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 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 in the United St ...

(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 Robert Joseph Cousy (, born August 9, 1928) is an American former professional basketball player. Cousy played point guard for the Boston Celtics from 1950 to 1963, and briefly with the Cincinnati Royals during the 1969–70 season. A 13-time NBA ...

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 Larry Joe Bird (born December 7, 1956) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and executive in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Hick from French Lick" and "Larry Legend", Bird is widely regarded a ...

Current standings

Teams

Former teams

;Notes * denotes an expansion team. * denotes a team that merged from the American Basketball Association (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 The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at ...

(1970–present) bar:2 color:tan1 from:1970 till:end text: Boston Celtics (1970–present) bar:3 color:tan2 from:1970 till:1978 text:

Buffalo Braves The Buffalo Braves were an American professional basketball franchise based in Buffalo, New York. The Braves competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division from 1970 ...

(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 oldest ...

(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 (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 The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at L ...

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

(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 1968 ...

(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 The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The club plays its home games at FT ...

(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 The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. They play their home games a ...

(1995–present) bar:21 color:tan2 from:2002 till:2004 text:

New Orleans Hornets New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

(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: Boston Celtics * 6:

* 6:

* 5: Cleveland Cavaliers * 5:

* 5: Philadelphia 76ers * 4: Baltimore/Washington Bullets * 4: New York Knicks * 2: New Jersey/Brooklyn Nets * 2: Orlando Magic * 1: Indiana Pacers * 1:

* 1:

Season results

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eastern Conference (Nba) NBA