Philippine Basketball Association

When the PBA was created, it was from the nine clubs representing different companies that seceded from the Manila Industrial and Commercial Athletic Association (MICAA). The PBA adopted the MICAA's "franchise system" akin to North American sports, only that instead of geographic regions, teams represent companies. Several teams have disbanded and entered the league. Disbandment of a team usually occurs if its mother company regularly sustains financial losses, or for non-sporting reasons, causing it to sell the team to another company. Aside from buying an already-existing team, a company can enter the PBA via an expansion team.[18]

An aspiring team seeking to join the PBA had to be approved by majority of the existing teams. There is a lockout provision, which enables a team to veto the entry of a franchise team whose company is a direct competitor that of one of the existing team's business.[18]

Previously, a company is allowed only one team, with each team having one vote in the Board of Governors; with the acquisition of La Tondeña Distillers (now Ginebra San Miguel) by the San Miguel Corporation (SMC) in 1987, this caused the SMC to have two "sister" teams: the San Miguel Beermen and the Ginebra San Miguel (now the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel). At this point, Ginebra coach Robert Jaworski had autonomy on the decisions on his team, so the situation of SMC having sister teams was tolerated. In 1998, Jaworski ran and won for a Senate seat; this caused him to delegate coaching duties to his longtime deputy Rino Salazar. By this time, Danding Cojuangco has seized control of SMC, and he added Allan Caidic to Ginebra from San Miguel. Jaworski disapproved of this, and resigned.

In 2001 the Ayala Corporation sold its Purefoods-Hormel unit, which included the Purefoods TJ Hotdogs team, to SMC. Later that year, RFM Corporation sold its Cosmos Bottling Corporation, including the Pop Cola Panthers team, to Coca-Cola Bottlers Philippines, a subsidiary of SMC, rechristening them as the Coca-Cola Tigers, and giving SMC four teams. The PBA approved this arrangement, with SMC getting two votes in the Board of Governors instead of four.[19] In 2006, SMC sold back its Coca-Cola unit to the Atlanta-based Coca-Cola Company, and sold the now renamed Powerade Tigers to Sultan 900, Inc., becoming the GlobalPort Batang Pier, decreasing their teams to three.[20]

By 2010, Manuel V. Pangilinan has owned the Talk 'N Text Phone Pals team via the Pilipino Telephone Company. Pangilinan, who had controlling ownership in Meralco, bought the Sta. Lucia Realtors team, rechristening them as the Meralco Bolts.[21] His NLEX Corporation then bought the Air21 Express team in 2014, becoming the NLEX Road Warriors.[22] This has made Cojuangco and Pangilinan own three teams each out of the 12 teams in the PBA by 2014.

This closed system, while unlike the open European model of promotion and relegation, allows teams from other leagues to carryover some of players to the PBA, if they are given this concession, such as in 2006 when the Welcoat Dragons were allowed to carry over three players from their Philippine Basketball League team.

The PBA also allows "guest teams", or teams not represented in the Board of Governors, to play in certain conferences. The most recent guest team is the Bay Area Dragons.

A photo inside the Smart Araneta Coliseum during the 2021 PBA Governors' elimination round game between the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel and the Magnolia Pambansang Manok Hotshots. This is the first time that the two teams played with a live audience since the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020.

Unlike other leagues, there is no "season champion" of the PBA. Instead, the season is divided into conferences or tournaments (not to be confused with the definition of a "conference" in a sporting context as a grouping of teams based on geography or historical affiliation) played in sequence, wherein the teams compete for a conference cup. The winners of the conference cups do not face each other at the end of the season to determine the season champion; instead all conference champions are league champions, with the Philippine Cup being the most prestigious conference of the season.[23]

A season is usually composed of three conferences. Since the 2010–11 season, the conferences were named Philippine, Commissioner's and Governors' Cups, usually ending in a best-of-seven series where the winner took the conference cup.[24] If the same team won all of the conferences, the team was said to be the "Grand Slam" champion. A draft is held after the last conference of the season. An opening ceremony, consisting of the presentation of the team's roster and their respective muses, and The Leo Awards (the awarding of several awards such as the MVP of the previous season), is held before the start of the first game of the season. The conference format is similar to Apertura and Clausura in Latin American football.

Each conference usually carries the same tournament format through the years. All conferences begin with a group stage, or an elimination round, akin to the regular season in North American sports leagues, where all teams face each team at least once, and the worst-performing teams are eliminated. With the number of teams increasing to 12, the top 8 teams in the league will advance, and the last four will be eliminated. The elimination round is a single round-robin format; previously, it was a double round-robin, and in some conferences, teams faced certain groups of teams more than once. After the group stage is the playoffs, which consists of the Quarterfinals (best-of-three in the Philippine Cup, best-of-three in the Commissioner's Cup – with the top 2 teams having a twice-to-beat advantage, and best-of-three in the Governors' Cup – wherein the top 4 teams have a twice-to-beat advantage.), the Semifinals (best-of-seven in the Philippine Cup, and best-of-five in the Commissioner's and Governors' Cups), and the Finals (best-of-seven series)

During the Finals of the last conference, the PBA awards its best players in an awarding ceremony. A Rookie Draft is then held after the season for teams to select new players or "rookies". Most draft applicants have played either in the PBA Developmental League (PBA D-League), the PBA's own minor league, or from the collegiate ranks, either in the Philippines and in the United States. The Philippines has an extensive college basketball culture, and this is where the PBA gets most of its players. An offseason usually a couple of months long ends with an opening ceremony to tip off the new season.

