From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The following is a timeline of the organizational changes in the National Basketball Association (NBA), including contractions, expansions, relocations, and divisional realignment. The league was formed as the Basketball Association of America (BAA) in 1946 and took its current name in 1949. The histories of NBA franchises that were also members of the American Basketball League (ABL), National Basketball League (NBL), National Pro Basketball League (NPBL), and American Basketball Association (ABA) are also included.
[ edit ] 1946: Founding of the BAA [ edit ] The Basketball Association of America (BAA) was established with 11 teams (divided into Eastern and Western Divisions).
Team folded after this season †
The Cleveland Rebels, Detroit Falcons, Pittsburgh Ironmen, and Toronto Huskies folded.
The Baltimore Bullets joined from the ABL and were placed in the Western Division.
The Washington Capitols moved to the Western Division. The Fort Wayne Pistons, Indianapolis Jets, Minneapolis Lakers, and Rochester Royals all joined from the NBL and were placed in the Western Division.
The Washington Capitols moved back to the Eastern Division.
First season in BAA *
Only season in the league §
Folded after this season †
[ edit ] [ edit ] The Indianapolis Jets and Providence Steamrollers folded.
The BAA merged with the NBL to form the NBA.
The Anderson Packers, Denver Nuggets, Sheboygan Red Skins, Syracuse Nationals, Tri-Cities Blackhawks, and Waterloo Hawks all joined from the NBL.
The Indianapolis Olympians joined as an expansion team.
The Central Division was created.
Team merged from NBL ^
First season in NBA *
Folded after this season †
Team merged from the NBL, but then jumped to the NPBL after this season §
Team merged from the NBL, but then folded after this season ^†
The Central Division disappeared.
The Chicago Stags, Denver Nuggets, and St. Louis Bombers folded.
The Anderson Packers, Sheboygan Red Skins, and Waterloo Hawks transferred to the NPBL .
The Washington Capitols folded mid-season.
Folded midway through this season †
1951: Hawks relocate to Milwaukee [ edit ]
Folded after the 1952–53 season †
1953 and 1954 contraction [ edit ] The Indianapolis Olympians folded.
The Baltimore Bullets folded after 14 games.
Folded midway through the 1954–55 season †
1955: Hawks relocate to St. Louis [ edit ] 1957: Pistons and Royals relocate [ edit ] 1960: Lakers relocate to Los Angeles [ edit ] The Chicago Packers joined as an expansion team and were placed in the Western Division. 1962: Warriors relocate and Chicago rebrands [ edit ] 1963: Zephyrs and Nationals relocate [ edit ] [ edit ] The Chicago Bulls joined as an expansion team and were placed in the Western Division.
The Baltimore Bullets moved to the Eastern Division. 1968 expansion and relocation [ edit ] The Milwaukee Bucks and Phoenix Suns joined as expansion teams. The Bucks were placed in the Eastern Dvision and the Suns in the Western Division.
The St. Louis Hawks relocated to Atlanta to become the Atlanta Hawks .
1968–69 is first season in NBA *
1970 expansion and realignment [ edit ] 1971: Rockets and Warriors relocate [ edit ] [ edit ] The Cincinnati Royals left Cincinnati and decided to split their home games between Kansas City, Missouri and Omaha, Nebraska , becoming the Kansas City–Omaha Kings. They moved from the Central to the Midwest Division.
The Houston Rockets moved from the Pacific to the Central Division.
The Phoenix Suns moved from the Midwest to the Pacific Division. 1973: Bullets relocate [ edit ] The Baltimore Bullets relocated to the Washington, D.C. suburb of Landover, Maryland to become the Capital Bullets. 1975: Kings play in Kansas City full-time [ edit ] The Kansas City–Omaha Kings abandoned playing in Omaha to become the Kansas City Kings. [ edit ] [ edit ] 1977: Nets relocate to New Jersey [ edit ] 1978: Braves relocate to San Diego [ edit ] The Buffalo Braves relocated to San Diego to become the San Diego Clippers and moved from the Atlantic to the Pacific Division.
