2021–22 NBA season

2021–22 NBA season

NBA 75th anniversary diamond logo.
League:	NBA
Duration:	Regular season: October 19, 2021 – April 10, 2022 Playoffs: April 16, 2022 – May 30, 2022 Finals: June 2–16, 2022
No. of games:	82
No. of teams:	30
Regular season
Top seed:	Eastern Conference: Miami Heat (53–29)
	Western Conference: Phoenix Suns (64–18)
Season awards
MVP:	Nikola Jokić (Denver Nuggets)
MIP:	Ja Morant (Memphis Grizzlies)
DPOY:	Marcus Smart (Boston Celtics)
COTY:	Monty Williams (Phoenix Suns)
ROTY:	Scottie Barnes (Toronto Raptors)
Playoffs
Eastern Conference Championship
Champions:	Boston Celtics
Series:	BOS: 4 - MIA: 3
Opponent:	Miami Heat
Western Conference Championship
Champions:	Golden State Warriors
Series:	GSW: 4 - DAL: 1
Opponent:	Dallas Mavericks
Finals
Champions:	Golden State Warriors
Series:	GSW: 4 - BOS: 2
Opponent:	Boston Celtics
Awards
Finals MVP:	Stephen Curry
Draft
2021 NBA Draft
No. 1 pick:	Cade Cunningham
Draft team:	Detroit Pistons
NBA All-Star Game
2022 NBA All-Star Game
Date:	February 20, 2022
Host:	Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, Cleveland, Ohio
Champions:	Team LeBron
Score:	163-160
Opponent:	Team Durant
MVP:	Stephen Curry
NBA seasons
<- 2020–21 NBA season
2022–23 NBA season ->

The 2021–22 NBA season was the 76th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

The NBA returned to a full 82-game regular season in its normal mid-October to mid-April schedule for the first time since the 2018–19 NBA season, as the previous two seasons have been abbreviated in some form due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The regular season started on October 19, 2021. The 2022 NBA All-Star Game was played at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland on February 20, 2022.

The playoffs started on April 16, 2022 and ended on June 16 with the Golden State Warriors defeating the Boston Celtics in the 2022 NBA Finals.

75th anniversary promotions

On July 7, 2021, the NBA announced that it would commemorate its 75th anniversary throughout the 2021–22 season. A 75th anniversary diamond jubilee logo is featured in promotions across all NBA properties during the season, including on merchandise, digital and social media, and painted on the courts. It also announced its 75th anniversary team, honoring the greatest players in NBA history, as chosen by a panel of media, current and former players, coaches, general managers, and team executives. All NBA uniforms feature the Nike (Association, Icon, and City uniform) and Jordan Brand (Statement and Charlotte Hornets uniform) logos in a diamond embellishment, while the normal NBA logo on the back was modified to also feature diamond embellishments and the NBA mark replaced by the number 75.

The City edition for this season featured uniforms incorporating various design cues from different decades, with 27 of the 30 teams wearing these uniforms. The only teams not to participate were the New Orleans Pelicans, Phoenix Suns, and Utah Jazz. The Suns and Jazz wore last season's City uniforms, while the Pelicans wore a more standard City uniform as a tribute to the city of New Orleans. The Classic edition uniform for this season would be donned by the Boston Celtics, Golden State Warriors, and New York Knicks, the NBA's three surviving franchises from its first season. Both the Celtics and Knicks wore modern-day versions of the uniforms they wore from 1946, while the Warriors wore uniforms based on the designs they wore as the Philadelphia Warriors from 1946 to 1962. The classic Nike wordmark-and-swoosh logo appears on the Classic uniforms.

The NBA also unveiled a new set of awards to honor division and conference championship winners, and the MVPs of the conference finals. The division championships were named after Nat "Sweetwater" Clifton (Atlantic Division), Wayne Embry (Central Division), Earl Lloyd (Southeast Division), Willis Reed (Southwest Division), Sam Jones (Northwest Division), and Chuck Cooper (Pacific Division). The previously unnamed conference championship trophies were rebranded in honor of Bob Cousy (Eastern Conference) and Oscar Robertson (Western Conference), while the top performer of each conference finals will now receive awards named after Larry Bird and Magic Johnson respectively. In addition, the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy was redesigned to feature the top circular disk engraving the first 75 NBA champions, and the bottom disk representing the next 25 champions.

