Central

The Central Division is one of the three divisions in the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The division consists of five teams, the Chicago Bulls, the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Detroit Pistons, the Indiana Pacers and the Milwaukee Bucks. All teams except the Cavaliers are former Midwest Division teams; thus, the Central Division now largely resembles the Midwest Division in the 1970s.

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 Cav...aliers and the Portland Trail Blazers. The league realigned itself into two conferences, the Western Conference and the Eastern Conference, with two divisions each in each conference. The Central Division began with four inaugural members, the Atlanta Hawks, the Baltimore Bullets, the Cincinnati Royals and the Cavaliers. The Hawks joined from the Western Division, while the Bullets and the Royals joined from the Eastern Division.

The Bucks have won the most Central Division titles with twelve. The Pistons have won the second most titles with nine. Thirteen NBA champions came from the Central Division: the Bulls won six championships, the Pistons won three championships, the Bucks won two championships, and the Bullets and Cavaliers won one championship each. All of them, except the 1977–78 Bullets and the 2003–04 Pistons, were division champions. In the 2005–06 season, all five teams from the division qualified for the playoffs. The most recent division champions are the Milwaukee Bucks. The Central Division has the highest percentage of teams that have won a championship, with four out of five teams winning the championship, and the Pacers the only franchise never to have won.

The Central Division previously existed for one season, the 1949–50 season, as one of three divisions in the NBA, along with the Western and Eastern divisions. The current Central Division that was formed in 1970 is one of three divisions in the Eastern Conference.

Since the 2021–22 season, the Central Division champions has received the Wayne Embry Trophy, named after Hall of Famer Wayne Embry.

Website: https://nba.com

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