The Detroit Pistons moved from the Midwest to the Central Division.
The Washington Bullets moved from the Central to the Atlantic Division. 1979: Jazz relocate to Utah [ edit ] The New Orleans Jazz relocated to Salt Lake City , Utah to become the Utah Jazz , and moved from the Central to the Midwest Division.
The Indiana Pacers moved from the Midwest to the Central Division. 1980 expansion and realignment [ edit ] The Dallas Mavericks are enfranchised as the league's 23rd team and placed in the Midwest Division.
The two other Texas teams, the Houston Rockets and the San Antonio Spurs, moved from the Central to the Midwest Division to join the Mavericks.
The Chicago Bulls and the Milwaukee Bucks moved from the Midwest to the Central Division.
1980–81 is first season in NBA *
1984: Clippers relocate to Los Angeles [ edit ] 1985: Kings relocate to Sacramento [ edit ] [ edit ] The Charlotte Hornets and the Miami Heat are enfranchised as the league's 24th and 25th teams. The Hornets are placed in the Atlantic Division and the Heat in the Midwest Division.
The Sacramento Kings moved from the Midwest to the Pacific Division. The Minnesota Timberwolves and the Orlando Magic are enfranchised as the league's 26th and 27th teams. The Timberwolves are placed in the Midwest Division and the Magic in the Central Division.
The Charlotte Hornets and the Miami Heat switched conferences. The Hornets moved from the Atlantic to the Midwest Division, while the Heat from the Midwest to the Atlantic Division. 1990: Hornets and Magic switch conferences [ edit ] The Charlotte Hornets moved from the Midwest to the Central Division, while the Orlando Magic from the Central to the Midwest Division. 1991: Magic moves back to the Eastern Conference [ edit ] The Orlando Magic moved from the Midwest to the Atlantic Division to reduce travel after spending the previous season in the Western Conference. The NBA expands into Canada as the Toronto Raptors and Vancouver Grizzlies are enfranchised as the league's 28th and 29th teams. The Raptors are placed in the Central Division and the Grizzlies in the Midwest Division.
1995–96 is first season in NBA *
1997: Washington renaming [ edit ] 2001: Grizzlies relocate to Memphis [ edit ] 2002: Hornets relocate to New Orleans [ edit ] The Charlotte Hornets relocated to New Orleans to become the New Orleans Hornets .
[ edit ] 2004 expansion and realignment [ edit ] The Charlotte Bobcats are enfranchised as the league's 30th team.
The league realigned to create three divisions in each conference with five teams in each division.
The New Orleans Hornets are the only team to switch conferences, moving from the Eastern Conference to the Western Conference. 2005: Hurricane Katrina impacts Hornets [ edit ] Due to the damages caused by Hurricane Katrina , the Hornets split their home games between New Orleans and Oklahoma City for two seasons, and thus officially play as the New Orleans–Oklahoma City Hornets. 2007: Hornets return to New Orleans full-time [ edit ] With damages caused by Hurricane Katrina fully repaired, the Hornets returned to New Orleans full-time. 2008: SuperSonics relocate to Oklahoma City [ edit ] The Seattle SuperSonics relocated to Oklahoma City to become the Oklahoma City Thunder .
2012: Nets relocate to Brooklyn [ edit ] The New Jersey Nets relocated to Brooklyn to become the Brooklyn Nets .
2013: New Orleans renaming [ edit ] The New Orleans Hornets are renamed the New Orleans Pelicans .
2014: Charlotte renaming [ edit ] The Charlotte Bobcats are renamed the Charlotte Hornets after the New Orleans Pelicans agree to return the original Charlotte Hornets' name, history, and records from 1988 to 2002 to the city of Charlotte.[ 1]
1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s