Transactions

Retirements

• On July 6, 2021, Ian Mahinmi announced his retirement from the NBA. Mahinmi played 12 seasons in the NBA, winning one championship with the Dallas Mavericks in 2011.
• On July 18, 2021, Omri Casspi announced his retirement from the NBA. Casspi played for seven teams during his 10-year NBA career.
• On July 21, 2021, Amile Jefferson announced his retirement from the NBA. Jefferson played two seasons with the Orlando Magic.
• On August 7, 2021, Jarrett Jack announced his retirement from the NBA. Jack played for nine teams during his 13-year NBA career.
• On August 11, 2021, J.R. Smith enrolled at North Carolina A&T State University with plans to join the Aggies golf team, effectively ending his career in the NBA. Smith played for five teams during his 16-year NBA career, made four straight Finals with the Cleveland Cavaliers from 2015-2018, winning an NBA championship in 2016 and another championship in 2020 with the Los Angeles Lakers.
• On August 12, 2021, Kyle Korver announced his retirement from the NBA. Korver played for six teams during his 17-year NBA career.
• On August 24, 2021, Jared Dudley announced his retirement from the NBA while accepting a role as an assistant coach for the Dallas Mavericks. Dudley played for seven teams during his 14-year NBA career, winning an NBA championship with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020.
• On September 21, 2021, JJ Redick announced his retirement from the NBA. Redick played for six teams during his 15-year NBA career.
• On September 28, 2021, it was announced that Tyson Chandler joined the Dallas Mavericks as a player development coach over the summer, effectively ending his playing career. Chandler played for eight teams during his 19-year NBA career, winning one championship with the Mavericks in 2011.
• On October 5, 2021, Pau Gasol announced his retirement from the NBA. Gasol played for five teams during his 18-year NBA career, winning back-to-back NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2009 and 2010.
• On October 22, 2021, Gerald Green announced his retirement from the NBA and joined the Houston Rockets coaching staff as a player development coach. Green played for eight teams during his 15-year playing career.
• On October 27, 2021, David Andersen announced his retirement from professional basketball. Andersen played for three teams during his two-year NBA career.
• On November 11, 2021, Damjan Rudež announced his retirement from professional basketball. Rudež played for three teams during his three-year NBA career.
• On November 26, 2021, Alexis Ajinça announced his retirement from professional basketball. Ajinça played for four NBA teams during his 13-year professional career.
• On November 27, 2021, Beno Udrih announced his retirement from professional basketball after being a development coach for the New Orleans Pelicans for the past two seasons. Udrih played for eight teams during his 13-year NBA career.
• On January 18, 2022, Chandler Parsons announced his retirement from professional basketball. Parsons played for four teams during his nine year NBA career.
• On March 9, 2022, Jeff Teague joined the Atlanta Hawks as a scout, effectively ending his NBA career. Teague played for five teams during his thirteen year NBA career.
• On March 21, 2022, Jamal Crawford announced his retirement from the NBA. Crawford played for nine teams during his twenty year NBA career.

Head coaching changes

Off-season

Coaching changes

Team	2020–21 season	2021–22 season
Off-season
Boston Celtics	Brad Stevens	Ime Udoka
Dallas Mavericks	Rick Carlisle	Jason Kidd
Indiana Pacers	Nate Bjorkgren	Rick Carlisle
New Orleans Pelicans	Stan Van Gundy	Willie Green
Orlando Magic	Steve Clifford	Jamahl Mosley
Portland Trail Blazers	Terry Stotts	Chauncey Billups
Washington Wizards	Scott Brooks	Wes Unseld Jr

General manager changes

Off-season

General manager changes

Team	2020–21 season	2021–22 season
Off-season
Boston Celtics	Danny Ainge	Brad Stevens
Dallas Mavericks	Donnie Nelson	Nico Harrison

