2022–23 NBA season

The NBA often hosts preseason games in non-NBA markets, with the following being played domestically:

The regular season schedule was released on August 17, 2022.[41]

Only the top six seeds in each conference advanced to the main rounds of the 2023 NBA playoffs, while the next four seeds participated in a Page playoff system tournament from April 11–14, 2023. In each conference: The 7th place team hosted the 8th place team in the double-chance round needing to win one game to advance, with the winner clinching the 7th seed in the playoffs. Each of the 9th place team and the 10th place team required two wins to advance to the playoffs. The 9th place team hosted the 10th place team in the elimination round, with the loser being eliminated from the contention. The loser in the double-chance round hosted the elimination round game-winner, with the winner clinching the 8th seed and the loser being eliminated.[43]

The playoffs began on April 15, 2023.

Beginning with this season, the team who finished with the best overall regular season record would receive the Maurice Podoloff Trophy, named in honor of Maurice Podoloff, who served as the commissioner of the NBA from 1946 to 1963. The Podoloff Trophy was originally given to the NBA's Most Valuable Player of the regular season until 2021. The MVP trophy was then renamed in honor of Michael Jordan, a five-time winner and often considered the greatest player in league history. A new award, the Clutch Player of the Year Award, was also introduced to honor players who best come through for their teammates in the clutch. This trophy was named after Jerry West.

The league also announced updated trophy designs for the Coach of the Year Award, Defensive Player of the Year Award, Executive of the Year Award, Most Improved Player Award, Rookie of the Year Award, Sixth Man of the Year Award, Sportsmanship Award, and the Teammate of the Year Award. The Defensive Player of the Year, Most Improved Player, Rookie of the Year and Sixth Man of the Year trophies were then renamed in honor of Hakeem Olajuwon, George Mikan, Wilt Chamberlain, and John Havlicek respectively.[44][45]

• The Miami Heat's home arena, formerly known as FTX Arena, was renamed Kaseya Center on April 4, 2023.[103] It was previously renamed to Miami-Dade Center on January 12 after the previous naming rights deal with FTX was terminated due to the company's bankruptcy.[104][105]

