List of relocated National Basketball Association teams

The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional men's basketball league, consisting of 30 teams in North America—29 in the United States and one in Canada. The NBA was founded in New York City on June 6, 1946, as the Basketball Association of America (BAA).[1] It adopted the name National Basketball Association at the start of the 1949–50 season when it absorbed the National Basketball League (NBL).[1] The NBA is an active member of USA Basketball, which is recognized by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) as the national governing body for basketball in the country.[2] The league is considered to be one of the four major professional sports leagues of North America.[3]

Relocated teams

The list contains current franchises in the NBA. It does not include name changes.[4]

First First year in original city
Last Last year in original city
Win% Winning percentage
PA NBA Playoffs appearances
C Championship titles
^ City later received a new franchise
* Later relocated again
Team First Last Relocated to Seasons Win% PA C Main reason Ref
Tri-Cities Blackhawks 1949 1951 Milwaukee Hawks* 2 .409 1 0
Milwaukee Hawks^ 1951 1955 St. Louis Hawks* 4 .324 0 0
Fort Wayne Pistons 1948 1957 Detroit Pistons 9 .506 8 0 Small city
Rochester Royals 1948 1957 Cincinnati Royals* 9 .576 7 1 Lack of profitability
Minneapolis Lakers^ 1948 1960 Los Angeles Lakers 12 .545 11 5 Poor attendance [5]
Philadelphia Warriors^ 1946 1962 San Francisco Warriors 16 .506 12 2 Sold to San Francisco owner
Chicago Zephyrs^ 1961 1963 Baltimore Bullets* 2 .269 0 0
Syracuse Nationals 1949 1963 Philadelphia 76ers 14 .569 14 1
St. Louis Hawks 1955 1968 Atlanta Hawks 13 .550 12 1 Sold to Atlanta owners
San Diego Rockets^ 1967 1971 Houston Rockets 4 .363 1 0 Low attendance [6]
Cincinnati Royals 1957 1972 Kansas City–Omaha Kings* 15 .467 7 0
Baltimore Bullets 1963 1973 Capital Bullets§ 10 .493 7 0
Kansas City–Omaha Kings 1972 1975 Kansas City Kings* 3 .459 1 0 Moved all games to Kansas City
Buffalo Braves 1970 1978 San Diego Clippers* 8 .395 3 0 Sale to California owner
New Orleans Jazz^ 1974 1979 Utah Jazz 5 .393 0 0 Lack of profitability
San Diego Clippers 1978 1984 Los Angeles Clippers 6 .378 0 0 Poor attendance
Kansas City Kings 1975 1985 Sacramento Kings 10 .465 4 0 Low attendance
Vancouver Grizzlies 1995 2001 Memphis Grizzlies 6 .220 0 0 Weak Canadian dollar [7]
Charlotte Hornets 1988 2002 New Orleans Hornets 12 .566 7 0 Low attendance, Became Charlotte Bobcats thru expansion until renamed back to Hornets.
New Orleans Hornets^ 2002 2005 New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets* 3 .512 2 0 Temporary because of Hurricane Katrina [8][9]
New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets^ 2005 2007 New Orleans Hornets 2 .470 0 0 Return after temporary move [10]
Seattle SuperSonics 1967 2008 Oklahoma City Thunder 41 .524 22 1 Relocated to home of Oklahoma City-based owner [11]

§The Capital Bullets later became the Washington Bullets, then the Washington Wizards.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Goldaper, Sam (17 April 2006). "Nov. 1, 1946: New York vs. Toronto — The First Game". National Basketball Association. Retrieved 6 July 2009.
  2. ↑ "Inside USA Basketball". USA Basketball. Retrieved 4 July 2009.
  3. ↑ Pennington, Bill (4 April 2003). "Drugs; Anti-Doping Executive Plans to Prod Pro Leagues". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 July 2009.
  4. ↑ "Team Index". Sport Reference. Retrieved 25 May 2011.
  5. ↑ "History of the Lakers". Los Angeles Lakers. Retrieved February 3, 2016.
  6. ↑ "Owners, fans waited years before Rockets took off". Houston Chronicle. September 16, 2001. Retrieved February 3, 2016.
  7. ↑ Beamish, Mike (February 19, 2011). "NBA dreams rekindled, 10 years after Grizzlies’ demise". The Vancouver Sun. Archived from the original on February 23, 2011. Retrieved February 3, 2016.
  8. ↑ "Hornets to Play in Oklahoma City". New Orleans Hornets. September 21, 2005. Retrieved September 21, 2005.
  9. ↑ Smith, Jimmy (September 21, 2005). "The buzz is Oklahoma City – Hornets will play 35 games there, six at the PMAC". New Orleans Times-Picayune. p. C5.
  10. ↑ JERÉ LONGMAN (November 1, 2007). "Putting the New Orleans in the New Orleans Hornets". The New York Times. Retrieved February 3, 2016.
  11. ↑ Jim Brunner; Sharon Pian Chan (July 2, 2008). "Sonics, city reach settlement". Seattle Times. Retrieved May 11, 2015.
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