Player movements

Trades

June
June 18	To Boston Celtics Moses Brown Al Horford 2023 second-round pick}}	To Oklahoma City Thunder Kemba Walker 2021 BOS first-round pick 2025 second-round pick
July
July 29 (Draft-day trades)	To Charlotte Hornets Draft rights to Kai Jones (No. 19)	To New York Knicks 2022 CHA protected first-round pickTemplate:Refn
	To Los Angeles Clippers Draft rights to Keon Johnson (No. 21)	To New York Knicks Draft rights to Quentin Grimes (No. 25) 2024 DET second-round pick
	To Los Angeles Clippers Draft rights to Jason Preston (No. 33)	To Orlando Magic 2026 DET second-round pick Cash considerations
	To New Orleans Pelicans Cash considerations	To Philadelphia 76ers 2021 No. 53 pick
	To New Orleans Pelicans 2026 POR second-round pick Cash considerations	To Portland Trail Blazers Draft rights to Greg Brown (No. 43)
July 30	To Houston Rockets Draft rights to Alperen Şengün (No. 16)	To Oklahoma City Thunder 2022 DET protected first-round pickTemplate:Refn 2023 WAS protected first-round pickTemplate:Refn
	To Indiana Pacers Draft rights to Isaiah Todd (No. 31)	To Milwaukee Bucks Draft rights to Sandro Mamukelashvili (No. 54) Draft rights to Georgios Kalaitzakis (No. 60) 2024 second-round pickTemplate:Refn 2026 second-round pickTemplate:Refn
	To New York Knicks Draft rights to Rokas Jokubaitis (No. 34) Draft rights to Miles McBride (No. 36)	To Oklahoma City Thunder Draft rights to Jeremiah Robinson-Earl (No. 32)
	To Oklahoma City Thunder Derrick Favors 2024 protected first-round pickTemplate:Refn	To Utah Jazz 2027 second-round pickTemplate:Refn Cash considerations
July 31	To Boston Celtics Josh Richardson	To Dallas Mavericks Moses Brown
August
August 3	To Cleveland Cavaliers Ricky Rubio	To Minnesota Timberwolves Taurean Prince 2022 WAS second−round pick Cash considerations
August 6	To Brooklyn Nets Jevon Carter Draft rights to Day'Ron Sharpe (No. 29)	To Phoenix Suns Landry Shamet
	To Charlotte Hornets Mason Plumlee Draft rights to JT Thor (No. 37)	To Detroit Pistons Draft rights to Balša Koprivica (No. 57)
	To Miami Heat Kyle Lowry (sign-and-trade)	To Toronto Raptors Precious Achiuwa Goran Dragić
	Five-team trade
	To Brooklyn Nets 2024 second-round pickTemplate:Refn (from Washington) 2025 second-round pick swap rightTemplate:Refn (from Washington) Draft rights to Nikola Milutinov (2015, No. 26) (from San Antonio)	To Indiana Pacers Draft rights to Isaiah Jackson (No. 22) (from Los Angeles)
	To Los Angeles Lakers Russell Westbrook (from Washington) 2023 CHI second-round pick (from Washington) 2024 second-round pickTemplate:Refn (from Washington) 2028 WAS second-round pick (from Washington)	To San Antonio Spurs Chandler Hutchison (from Washington) 2022 second-round pickTemplate:Refn (from Washington)
	To Washington Wizards Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (from Los Angeles) Spencer Dinwiddie (sign-and-trade) (from Brooklyn) Montrezl Harrell (from Los Angeles) Aaron Holiday (from Indiana) Kyle Kuzma (from Los Angeles) Draft rights to Isaiah Todd (No. 31) (from Indiana) Cash considerations (from Indiana)
August 7	To Chicago Bulls Cash considerations	To Houston Rockets Daniel Theis (sign-and-trade)
	To Golden State Warriors 2026 MEM protected second-round pickTemplate:Refn	To Utah Jazz Eric Paschall
	To Los Angeles Clippers Draft rights to Brandon Boston Jr. (No. 51)	To New Orleans Pelicans 2022 SAC protected second-round pickTemplate:Refn Cash considerations
