9, 2017, they would match up against the Miami Heat. The Nets would win 100-95 over the Thunder in their first game, but would lose to the Heat 101-89 in their second game.

On August 10, 2017, the NBA announced that the Philadelphia 76ers would play the Boston Celtics at The O2 Arena in London, United Kingdom on January 11, 2018.

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Statistics

Individual statistic leaders

Individual game highs

Team statistic leaders

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Awards

Players of the Week

The following players were named the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week.

Players of the Month

The following players were named the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Month.

Rookies of the Month

The following players were named the Eastern and Western Conference Rookies of the Month.

Coaches of the Month

The following coaches were named the Eastern and Western Conference Coaches of the Month.

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Arenas

• This is the Detroit Pistons' first season at Little Caesars Arena after playing at The Palace of Auburn Hills from 1988 to 2017. The team played their first game there against the Charlotte Hornets on October 18, 2017. This also marks the first time the Pistons have regularly played in the city of Detroit since 1978.
• This is the Milwaukee Bucks' final season at the BMO Harris Bradley Center, their home since 1988. The team will play its final game there on April 9 against the Orlando Magic. The team is scheduled to move into the new Wisconsin Entertainment and Sports Center prior to the start of the 2018-19 NBA season. The team played a "Return to the MECCA" game at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena (the former Milwaukee or "MECCA" Arena, their home from 1968 until 1988) on October 26 against the Boston Celtics as part of the team's 50th season celebration.
• The Washington Wizards home arena, the Verizon Center, was renamed Capital One Arena.
• The Toronto Raptors owners Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment announce that their Air Canada Centre arena will be renamed Scotiabank Arena at the end of the 2017-18 season.

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Media

This is the second season of the current nine-year contracts with ABC, ESPN, TNT, and NBA TV.

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Uniforms

• Nike will be the official on-court apparel provider beginning with the 2017-18 season. During this time, each team will be provided with four different jersey apparel that will be displayed throughout the seasons: the "Association Edition", "Icon Edition", "Statement Edition" (tentatively called the "Athlete's Mindset Edition"), and "City Edition" (tentatively called the "Community Edition") jerseys will replace the more typical home and road jersey ideas with alternatives also being included every now and then as well. In addition to those jerseys, eight teams will also be provided a "Classic Edition" jersey to commemorate some of their past designs throughout the season.
• The Charlotte Hornets will use an Air Jordan-branded apparel, which is endorsed by their owner Michael Jordan and is owned by Nike.
• The Cleveland Cavaliers debuted their new uniforms for the 2017-18 season after unveiling the new logo on May 31, 2017.
• The Detroit Pistons debuted their new uniforms for the 2017-18 season after unveiling the new logo on May 17, 2017.
• The Indiana Pacers debuted their new uniforms for the 2017-18 season after unveiling new alternate logos and home floor along with their uniforms on July 28, 2017.
• The Minnesota Timberwolves debuted their new uniforms for the 2017-18 season after unveiling the new logo on April 11, 2017, and unveiling their new uniforms on August 10, 2017.
• The Portland Trail Blazers debuted their new uniforms for the 2017-18 season after unveiling the new logo on May 8, 2017, and unveiling their new uniforms on July 29, 2017.

Uniform sponsorships

Advertisements begin to appear on league uniforms starting this season. As of November 13, 2017, nineteen teams have confirmed to sign uniform sponsorship deals:

• Atlanta Hawks - Sharecare
• Boston Celtics - General Electric
• Brooklyn Nets - Infor
• Charlotte Hornets - LendingTree
• Cleveland Cavaliers - Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company
• Denver Nuggets - Western Union
• Detroit Pistons - Flagstar Bank
• Golden State Warriors - Rakuten
• Los Angeles Lakers - Wish
• Miami Heat - Ultimate Software
• Milwaukee Bucks - Harley-Davidson
• Minnesota Timberwolves - Fitbit
• New Orleans Pelicans - Zatarain's
• New York Knicks - Squarespace
• Orlando Magic - The Walt Disney Company
• Philadelphia 76ers - StubHub
• Sacramento Kings - Blue Diamond Growers
• Toronto Raptors - Sun Life Financial
• Utah Jazz - Qualtrics