• The NBA and NBPA announced a pension plan for former ABA players who played at least three seasons in the league.[120]
• The Board of Governors approved the permanent adoption of the NBA play-in tournament that had been in place for the previous two seasons. Previously, the Board approved the tournament on a season-by-season basis.[121]
• The league instituted a new penalty for the "take foul". The offensive team will be allotted one free throw and retain possession with this penalty in place. The defensive player who commits the foul will be assessed one common personal foul. Previously, the penalty was a common personal foul on the offending player in addition to a side out for the offensive team if they were not in the bonus.[122]
• Following the death of 11-time champion Bill Russell, the NBA permanently retired the number 6 across the league, the first time a player's number has been retired across the league.[123] However, players who had the number 6 beforehand can keep their number unless they voluntarily change it or retire.[124]
• The NBA honored Russell with a jersey patch. Every team wore a commemorative patch on the right sleeve of their jerseys. Every NBA court honored Russell with a clover-shaped logo featuring the No. 6 on the sideline.[123]
• On July 9, 2022, Nikola Jokić signed a five-year, $264 million supermax extension with the Denver Nuggets, the largest in league history.[125]
• On September 13, 2022, the NBA and WNBA suspended Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver for one year after an independent investigation determined that he used the n-word multiple times, sexually harassed and assaulted multiple male and female employees, and engaged in demeaning behavior towards employees.[126][127]
• On September 21, Sarver announced he was exploring selling both the Suns and WNBA's Phoenix Mercury franchises.[128]
• A record 23 Canadians appeared on opening-night rosters,[129] marking the ninth consecutive season of Canada being the second-most represented country in the NBA.[130]
• On October 19, 2022, Walker Kessler of the Utah Jazz became the first player to record a double-double, with 12 points and 10 rebounds while shooting 100% (5/5) in his rookie debut.[131]
• On October 22, 2022, Paolo Banchero of the Orlando Magic became the first teenager to score 20 points or more in his first three games.[132] This streak ended on his 7th game, where he scored 18 points on October 30, 2022.[133]
• On October 28, 2022, DeMar DeRozan became the 50th player to score 20,000 points.[134]
• On October 31, 2022, Kevin Durant passed Vince Carter for 19th place on the all-time scoring list.[135]
• On November 4, 2022, Luka Dončić became the second NBA player to score 30 or more points in the first eight games of a season, joining Wilt Chamberlain.[136][137]
• On November 4, 2022, the Golden State Warriors became the first defending champion to start the season 0–6 on the road.[138]
• In commemoration of Election Day in the United States, the league did not schedule regular season games on November 8.[139] The league, in turn, scheduled a full slate of games on November 7 with all 30 teams in action, with a unique schedule that saw staggered tip-offs every 15 minutes. The NBA mobile app aired commercial-free whiparound coverage on NBA CrunchTime.[140][141]
• On November 13, 2022, Joel Embiid became the first player in NBA history to record 50+ points, 10+ rebounds, 5+ assists, and 5+ blocks in a game.[142] He scored a career high 59 points along with 11 rebounds, eight assists, and seven blocks in a 105–98 victory over the Utah Jazz, with 26 points and five blocks coming in the fourth quarter.[143]
• On December 10, 2022, former player and coach Paul Silas, the father of current Houston Rockets head coach Stephen died at the age of 79.[144]
• On December 20, 2022, Robert Sarver accepted a deal made by an ownership group led by United Wholesale Mortgage's CEO Mat Ishbia and his older brother Justin Ishbia for a record-high price of $4 billion, breaking a record previously held by Joe Tsai when he purchased the Brooklyn Nets from Mikhail Prokhorov in 2019.[145]
• On December 26, 2022, Duncan Robinson became the fastest player to hit 800 3-pointers. He did so in 263 consecutive games, surpassing the previous record held by Luka Dončić in 288 games, in a win against the Minnesota Timberwolves.[146]
• On December 27, 2022, Luka Dončić became the first player in NBA history to record a 60-point, 20-rebound triple-double (60 points, 21 rebounds, and 10 assists) in a 126–121 comeback overtime victory over the New York Knicks.[147]
• On December 29, 2022, Buddy Hield scored the fastest three point field goal since play-by-play was registered, by doing so in 3 seconds.[148]
• On December 31, 2022, Luka Dončić became the first player in NBA history to record 250 points, 50 rebounds, and 50 assists in a five game span.[149]
• On January 2, 2023, Donovan Mitchell became the seventh player in NBA history to score 70 or more points in a single game. He had 71 points, 11 assists, and eight rebounds in a win over the Chicago Bulls. He also became the first player in NBA history to score at least 70 points and record at least 10 assists.[150][151]
• On January 10, 2023, the Miami Heat went 40 for 40 from the free throw line in a win against the Oklahoma City Thunder, breaking the record (39 for 39) set by the Utah Jazz in 1982.[152]
• On January 13, 2023, the San Antonio Spurs set a regular season single-game attendance record with 68,323 people at the Alamodome in a 144–113 loss against the Golden State Warriors.[153][154]
• On January 15, 2023, LeBron James became the second player in NBA history to score 38,000 career points.[155]
• On January 24, 2023, LeBron James became the first player to score 40 points against all 30 NBA teams with a 46-point performance against the Los Angeles Clippers.[156]
• On January 31, 2023, Russell Westbrook surpassed Gary Payton for number 10 on the all-time assists list.[157]
• On January 31, 2023, LeBron James became the first player to have a triple-double in his 20th season, accumulating 28 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 assists in a 129–123 overtime win over the New York Knicks.
• On February 6, 2023, the NBA's Board of Governors held a vote approving the sale of the Phoenix Suns to Mat Ishbia, with a 29–0 unanimous vote approving the sale, with only Dan Gilbert of the Cleveland Cavaliers abstaining from the vote.[158] The move was then made official a day later.[159]
• On February 7, 2023, LeBron James surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the all-time leading scorer in NBA history in a game versus the Oklahoma City Thunder with a fadeaway jumpshot over Kenrich Williams.[160]
• On February 24, 2023, the Sacramento Kings and Los Angeles Clippers competed in the second-highest scoring game in NBA history. The Kings defeated the Clippers 176–175 in double-overtime at the Crypto.com Arena.
• On February 26, 2023, Damian Lillard became the eighth player in NBA history to score 70 or more points in a single game, and the oldest to do so at the age of 32. He had 71 points, six rebounds and six assists, in a win over the Houston Rockets. He made 13 three-pointers, one shy of the NBA record. He is the only player in NBA history to score at least 70 points while making at least 10 three-pointers.[161][162]
• On March 29, 2023, Keegan Murray of the Sacramento Kings passed Donovan Mitchell (187), to record the most 3-pointers made for a rookie in a single season in NBA history with 188. He made this feat in a winning effort, 120–80 against the Portland Trail Blazers, as well as clinching their playoff berth after 16 seasons.[163] Subsequently, on April 4, 2023, the No. 4 overall pick in the 2022 NBA draft recorded his 200th 3-pointers, in a 121–103 victory against the New Orleans Pelicans.[164]
• For the first time since the 2000–01 NBA season, no team won 60 games in a full 82-game regular season.
• All three Texas teams missed the playoffs in the same season for the first time ever, after the Mavericks were eliminated by losing to the Chicago Bulls on April 7, 2023.
• With the Lakers winning their play-in game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on April 11, 2023, all four California teams qualified for the playoffs in the same season for the first time ever.
• For the sixth time in history, an eight-seeded team defeated a first-seeded team in the first round of the playoffs when the Miami Heat defeated the Milwaukee Bucks in five games. The Heat also became the first play-in team to win a playoff series.
• The Los Angeles Lakers became the second play-in team and first seventh seed in the play-in tournament era to win a playoff series after defeating the Memphis Grizzlies in six games.
• On May 28, 2023, the NBA opened an investigation into referee Eric Lewis for using a burner Twitter account.[165]
• On June 7, 2023, Udonis Haslem, aged 42 years, 363 days became the oldest player to play in the NBA Finals, surpassing the previous record held by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1989.[166]