	To Memphis Grizzlies Sam Merrill 2024 second-round pickTemplate:Refn 2026 second-round pickTemplate:Refn	To Milwaukee Bucks Grayson Allen
	To Memphis Grizzlies Draft rights to Santi Aldama (No. 30)	To Utah Jazz Draft rights to Jared Butler (No. 40) 2022 MEM second-round pick 2026 MEM second-round pickTemplate:Refn
	Three-team trade
	To Atlanta Hawks Delon Wright (from Sacramento)	To Boston Celtics Kris Dunn (from Atlanta) Bruno Fernando (from Atlanta) 2023 POR second-round pick (from Atlanta)
	To Sacramento Kings Tristan Thompson (from Boston)
	Three-team trade
	To Charlotte Hornets Wes Iwundu (from New Orleans) Draft rights to Tyler Harvey (2015, No. 51) (from Memphis) 2022 NOP protected first-round pickTemplate:Refn (from New Orleans) Cash considerations (from New Orleans)	To Memphis Grizzlies Steven Adams (from New Orleans) Eric Bledsoe (from New Orleans) Draft rights to Ziaire Williams (No. 10) (from New Orleans) Draft rights to Jared Butler (No. 40) (from New Orleans) 2022 LAL protected first-round pick (from New Orleans)
	To New Orleans Pelicans Devonte' Graham (sign-and-trade) (from Charlotte) Jonas Valančiūnas (from Memphis) Draft rights to Trey Murphy III (No. 17) (from Memphis) Draft rights to Brandon Boston Jr. (No. 51) (from Memphis)
August 8	To Chicago Bulls Lonzo Ball (sign-and-trade)	To New Orleans Pelicans Tomáš Satoranský Garrett Temple (sign-and-trade) 2024 CHI second-round pick Cash considerations
	To Indiana Pacers 2023 SAS protected second-round pickTemplate:Refn	To San Antonio Spurs Doug McDermott (sign-and-trade) 2023 IND protected second-round pickTemplate:Refn 2026 second-round pick swap rightTemplate:Refn
August 11	To Chicago Bulls DeMar DeRozan (sign-and-trade)	To San Antonio Spurs Al-Farouq Aminu Thaddeus Young 2025 CHI protected first-round pickTemplate:Refn 2022 second-round pickTemplate:Refn 2025 CHI second-round pick
August 16	To Los Angeles Clippers Eric Bledsoe	To Memphis Grizzlies Patrick Beverley Daniel Oturu Rajon Rondo
August 17	To Boston Celtics Cash considerations	To New York Knicks Evan Fournier (sign-and-trade) 2022 CHA protected second-round pickTemplate:Refn 2023 second-round pickTemplate:Refn
August 25	To Memphis Grizzlies Jarrett Culver Juancho Hernangómez	To Minnesota Timberwolves Patrick Beverley
August 28	Three-team trade
	To Chicago Bulls Derrick Jones Jr. (from Portland) 2022 POR protected first-round pick (from Portland)Template:Refn 2023 DEN protected second-round pickTemplate:Refn (from Cleveland)	To Cleveland Cavaliers Lauri Markkanen (sign-and-trade) (from Chicago)
	To Portland Trail Blazers Larry Nance Jr. (from Cleveland)
September
September 4	To Brooklyn Nets Sekou Doumbouya Jahlil Okafor	To Detroit Pistons DeAndre Jordan 2022 BKN second-round pick 2024 second-round pickTemplate:Refn 2025 second-round pickTemplate:Refn 2027 BKN second-round pick Cash considerations
September 10	To Los Angeles Lakers Draft rights to Wang Zhelin (2016, No. 57)	To Memphis Grizzlies Marc Gasol 2024 LAL second-round pick Cash considerations
September 15	To Boston Celtics Juancho Hernangómez	To Memphis Grizzlies Kris Dunn Carsen Edwards 2026 right to swap second-round picks
October
October 6	To Brooklyn Nets Cash considerations	To Houston Rockets Sekou Doumbouya 2024 BKN second-round pick
	To Brooklyn Nets Edmond Sumner 2025 MIA protected second-round pickTemplate:Refn	To Indiana Pacers Draft rights to Juan Pablo Vaulet (2015 No. 39)