And in 2020, when protests swept the country after the police killed George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, both of whom were Black, the N.B.A. made social justice part of its ethos.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/04/sports/basketball/lebron-james-lakers-record-career.html

Fans outside Ball Arena in Denver before Game 1 of the N.B.A. finals between the Nuggets and the Miami Heat.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/03/sports/basketball/nikola-jokic-denver-nuggets-nba-finals.html

He was there with “Ohio Tip-Off,” a drama about seven athletes on a minor-league basketball team who are vying to make it to the N.B.A. The team has four Black players and three white players.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/03/theater/august-wilson-biography-patti-hartigan.html

In 1996, he was chosen by the N.B.A. as one of its 50 greatest players.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/21/sports/basketball/willis-reed-dead.html

In recent years, the N.B.A. has taken up the cause of Clean Slate initiatives, an effort in states to seal some records of those who had been incarcerated.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/02/sports/basketball/adam-silver-nba-politics.html

It’s a blow for New Orleans, whose sustained success is a big surprise of this N.B.A. season.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/04/world/house-republicans-leadership-vote.html

Jokic Has a Hold on Denver: Nikola Jokic, the Nuggets center, may be the best player in the N.B.A., but he avoids the spotlight.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/02/sports/soccer/saudi-soccer-messi-benzema-ronaldo.html

Kyrie Irving, left, and Kevin Durant played only 74 regular-season games together after joining the Nets before the 2019-20 N.B.A. season.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/06/sports/basketball/kyrie-irving-trade-nets-kevin-durant.html

Nine years later, and after a league-record 16 seasons without being in the playoffs, Sacramento’s team is finally making waves in the N.B.A. postseason.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/24/sports/basketball/sacramento-kings-warriors-nba-playoffs.html

The floor of Barclays Center, where top prospects sat with their families, had mostly cleared out by the second round of the N.B.A. draft on Thursday night.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/23/sports/basketball/nba-draft-last-pick.html

While Keegan Murray matriculated to the N.B.A. last June, his twin brother, Kris, decided to stay at Iowa for another season.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/19/sports/basketball/nba-draft-preview.html

You’ve got N.B.A. stars in your box.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/28/sports/tennis/frances-tiafoe-us-open.html