The Eastern Conference is one of two

conferences A conference is a meeting of two or more experts to discuss and exchange opinions or new information about a particular topic. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always decisions, are the main ...

that make up the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball sports league, league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues i ...

(NBA), the other being the Western Conference. Both conferences consist of 15 teams organized into three divisions. The current divisional alignment was adopted at the start of the 2004–05 season, when the now Charlotte Hornets began play as the NBA's 30th franchise. This necessitated the move of the New Orleans Pelicans from the Eastern Conference's Central Division to the newly created Southwest Division of the Western Conference. The NBA first started awarding an Eastern Conference championship trophy during the 2000–01 season, renaming it after Hall of Famer Bob Cousy in the 2021–22 season. Also in 2021–22, the league began awarding the Larry Bird Trophy to the Eastern Conference Finals Most Valuable Player, named after Hall of Famer Larry Bird.

Current standings

Teams

Former teams

;Notes * denotes an expansion team. * denotes a team that

merged Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of companies, other business organizations, or their operating units are transferred to or consolidated with another company or business organization. As an aspect ...

from the

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, leading to four A ...

(ABA).

Team timeline

DateFormat = yyyy ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:25 Period = from:1970 till:2020 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal PlotArea = right:60 left:20 bottom:20 top:0 Colors = id:barcolor value:rgb(0.99,0.7,0.7) id:line value:black id:bg value:white PlotData = width:15 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:s bar:1 color:tan1 from:1970 till:end text: Atlanta Hawks (1970–present) bar:2 color:tan1 from:1970 till:end text:

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

(1970–present) bar:3 color:tan2 from:1970 till:1978 text: Buffalo Braves (1970–1978) bar:4 color:tan2 from:1970 till:1972 text:

Cincinnati Royals The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the olde ...

(1970–1972) bar:5 color:tan1 from:1970 till:end text: Cleveland Cavaliers (1970–present) bar:6 color:tan1 from:1970 till:end text: New York Knicks (1970–present) bar:7 color:tan1 from:1970 till:end text: Syracuse Nationals / Philadelphia 76ers (1970–present) bar:8 color:tan1 from:1970 till:end text: Baltimore Bullets / Capital Bullets / Washington Bullets / Washington Wizards (1970–present) bar:9 color:tan2 from:1972 till:1980 text:

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its ho ...

(1972–1980) bar:10 color:tan2 from:1974 till:1979 text: New Orleans Jazz (1974–1979) bar:11 color:tan1 from:1976 till:end text: New York Nets / New Jersey Nets / Brooklyn Nets (1976–present) bar:12 color:tan2 from:1976 till:1980 text:

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its home ...

(1976–1980) bar:13 color:tan1 from:1978 till:end text: Detroit Pistons (1978–present) bar:14 color:tan1 from:1979 till:end text: Indiana Pacers (1979–present) bar:15 color:tan1 from:1980 till:end text: Chicago Bulls (1980–present) bar:16 color:tan1 from:1980 till:end text:

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 196 ...

(1980–present) bar:17 color:tan1 from:1988 till:1989 text: Charlotte Hornets / Bobcats / Hornets (1988–2002, 2004–2014, 2014–present) bar:17 color:tan1 from:1990 till:2002 bar:17 color:tan1 from:2004 till:end bar:18 color:tan1 from:1989 till:end text: Miami Heat (1989–present) bar:19 color:tan1 from:1989 till:1990 text: Orlando Magic (1989–1990, 1991–present) bar:19 color:tan1 from:1991 till:end bar:20 color:tan1 from:1995 till:end text: Toronto Raptors (1995–present) bar:21 color:tan2 from:2002 till:2004 text: New Orleans Hornets (2002–2004) ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:3 start:1970

Eastern Conference champions

List of Eastern Conference teams with the most conference championships

* 10:

* 6: Chicago Bulls * 6: Miami Heat * 5: Cleveland Cavaliers * 5: Detroit Pistons * 5: Philadelphia 76ers * 4: Baltimore/Washington Bullets * 4: New York Knicks * 2: New Jersey/Brooklyn Nets * 2: Orlando Magic * 1: Indiana Pacers * 1:

* 1: Toronto Raptors

Season results

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eastern Conference (Nba) NBA