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NBA Defensive Player of the Year
NBA Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY), the Hakeem Olajuwon Trophy, honors the NBA's best regular-season defender; awarded since 1982-83, first won by Sidney Moncrief, with Victor Wembanyama the first unanimous winner in 2025-26.
NBA draft
NBA draft: annual two-round, 60-pick player selection held since 1947; top picks set since 1985 by a weighted lottery among non-playoff teams, reformed in 2019 (14% flat odds) and again by the 2027 3-2-1 Lottery.
NBA draft lottery
NBA draft lottery: annual weighted drawing among the 14 non-playoff NBA teams setting the top draft picks; 14 balls, 1,000 combinations, 14% top odds since 2019, 3-2-1 reform in 2027.
NBA Europe
NBA Europe: planned 16-team professional men's basketball league run by the NBA with FIBA, announced March 2025, targeting an October 2027 launch to rival the EuroLeague.
NBA Finals
NBA Finals: annual best-of-seven NBA championship series since 1947 (first won by Philadelphia Warriors over Chicago Stags). 2-2-1-1-1 format since 2014; Celtics and Lakers lead with 17 titles each; Knicks won 2026.
NBA G League
NBA G League: the NBA's official minor league, founded 2001 as the NBDL, renamed 2017 with Gatorade. 31 teams, 30 NBA affiliates, two-way contracts, call-ups, and rule testing.
NBA G League Ignite
NBA G League Ignite, the G League's owned-and-operated developmental team for elite NBA Draft prospects, launched April 2020, based in Henderson, Nevada; produced 13 draft picks including Jalen Green and Scoot Henderson before ending in March 2024 amid NIL changes.
NBA high school draftees
NBA high school draftees are basketball players drafted directly out of high school, from Reggie Harding in 1962 to a 1995–2005 wave including Garnett, Kobe, and LeBron.
NBA in-season tournament
NBA in-season tournament, also called the Emirates NBA Cup, is the NBA's annual mid-regular-season competition: 30 teams in conference group play, then an eight-team single-elimination knockout for the NBA Cup, with $500,000 per champion player; Lakers, Bucks, and Knicks have won.
NBA Jam
NBA Jam is Midway's 1993 two-on-two arcade basketball game, the first licensed sports coin-op, created by Mark Turmell. It grossed about $1 billion, omitted Michael Jordan over likeness rights, and EA last released a series game in 2011.
NBA Most Valuable Player Award
NBA Most Valuable Player Award (Michael Jordan Trophy), annual regular-season honor since 1955-56; first won by Bob Pettit; voted by 100 media members on a 10-7-5-3-1 ballot; Kareem Abdul-Jabbar won a record six; eight straight international winners through Gilgeous-Alexander.
NBA playoffs
NBA playoffs: the league's 16-team, eight-per-conference postseason, all best-of-seven series in 2-2-1-1-1 format, with a Play-In Tournament (since 2020, full-time since 2022) deciding the 7th and 8th seeds; 2026 champion New York Knicks.
NBA salary cap
NBA salary cap: soft cap on team player payroll, set at $164.961 million for 2026-27, derived from Basketball Related Income, with luxury tax ($200.428M) and first/second apron spending limits under the 2023 CBA.
NBA Summer League
NBA Summer League: annual July off-season tournament, main event in Las Vegas (UNLV Thomas & Mack Center), all 30 teams, 76 games, modified rules, used to evaluate rookies and test rule changes.
NC State Wolfpack football
NC State Wolfpack football: North Carolina State University's ACC college football team since 1892, nicknamed the Wolfpack in 1921, five ACC titles under Earle Edwards, home games at Carter-Finley Stadium, coached by Dave Doeren.
NC State Wolfpack men's basketball
The NC State Wolfpack men's basketball team is the program of North Carolina State University in Raleigh, an ACC member that won NCAA titles in 1974 and 1983.
NCAA basketball tournament selection process
NCAA basketball tournament selection process: the Division I men's and women's committees pick, seed, and bracket 76-team fields using the NET, quadrants, WAB, Torvik, 32 automatic bids, and 44 at-large selections.
NCAA Bowling Championship
The NCAA Bowling Championship is the annual single national collegiate championship in women's ten-pin bowling, first held in 2004 and open to varsity teams from Divisions I, II, and III.
NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision
NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly Division I-AA, the lower-resource Division I football subdivision; crowns its champion via a 24-team playoff with automatic conference bids, unlike the FBS College Football Playoff.
NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament
NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, March Madness: single-elimination college championship since 1939; 68 teams through 2026, expanding to 76 (32 automatic, 44 at-large) in 2027.
NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship
The NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship is the annual tournament deciding the national team and individual titles in NCAA Division I men's college golf, first held in 1939.
NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament
The NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament, also called women's March Madness, is the annual 68-to-76-team single-elimination NCAA championship for Division I women's college basketball, first held in 1982 with 32 teams, run by a 12-member committee, and broadcast by ESPN under a $920 million deal.
NCAA Football 14
NCAA Football 14 (NCAA Football 2014) is EA Tiburon's college football game for Xbox 360 and PS3, released July 9, 2013; the last NCAA Football title, with Infinity Engine 2 physics, Coach Skills, and Power Recruiting in Dynasty mode.
NCAA Season 102 basketball tournaments
NCAA Season 102 basketball tournaments (Philippine NCAA), hosted by San Beda University, opened September 13, 2026 at Mall of Asia Arena; weekday schedule, Group A/B format, PlayTime and CIgnal partners, San Beda defending Season 101 crown.
Ndamukong Suh
Ndamukong Suh, American NFL defensive tackle (born 1987, Nebraska), played for Lions, Dolphins, Rams, Buccaneers, and Eagles; three-time first-team All-Pro, five-time Pro Bowler, 2010 Defensive Rookie of the Year, Super Bowl LV champion, retired after 13 seasons.
Neal Broten
Neal Broten (Neal LaMoy Broten), American ice hockey center born 1959 in Roseau, Minnesota; 1980 Olympic gold medalist, first Hobey Baker Award winner, and 923-point NHL center who won the 1995 Stanley Cup with New Jersey.
Neal Brown
Neal Brown is an American college football coach, head coach of North Texas since December 2025, previously head coach at Troy (2015 to 2018) and West Virginia (2019 to 2024).
Nebojsa Popovic
Nebojša Popović (Небојша Поповић) names several Balkan athletes: a handballer born 1947, Olympic gold 1972 with Yugoslavia, and a basketball pioneer 1923–2001, founder of KK Crvena zvezda.
Necessary Roughness (film)
Necessary Roughness is a 1991 American sports comedy about college football, directed by Stan Dragoti, following the Texas State Armadillos as ordinary students rebuild a banned team.
Ned Cummins
Ned Cummins (Edward McClellan Cummins, 1886-1926), American golfer of Chicago's Exmoor Country Club; won 1904 Olympic team gold with the Western Golf Association and placed =17 in the individual event.