| 2015–16 NBA season | |
|---|---|
| League | National Basketball Association |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Duration | October 26, 2015 – April 13, 2016 April 16 – May 30, 2016 (Playoffs) June 2 – June 19, 2016 (Finals) |
| Number of games | 82 |
| Number of teams | 30 |
| TV partner/s | ABC, TNT, ESPN, NBA TV |
| Draft | |
| Top draft pick | Karl-Anthony Towns |
| Picked by | Minnesota Timberwolves |
| Regular season | |
| Season MVP | LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers) |
| Top scorer | Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors) |
| Playoffs | |
| Eastern champions | Cleveland Cavaliers |
| Eastern runners-up | Toronto Raptors |
| Western champions | Golden State Warriors |
| Western runners-up | Oklahoma City Thunder |
| Finals | |
| Finals champions | Cleveland Cavaliers |
| Runners-up | Golden State Warriors |
| Finals MVP | LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers) |
| NBA seasons | |
| ← 2014–15 | |
The 2015–16 NBA season was the 70th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The regular season began on Tuesday, October 26, 2015 at the Madison Square Garden, home of the New York Knicks, with their game against the Milwaukee Bucks. The 2016 NBA All-Star Game was played at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on February 14, 2016. The regular season ended on April 13, 2016. The playoffs started on April 16, 2016 and ended with the 2016 NBA Finals on June 19, 2016, with the Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Cavaliers defeating the defending champion and Western Conference champion Golden State Warriors in seven games in a rematch of the previous year's Finals to win their first NBA title becoming the first to do so after trailing three games to one. This would be the last season for Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, and Kevin Garnett.
Transactions[]
Retirements[]
- On June 18, 2015, Shawn Marion officially announced his retirement after playing 16 seasons, winning an NBA championship with the Dallas Mavericks in 2011.
- On June 23, 2015, Andrei Kirilenko officially announced his retirement after playing 13 seasons in the NBA.
- On July 2, 2015, Kenyon Martin officially announced his retirement after playing 15 seasons in the NBA.
- On July 22, 2015, Stephen Jackson officially announced his retirement after playing 14 seasons, winning an NBA championship with the San Antonio Spurs in 2003.
- On August 11, 2015, Elton Brand officially announced his retirement after playing 16 seasons in the NBA. On January 4, 2016 he returned to play for Philadelphia 76ers.
- On September 23, 2015, Jason Richardson officially announced his retirement after playing 14 seasons in the NBA.
- On November 13, 2015, Hedo Türkoğlu officially announced his retirement after playing 15 seasons in the NBA.
- On November 29, 2015, Kobe Bryant officially announced that the 2015–16 season will be his last after playing 20 seasons, winning five NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers. Bryant ended his career with a season-high 60 points in his final career game against the Utah Jazz.
Coaching changes[]
| Offseason | ||
|---|---|---|
| Team | 2014–15 coach | 2015–16 coach |
| Oklahoma City Thunder | Scott Brooks | Bill Donovan |
| New Orleans Pelicans | Monty Williams | Alvin Gentry |
| Chicago Bulls | Tom Thibodeau | Fred Hoiberg |
| Orlando Magic | James Borrego (interim) | Scott Skiles |
| Denver Nuggets | Melvin Hunt (interim) | Michael Malone |
| Minnesota Timberwolves | Flip Saunders (died) | Sam Mitchell |
| In-season | ||
| Team | Outgoing coach | New coach |
| Houston Rockets | Kevin McHale | J.B. Bickerstaff |
| Brooklyn Nets | Lionel Hollins | Tony Brown (interim) |
| Cleveland Cavaliers | David Blatt | Tyronn Lue |
| Phoenix Suns | Jeff Hornacek | Earl Watson |
| New York Knicks | Derek Fisher | Kurt Rambis (interim) |
Off-season[]
- April 22, 2015 - Oklahoma City Thunder fired head coach Scott Brooks after seven years with the team.
- April 30, 2015 - Oklahoma City Thunder hired Bill Donovan as head coach.
- May 12, 2015 - New Orleans Pelicans fired head coach Monty Williams after five years with the team.
- May 28, 2015 - Chicago Bulls fired head coach Tom Thibodeau after five years with the team.
- May 29, 2015 - Orlando Magic hired Scott Skiles as head coach.
- May 30, 2015 - New Orleans Pelicans hired Alvin Gentry as head coach.
In-season[]
- November 18, 2015 - Houston Rockets fired head coach Kevin McHale after five years with the team. Their assistant coach J. B. Bickerstaff would take on the interim head coach.
- December 20, 2015 - Milwaukee Bucks announced that assistant coach Joe Prunty would take on the interim head coach role while Jason Kidd recovers after taking an indefinite leave to have hip surgery.
- January 10, 2016 - Brooklyn Nets fired head coach Lionel Hollins after two years with the team. Assistant coach Tony Brown was named as interim head coach.
- January 22, 2016 - Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr returned after complications following back surgery, taking over from Luke Walton, who led the Warriors to a 39–4 record. Walton returns as an assistant coach for Kerr.
- January 22, 2016 - Cleveland Cavaliers fired head coach David Blatt after 1 1/2 seasons with the team. Assistant coach Tyronn Lue was named the new head coach after signing a three-year deal with the Cavaliers.
- January 26, 2016 - Milwaukee Bucks coach Jason Kidd returned after complications following right hip surgery taking over from Joe Prunty who led the Bucks to a 8–9 record.
- February 1, 2016 - Phoenix Suns fired head coach Jeff Hornacek after two and a half seasons with the team. Suns’ assistant coach Earl Watson was named as interim head coach.
- April 19 - Suns decided to promote Watson as their full-time coach for the next three years.
- February 8, 2016, New York Knicks fired head coach Derek Fisher after 1 1/2 seasons with the team. Knicks’ assistant coach Kurt Rambis was named interim head coach for the rest of the season.
Playoffs[]
The 2016 NBA playoffs began on Saturday, April 16, 2016 and ended with the 2016 NBA Finals which began on June 2, 2016 and ended on June 19, 2016 on ABC.
Bracket
| First Round | Conference Semifinals | Conference Finals | NBA Finals | |||||||||||||||
| 1 | Cleveland* | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Detroit | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Cleveland* | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Atlanta | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Atlanta | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Boston | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Cleveland* | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| Eastern Conference | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Toronto* | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Miami* | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Charlotte | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Miami* | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Toronto* | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Toronto* | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Indiana | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| E1 | Cleveland* | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| W1 | Golden State* | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Golden State* | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Houston | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Golden State* | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Portland | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| 4 | L.A. Clippers | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Portland | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Golden State* | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| Western Conference | ||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Oklahoma City* | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Oklahoma City* | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Dallas | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Oklahoma City* | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2 | San Antonio* | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2 | San Antonio* | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Memphis | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
[*] Division winner
[Bold] Series winner
[Italic] Team with home-court advantage