[1][note 1] The league played its first game at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City on April 9, 1975,[1] and its regulations are a hybrid of rules from the NBA and FIBA.

Although the three conferences have minor variations in format and rules, each consists of a single round-robin elimination round followed by playoffs to determine the champion.

[5] On January 23, 1975, Mariwasa-Noritake Porcelainmakers' team owner, Emerson Coseteng, together with Carrier Weathermakers, Toyota Comets, Seven-Up Uncolas and Presto Ice Cream announced the formation of the PBA.

Leopoldo Prieto, the coach for the Philippines at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, was appointed as the first commissioner and Coseteng was chosen as the first president of the league's Board of Governors.

Big names such as Robert Jaworski, Ramon Fernandez, Francis Arnaiz, Atoy Co, Bogs Adornado and Philip Cezar played for those squads before the two teams disbanded in 1983 and 1984 respectively.

By the end of the 1980s, San Miguel Beer won numerous championships that included the 1989 Grand Slam, led by coach Norman Black and former national team stars Samboy Lim and Hector Calma.

In 1989, FIBA voted to allow professionals to play in their sanctioned tournaments, hence the PBA's players are now able to represent the country internationally.

By 1993, the league moved to the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay and later saw the Alaska Milkmen win the 1996 grand slam and nine titles in the decade.

The arrival of dozens of these players was a counter to the fledgling Metropolitan Basketball Association, a regional-based professional league formed in 1998.

To accommodate these changes, a transitional tournament, the 2004 PBA Fiesta Conference was held from February to July, which was won by the Barangay Ginebra Kings.

The league regained some popularity by this year, thanks in large part to Barangay Ginebra's three PBA championships led by Eric Menk, Jayjay Helterbrand and Mark Caguioa.

On May 19, 2013, the third game of the PBA Commissioner's Cup Finals between the Alaska Aces and the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel set the all-time basketball attendance record of 23,436 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum,[8] which broke the previous record of 23,108 set 11 days earlier that featured the semifinals series doubleheader between Alaska vs. San Mig Coffee and Barangay Ginebra vs. Talk 'N Text.

[11] This record was eventually broken during the Game 7 of the 2022–23 Commissioner's Cup Finals, contested between the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel and guest team Bay Area Dragons, which was also held in the Philippine Arena with an attendance of 54,589.

After two weeks, the Quezon City government approved the league's proposal to play their games with a limited number of audience at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The league postponed indefinitely the scheduled games for January 2022 due to the increasing number of COVID-19 cases brought by the Omicron variant.

[23] In 2008, a survey by the Social Weather Stations showed that Purefoods shares the honor of the league's most popular team along with Barangay Ginebra.

[32] Other short-lived or less intense rivalries include: As teams do not represent geographic locales, the league itself rents venues for games.

[39] When the PBA was created, it was from the nine clubs representing different companies that seceded from the Manila Industrial and Commercial Athletic Association (MICAA).

The PBA adopted the MICAA's "franchise system" akin to North American sports, only that instead of geographic regions, teams represent companies.

In 1998, Jaworski ran and won for a Senate seat; this caused him to delegate coaching duties to his longtime deputy Rino Salazar.

By this time, Danding Cojuangco has seized control of SMC, and he added Allan Caidic to Ginebra from San Miguel.

Most draft applicants have played in the collegiate ranks (either in the Philippines or the United States), the PBA D-League, or in other domestic and international leagues.

In some cases, there may be a mid-season break to give way for players who are members of the Philippine national team to play in FIBA tournaments, as such the season may be lengthened.

[56] Although occasionally, players are allowed to temporarily suit up in such games if they secure permission from both their teams and the league management, especially for participations involving charity.

IBC would then join forces with the National Broadcasting Network (NBN; PTV's previous identity from 2001 to 2011) in 2003,[62][63] but the former would drop out the same year in October.

Shortly after the opening of the 2016 Governors' Cup, PBA Rush was launched, which is a PBA-dedicated cable channel that features game simulcasts and replays as well as its own dedicated programming.

Beginning with the 2023–24 season, TV5 has partnered up with multiple networks to broadcast the PBA games as TV5 President Guido Zaballero stated that the channel began shifting its focus on entertainment and news programs such as the Korean dramas Revolutionary Love and Diary of a Prosecutor.

The PBA entered into an acquired agreement with ZOE Broadcasting Network and ABS-CBN Corporation to air the league's games on A2Z starting November 5, 2023, until February 11, 2024.

Following the shut down of CNN Philippines at the end of January, RPTV took over all live broadcasts, weekdays and weekends, beginning in February.

The Commissioner handles the marketing and administration aspects as well as the technical, game related concerns of the PBA and its developmental league.