The 2011/12 NBA season has been thrown into turmoil after team owners and players failed to find common ground over the terms of a new CBA - the document which sets down and defines the terms of the players' employment with the NBA franchises.
The NBA officially entered lockout upon the expiry of the existing CBA at a minute after midnight US time (0401GMT), after a three-hour meeting failed to bridge the gulf separating the demands of the two parties.
The NBA said in a statement: "The National Basketball Association announced that it will commence a lockout of its players, effective at 12:01 am ET on July 1, until a new collective bargaining agreement is reached with the National Basketball Players Association.
"During the lockout, players will not receive their salaries; teams will not negotiate, sign or trade player contracts; players will not be able to use team facilities for any purpose; and teams will not conduct or facilitate any summer camps, exhibitions, practices, workouts, coaching sessions, or team meetings."
The team owners are seeking to reduce the players' current 57% share of basketball revenue, and rejected the players' offer to peg that figure at 54.3%.
Players' union chief Billy Hunter said: "The problem is that there's such a gap in terms of the numbers, where they are and where we are, and we just can't find any way to bridge that gap."
NBA commissioner David Stern said there was a "philosophical divide" between the two parties, with the teams eager to avoid the financial losses that have hit many during the term of the most recent CBA, and the players anxious to preserve their huge salaries, which currently average US 5million a year.
NBA deputy commissioner Adam Silver added: "The expiring collective bargaining agreement created a broken system that produced huge financial losses for our teams.
"We need a sustainable business model that allows all 30 teams to be able to compete for a championship, fairly compensates our players, and provides teams, if well-managed, with an opportunity to be profitable.
"We have made several proposals to the union, including a deal targeting US 2billion annually as the players' share - an average of approximately US 5m per player that could increase along with league revenue growth.
"Elements of our proposal would also better align players' pay with performance.
"We will continue to make every effort to reach a new agreement that is fair and in the best interests of our teams, our players, our fans, and our game."
The last time a lockout hit the NBA, in 1998/99, the season was reduced to a 50-game schedule, although players' chief Hunter is refusing to contemplate such an outcome at this stage.
"I hope it doesn't come down to that," he said.
"Obviously, the clock is now running with regard to whether or not there will or will be a loss of games, and so I'm hoping that over the next month or so that there will be sort of a softening on their side and maybe we have to soften our position as well."
The first impact of the lockout will be the cancellation of the start of the annual free-agency period, which was due to commence later on Friday.
The NBA's summer league has already has been called off, while some players' involvement in Olympic qualifiers this summer could be thrown into chaos without the input of the NBA over insurance matters.
The expiry of the CBA means two of America's major leagues are now in a state of lockout. The NFL's team owners and players also failed to agree on a new CBA in March
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