With the previous seasons since 2012 being suspended in order to allow players who are members of the Philippine national team to play in FIBA tournaments, they have been lengthened. Originally set from October to July starting in 2004, the last two seasons ended more than a year after it started. There have been calls from within the league to revert to the two-conference format in use from 2004 to 2010 to shorten the season and have it in sync with the FIBA calendar again.[25]

The Games and Amusements Board (GAB) has its rules for the size of the basketball court and equipment, which the PBA adapts. The PBA then uses its own set of rules of basketball, independently of FIBA and the NBA. Most non-professional leagues in the Philippines (those not supervised by the GAB) primarily use FIBA rules, so called "amateur rules" in the Philippines, although some still have exceptions.

Game rules have previously been predominantly influenced by the NBA, such as the rules on illegal defenses. After PBA players have been allowed to represent the Philippines in FIBA tournaments, the PBA has adopted FIBA rules piecemeal, including allowing zone defenses, so that the Philippine national team will not be disadvantaged in FIBA competitions.

Eligibility to participate in the PBA is generally limited to natural born Filipino citizens born in the Philippines. There are player quotas for natural born Filipinos born outside the Philippines, while naturalized Filipinos and foreigners can only play in certain conferences. Coaching is restricted to Filipinos, although longtime foreigner residents and holders of certain visas have been granted exemptions.

The 2018 iteration of the PBA Draft.

Natural-born Filipino citizens are generally eligible to become part of a PBA team through the PBA draft. Foreigners as well as naturalized Filipino citizens with no Filipino parents can not join the league through the PBA draft; both who could only play as imports, and only on certain conferences.[28]

Filipino players who are aspiring to join the PBA through the draft and are born outside the Philippines are classed as Filipino-foreigners regardless if both their parents are Filipino citizens at the time of their birth. They have to submit documentary proof of their Filipino citizenship from the Department of Justice and the Bureau of Immigration prior to their rookie draft. Filipinos with foreign ancestry who are born in the Philippines are not subject to the same requirements.[29] A team can have a maximum of five Filipino-foreigners players in its roster.[30] Starting the draft for the 2022 season, the Filipino-foreigner cap was increased to seven. Filipino-foreigners would only need a passport and be of Filipino heritage.[30]

Foreigners and naturalized Filipinos can play as imports, but only on import-laden conferences. If a player who is not a natural-born Filipino plays in an all-Filipino conference, it can lead his team forfeiting the wins in games where he took part. Imports are directly hired by teams, and are not drafted. In some conferences where imports are allowed, a height limit is imposed. An import who is over the height limit will not be allowed to play. Most imports are African Americans, but there had been tournaments where other nationalities have played in.

Head coaching role for teams in the PBA is generally only available to Filipino citizens since foreigners who are classified as non-resident aliens are barred from serving the role as head coach. It is possible for a foreigner to be a head coach of a PBA team by acquiring permanent residency such as in the case of Tim Cone and Norman Black who married Filipinos and being a holder of a Special Resident Retiree's Visa (SRRV) such as in the case of Rajko Toroman who became eligible for an SRRV after residing in the country for at least five years. The restriction on foreigners has been in place since 1991.[31]

Players of the PBA sign a Uniform Players' Contract (UPC) when they sign in with a team franchise which plays in the league. The team manager of the concerned team also signs this contract.[32] The UPC includes the bill of rights and privileges as well as obligations and responsibilities of the PBA's players and teams. Players under an active UPC cannot transfer to a team outside the PBA. Consequentially, this prohibits players from taking part in a league other than the PBA (also known colloquially as ligang labas or "outside league").[33] Although occasionally, players are allowed to temporarily suit up in such games if they secure permission from both their teams and the league management, especially for participations involving charity.[34]

In 2008, a survey by the Social Weather Stations showed that Purefoods shares the honor of the league's most popular team along with Barangay Ginebra.[36][37][38] It appeared that Ginebra was the most popular team among men, while Purefoods was the most popular among women.[39] Also, Ginebra was more popular in Metro Manila and Luzon and in classes ABC, while Purefoods was more popular in Visayas and Mindanao and in class D. The two teams were tied for most supporters in class E.[40] In terms of percentage of supporters, the survey showed that, after Ginebra and Purefoods (which both got 31%),[41] are Magnolia (21%), Alaska (13%), Sta. Lucia (5%), Red Bull (4%), Talk N' Text (3%), Coca-Cola (1%), and Air 21 (1%).[42]

Notably, the top three teams that have the most supporters have also been considered the most talent-laden teams. They also fall under the San Miguel Corporation umbrella. With these three teams acquiring players through allegedly lopsided trades and performing strong in the past several seasons, the PBA has been considered by some to be an "SMC league", with team owners and coaches calling for a level playing field in the league.[43][44][45]

The most prominent defunct teams were the Crispa Redmanizers, the Toyota Super Corollas, and the Alaska Aces.

