9-980: The Atlantic Division is one of the three divisions in the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The division consists of five teams, the Boston Celtics , the Brooklyn Nets , the New York Knicks , the Philadelphia 76ers , and the Toronto Raptors . All teams, except the Raptors, are located on the East Coast of the United States . However, Toronto sports teams have over
18-569: 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 . Notes Division NBA Conference Finals Most Valuable Player Award The National Basketball Association (NBA) annually honors
27-579: The 2021–22 season , the Atlantic Division champion has received the Nat "Sweetwater" Clifton Trophy , named after Hall of Famer Nathaniel Clifton . Beginning with the 2021–22 season , the Atlantic Division champion has received the Nat "Sweetwater" Clifton Trophy . As with the other division championship trophies, it is named after one of the African American pioneers from NBA history. Nathaniel Clifton
36-749: The Atlantic , Central , and Southeast 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
45-729: The Portland Trail Blazers . The league realigned itself into two conferences, the Western Conference and the Eastern Conference, with two divisions in each conference. The Atlantic Division began with four inaugural members, the Celtics, the Braves, the Knicks and the 76ers. The Celtics, the Knicks and the 76ers all joined from the Eastern Division . The Celtics have won the most Atlantic Division titles with 25. Nine NBA champions have come from
54-515: The most valuable players (MVPs) of both of its conference finals . Presented since the 2022 playoffs , the awards are decided by a panel of media members, who cast votes after the conclusion of the conference finals. The person with the highest number of votes in each conference wins the award. The Larry Bird Trophy is awarded to the MVP from the Eastern Conference and the Earvin "Magic" Johnson Trophy for
63-399: The Atlantic Division. The Celtics have won seventeen championships, while the Knicks, the 76ers and the Raptors have won one championship each. All of them, except the 1972–73 Knicks, were division champions. In the 1983–84 season , all five teams from the division qualified for the playoffs. In the 1982–83 season , all teams in the division had winning percentages above 0.500 (50%). Since
72-712: The years enjoyed rivalries with teams in the Northeastern United States (particularly, Toronto teams also share divisions with Boston and New York teams in Major League Baseball and the National Hockey League ). The division was created at the start of the 1970–71 season , when the league expanded from 14 to 17 teams with the addition of the Buffalo Braves , the Cleveland Cavaliers and
81-485: Was one of the first African American players to sign an NBA contract when he joined the New York Knicks in 1950. The Clifton Trophy consists of a 200-millimetre (7.9 in) crystal ball. Eastern Conference (NBA) The Eastern Conference is one of two conferences that make up the National Basketball Association (NBA), the other being the Western Conference . Both conferences consist of 15 teams organized into three divisions . The Eastern Conference comprises
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