Teams play basketball.
Basketball . While most often played as a team sport with five players on each side , three-on-three , two-on-two , and one-on-one competitions are also common . The National Basketball Association Conference Finals are the Eastern and Western championship series of the National Basketball Association ( NBA ) , a major professional basketball league in North America . The National Basketball Association ( NBA ) is the major men 's professional basketball league in North America , and is widely considered to be the premier men 's professional basketball league in the world . It has 30 teams ( 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada ) , and is an active member of USA Basketball ( USAB ) , which is recognized by FIBA ( also known as the International Basketball Federation ) as the national governing body for basketball in the United States .