Among the most notable guest teams include the American Nicholas Stoodley team that won the 1980 Invitational Conference, and the now-defunct Bay Area Dragons of the East Asia Super League, a team based in Hong Kong who brought the 2022–23 Commissioner's Cup Finals to seven games.

The league awards outstanding Filipino players of the season in the annual Leo Awards. The awards include the Most Valuable Player and the Rookie of the Year. At the end of each conference, the league also awards the Best Player of the Conference for Filipinos and the Bobby Parks Best Import for foreigners.

The PBA Hall of Fame was instituted in 2005 during the 30th anniversary celebration of the league.

There are all-time records written in Philippine Basketball Association records, as well as distinctions like the PBA career scoring leaders, PBA 2,000 Assists Club, PBA 500 Three-Points Club, PBA 600 Most Games Club, and PBA Top 40 Rebounders. Unlike other leagues, the PBA records of individual players combine both elimination round and playoff round statistics instead of placing them in separate categories.

The PBA's first broadcast partner was Kanlaon Broadcasting System (KBS; now known as Radio Philippines Network) in 1975. Banahaw Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) broadcast the PBA in 1976 before returning to KBS in 1977. This is then followed by a four-year stint with Government Television (GTV), later renamed to Maharlika Broadcasting System (MBS) in 1980, which lasted from 1978 until 1981.

In 1982, the league awarded the broadcast rights to Vintage Enterprises, Inc. to produce the broadcasts for various television networks under the network's Vintage Sports brand.[56] The PBA on Vintage Sports was first aired on BBC in 1982 and 1983. This is then followed by MBS, later renamed to People's Television Network (PTV), from 1984 until 1995. Vintage's last stint came with the Intercontinental Broadcasting Corporation (IBC),[57] which broadcast the PBA from 1996 until 1999. In 1997 and 1998, ESPN Asia also aired PBA games in a "parallel broadcast".[58]

Vintage would go on to be acquired by Viva Entertainment in 1999. From 2000 until 2002, PBA games were aired under the PBA on Viva TV branding, but remained on IBC. IBC would then join forces with the National Broadcasting Network (NBN; PTV's previous identity from 2001 to 2011) in 2003,[59][60] but the former would drop out the same year in October.[61]

For the 2004–05 season, the PBA awarded the broadcast rights to the Associated Broadcasting Company (ABC), which would go on to become what is now known as TV5 in August 2008. The 2007–08 season would also be the last season of ABC/TV5's first stint with the league. Solar Entertainment Corporation then won a bid for the league's broadcasting rights, which saw the network split the games between C/S 9 (later renamed to Solar TV) and Basketball TV (BTV).[62][63] In February 2011, Solar was looking to find a new broadcast partner, thus for the remainder of its contract, ABS-CBN's Studio 23 would be broadcasting the two remaining conferences of the 2010–11 season.

After the expiration of Solar's contract, TV5 became the league's broadcast partner once again, beginning the network's second and current stint.[64] It first began under the AKTV programming block of IBC in the 2011–12 season and would run until the 2013 Commissioner's Cup due to the expiration of a blocktime agreement between MediaQuest Holdings (owner of TV5) and IBC.[65][66] Although IBC would go on to also broadcast the 2013 Governors' Cup with TV5 broadcasting the Finals of both Commissioner's and Governors' Cups. AksyonTV simulcasted TV5's coverage for the 2013–14 and 2014–15 seasons,[67] followed by Hyper beginning in January 2016 and ending with the 2016 Commissioner's Cup. From 2013 until 2016, select games were also simulcasted on Fox Sports Asia.

Shortly after the opening of the 2016 Governors' Cup, PBA Rush was launched, which features game simulcasts and replays as well as its own dedicated programming. Sports5 then partnered with ESPN to broadcast games on the newly-created ESPN5 channel ahead of the 2017 Governors' Cup Finals. ESPN5 would then be renamed to its current form One Sports for the 2020 season, giving it its current branding, PBA on One Sports. For the 2023–24 season, free-to-air broadcasts will move to A2Z as part of a new partnership.[68]

TV5's second stint also brought the PBA into the streaming scene. Currently, PBA games can be viewed on Smart LiveStream, Cignal Play, Pilipinas Live, and internationally via iWantTFC. TV5's PBA broadcasting is also aired intentionally via Kapatid Channel and AksyonTV International. Radio broadcasts are currently being aired on Radyo Pilipinas 2 (DZSR) selected provincial stations of the Presidential Broadcasting Service.