Well, let me tell ya ’bout this NBA thing, the regular season, you know. They play a whole heap of games, these fellas. It’s like, a lot! Lots and lots of games, more than I can count on my fingers and toes, that’s for sure.
They call it the “regular season,” and it’s like, the main part before the real serious games start, the playoffs, I think they call ’em. Anyway, in this regular season, each team, yeah, each one of them, plays, get this, 82 games! Eighty-two! That’s a mighty big number, ain’t it? I reckon it takes ’em a good long while to play all them games.
- 82 games total, that’s what they play.
- Half of them at home, and half on the road, so 41 at home and 41 away. Fair’s fair, I guess.
Now, why 82? Don’t ask me! Some folks say it’s ’cause they always done it that way, since way back in 1967 or somethin’. Back then, they had fewer teams, but they still played 82. Go figure. Maybe they just liked that number, who knows? It’s a long season, that’s for sure, starts ’round October and goes all the way to April. That’s like, half a year of basketball! These fellas must be tired, runnin’ up and down that court all the time.
They play different teams, ya know. Some teams they play more, some less. Like, the teams in their own little group, they play ’em four times. And then there’s other teams they play just a couple times. It’s all figured out, they got a schedule and all. I heard they even got a couple of games where they don’t know who they playin’ till later, depends on how they do in some other games. Sounds complicated to me, but I guess they know what they’re doin’.
So, you got 30 teams, and each team plays 82 games, that’s… well, I ain’t gonna do the math, but it’s a whole bunch of games altogether. Over a thousand, probably. That’s a lot of basketball, I tell ya. Enough to make your head spin! They play almost every night, seems like. Always some game on TV if you wanna watch. Not me, though, I got chores to do.
And this 82-game thing, it ain’t changed in a long time. They been doin’ it this way for years and years, like I said, since the sixties. Must be a good reason for it, I reckon. Maybe it’s the best way to see who’s the really good teams, givin’ ’em plenty of chances to play and win, and lose too, I guess. Can’t win ‘em all, that’s for sure. Even the best teams lose some games, that’s just how it is.
This whole NBA season thing, it’s a big deal, I guess. Folks get all excited about it, cheerin’ for their teams, wearin’ their jerseys and all. I seen ’em at the store, all decked out in their team colors. It’s like a big ol’ party, lasts for months. And it all starts with these 82 games, the regular season. It’s like the foundation, you know? You gotta build a good foundation if you wanna win in the end. So, these teams, they gotta play hard in all them 82 games, try to win as many as they can, so they can get a good spot in them playoffs.
Now, sometimes I hear folks talkin’ about whether they should play fewer games, ya know, maybe the players get too tired. But then other folks say, no, 82 is just right, it’s tradition. Me? I don’t have a dog in this fight, so to speak. I just know it’s a whole lotta basketball, and these fellas must be in good shape to play that much. They young fellas, though, most of ‘em. They can handle it, I reckon.
So, if someone asks ya, how many games in an NBA regular season, you tell ‘em, 82! And don’t you forget it. Eighty-two games, home and away, playin’ different teams, for months on end. It’s a marathon, not a sprint, that’s what they say. And I guess that’s true for these basketball fellas too. Gotta pace themselves, stay healthy, and keep on playin’ game after game, all 82 of ‘em. That’s the way it is, and that’s the way it’s been for a long, long time. 82 games, that’s the magic number in the NBA regular season.
