2017–18 NBA season

The 2017–18 NBA season will be the 72nd season of the National Basketball Association. The regular season will begin on October 17, 2017, with the 2017 runners-up Cleveland Cavaliers hosting a game against the Boston Celtics at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.^[1] 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.

Transactions

Retirement

• On July 17, 2017, Paul Pierce signed a ceremonious contract with the Boston Celtics and officially retired as a Celtic.^[2]
• On July 19, 2017, James Jones was announced to be the vice president of basketball operations for the Phoenix Suns, which signified his retirement from playing in the NBA.^[3]
• On August 4, 2017, Jason Maxiell announced his retirement, following his signing of a ceremonious contract with the Detroit Pistons.^[4]

Free agency

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

Coaching changes

Preseason

The preseason will begin on September 30 and will end on October 13.

Regular season

The regular season will begin on October 17, 2017. Christmas Day games will be played on December 25, 2017.^[1] The regular season will end on April 11, 2018.

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.^[5]

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.^[6]

Arenas

• This will be the Detroit Pistons' first season at Little Caesars Arena after playing at The Palace of Auburn Hills from 1988 to 2017. The team will play their first game there in October. This will also mark the first time the Pistons have regularly played in the city of Detroit since 1978.^[7]
• This will be the Milwaukee Bucks' final season at the Bradley Center, their home since 1988. The team is scheduled to move into the new Wisconsin Entertainment and Sports Center prior to the start of the 2018–19 NBA season.^[8]
• The Washington Wizards' home arena, the Verizon Center, was renamed to Capital One Arena.^[9]

Media

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

Uniforms

• Nike will be the official on-court apparel provider beginning with the 2017–18 season.^[10] 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", "Athlete's Mindset Edition", and "Community Edition" jerseys will replace the more typical home and road jersey ideas with alternatives also being included 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 the Air Jordan-branded apparel, which is endorsed by their owner Michael Jordan and is owned by Nike.^[11]
• The Cleveland Cavaliers will debut their new uniforms for the 2017–18 season after unveiling the new logo on May 31, 2017.^[12]
• The Detroit Pistons will debut their new uniforms for the 2017–18 season after unveiling the new logo on May 17, 2017.^[13]
• The Indiana Pacers will debut their new uniforms for the 2017–18 season after unveiling new alternate logos and home floor along with their uniforms on July 28, 2017.^[14][15]
• The Minnesota Timberwolves will debut their new uniforms for the 2017–18 season after unveiling the new logo on April 11, 2017.^[16]
• The Portland Trail Blazers will debut their new uniforms for the 2017–18 season after unveiling the new logo on May 8, 2017,^[17] and unveiling their new uniforms on July 29, 2017.^[18]

Uniform sponsorships

Advertisements begin to appear on league uniforms starting this season. As of August 10, 2017, twelve teams have confirmed to sign uniform sponsorship deals:

• Boston Celtics – General Electric^[19]
• Brooklyn Nets – Infor^[20]
• Cleveland Cavaliers – Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company^[21]
• Denver Nuggets – Western Union^[22]
• Detroit Pistons - Flagstar Bank^[23]
• Milwaukee Bucks – Harley-Davidson^[24]
• Minnesota Timberwolves – Fitbit^[25]
• Orlando Magic – The Walt Disney Company^[26]
• Philadelphia 76ers – StubHub^[27]
• Sacramento Kings – Blue Diamond Growers^[28]
• Toronto Raptors – Sun Life Financial^[29]
• Utah Jazz – Qualtrics^[30]

Notable occurrences

• On July 6, 2017, the NBA unveiled an update to its logo, featuring new typography and a modified color scheme.^[31]
• The regular season will start eight days earlier than the previous season. This move by the NBA aims for fewer "back-to-back" games even lower than the previous season which have already reached an all-time low to help address teams that are "resting" their superstars.^[32]
• The NBA have decreased the maximum number of timeouts in a game from eighteen to fourteen. The three team timeouts during the last two minutes of the game was also decreased to two per team in the last three minutes to improve the flow and pace of the game.^[33]
• The trade deadline was moved from ten days after the NBA All-Star Game to ten days before so teams can settle their rosters before the All-Star break.^[34]
• Free-throw shooters will be assessed a delay-of-game violation if they venture outside of the three-point line in between attempts.

See also

• National Basketball Association portal

References

External links

• Official website