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Notable occurrences

• On July 6, 2017, the NBA unveiled an update to its logo, featuring new typography and a modified color scheme.
• The regular season started eight days earlier than the previous season. This move by the NBA aims for fewer "back-to-back" games, even fewer than the previous season which had already reached an all-time low to help address teams that are "resting" their superstars.
• The NBA decreased the maximum number of timeouts in a regulation game from 18 to 14. The three team timeouts during the last two minutes of the game were also decreased to two per team in the last three minutes to improve the flow and pace of the game.
• The trade deadline was moved from four days after the NBA All-Star Game to ten days before it, so teams can settle their rosters before the All-Star break.
• Free-throw shooters will be assessed a delay-of-game violation if they venture outside of the three-point line in between attempts.
• The NBA also added two-way contracted players, signifying an increasing partnership between the NBA and the newly branded NBA G League.
• Referees can now assess dangerous closeouts of defenders to jump shooters with little space to land for a technical or a flagrant foul. Informally dubbed as the "Zaza rule". Also, officials can now assess if a player is in a shooting motion when determining if a perimeter foul is a shooting or a common foul. The type of foul will be determined on the sequencing of the player's movement if the foul happened before or after the player starts a shooting motion. Additionally, they can also assess an offensive foul if an offensive player intentionally lunged into the defender or locked arms to create contact, a rule informally dubbed as the "Harden rule".
• On September 28, 2017, the NBA board of governors approved the changes to draft lottery system to discourage teams from losing on purpose. Starting with the 2018-19 NBA season, the teams with three worst records will have equal odds at the #1 pick. In addition, the revised draft lottery will consist of selecting the top four teams instead of the usual three that occurred for over two decades. The approval for the change was nearly unanimous, with only the Oklahoma City Thunder voting against the change and the Dallas Mavericks abstaining from voting.
• On October 3, 2017, the NBA and NBPA announced the changes to the NBA All-Star Game format. The vote leaders for each conferences will be assigned as team captains and will be able to select players from the rest of the starters and the reserves, regardless of the conference they play in, to form their own teams. The newly formed teams will also play for a charity of choice to help the games remain competitive. This marks the first time, the conferences will not play against each other since the inaugural All-Star game. Selection process will remain the same.
• On October 17, 2017, during the season opener with the Cleveland Cavaliers against the Boston Celtics, Gordon Hayward landed awkwardly on his ankle with his behind after attempting an alley-oop off a pass from Kyrie Irving. He suffered a dislocated ankle and a fractured tibia five minutes into the game in his debut as a Celtic.
• On October 18, 2017, Brooklyn Nets point guard Jeremy Lin fell to the ground hard after making a layup when playing the Indiana Pacers, causing him to miss the entire season. He suffered a ruptured patellar tendon of his right knee.
• That same day, in the season opening game for the Portland Trail Blazers and Phoenix Suns, the Trail Blazers would defeat the Suns 124-76 in what would be the greatest deficit for a season-opening game in league history.
• On October 25, 2017, the Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James, normally a frontcourt player, recorded his 56th career triple-double and 1st career triple-double as starting point guard.
• On October 28, 2017, Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook became the first player in NBA history to record a triple double against all 29 opposing teams.
• On November 3, 2017, LeBron James scored 57 points for the night and his 29,000th career point, becoming the youngest player, and just the seventh overall, to reach that mark (32 years, 309 days). LeBron James also passed both Kevin Garnett for 12th on the NBA's all-time field goals list (with 10,506 career field goals to his name) and passed John Havlicek for 11th on the NBA's all-time field goals list with 10,514 career field goals.
• On November 7, 2017, Ben Simmons became the only player in NBA history with at least 170 points, 100 rebounds and 80 assists in his team's first 10 games.
• On November 7, 2017, the Sacramento Kings set a record for most points scored before a starter scored. The King's bench scored the team's first 29 points before Willie Cauley-Stein scored a free throw at 4:08 of the second quarter. The previous record was held by the Milwaukee Bucks at 23 points set on April 5, 2011 against the Orlando Magic.
• On November 11, 2017, Lonzo Ball became the youngest player in NBA history to record a triple-double at 20 years and 15 days old. He recorded 19 points, 13 assists and 12 rebounds. The previous record holder was LeBron James' at 20 years and 20 days old.
• On November 14, 2017, the Boston Celtics became the first team in NBA history to win at least 13 straight games after starting the season 0-2. The winning streak ended at 16 when they lost to the Miami Heat on November 22, 2017.
• On November 15, 2017, the Atlanta Hawks set a franchise record for their largest margin of victory in a win against the Sacramento Kings at 46 points, 126-80. The previous record was set on February 12, 1965 at a 44-point margin when the St. Louis Hawks beat the Baltimore Bullets, 144-100.
• On November 28, 2017, LeBron James was ejected for the first time in his career after contesting a non-call following a drive to the basket against the Miami Heat. He had gone 1,081 games without disqualification.
• On December 1, 2017, Donovan Mitchell of the Utah Jazz set a rookie franchise record after scoring 41 points against the New Orleans Pelicans. So far, it is the highest scoring game for a rookie this season.
• On December 1, 2017, Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors passed Jason Kidd for eighth place on the NBA's all-time list for three-pointers made.
• On December 4, 2017, Stephen Curry hit his 2,000th career three-pointer. He became the fastest to reach the milestone at 597 games, 225 games fewer than Ray Allen, the previous record-holder.
• On December 11, 2017, Carmelo Anthony of the Oklahoma City Thunder passed Vince Carter for 22nd on the NBA all-time scoring list.
• On December 14, 2017, Vince Carter moved to 50th all-time in career steals, passing Tim Hardaway in the process.
• On December 16, 2017, Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra surpassed Pat Riley for most wins in franchise history with his 455th career win.
• On December 18, 2017, during halftime against the Golden State Warriors, the Los Angeles Lakers held a ceremony to retire both of Kobe Bryant's jersey numbers in 8 and 24.
• That same day, the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame updates the length for players, coaches, and referees eligible for entry into the Hall of Fame to decrease by three years, allowing names like Steve Nash, Chauncey Billups, Ray Allen, and Jermaine O'Neal to potentially enter earlier than originally expected.

Source of the article : Wikipedia