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]
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 | class=unsortable | Main reason | class=unsortable | Ref | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1949 | 1951 | Milwaukee Hawks | align=right | 2 | align=right | .409 | align=right | 1 | align=right | 0 | Small city | ||||
| Milwaukee Hawks^ | 1951 | 1955 | St. Louis Hawks | align=right | 4 | align=right | .324 | align=right | 0 | align=right | 0 | ||||
| 1948 | 1957 | align=right | 9 | align=right | .506 | align=right | 8 | align=right | 0 | Small city | |||||
| 1948 | 1957 | Cincinnati Royals | align=right | 9 | align=right | .576 | align=right | 7 | align=right | 1 | Lack of profitability | ||||
| Minneapolis Lakers^ | 1948 | 1960 | align=right | 12 | align=right | .545 | align=right | 11 | align=right | 5 | Poor attendance | align=center | [5] | ||
| Philadelphia Warriors^ | 1946 | 1962 | align=right | 16 | align=right | .506 | align=right | 12 | align=right | 2 | Sold to San Francisco owner | ||||
| Chicago Zephyrs^ | 1961 | 1963 | Baltimore Bullets | align=right | 2 | align=right | .269 | align=right | 0 | align=right | 0 | ||||
| 1949 | 1963 | align=right | 14 | align=right | .569 | align=right | 14 | align=right | 1 | ||||||
| 1955 | 1968 | align=right | 13 | align=right | .550 | align=right | 12 | align=right | 1 | Sold to Atlanta owners | |||||
| 1967 | 1968 | New York Nets | align=right | 1 | align=right | align=right | 0 | align=right | 0 | Overbooked play location | |||||
| San Diego Rockets^ | 1967 | 1971 | align=right | 4 | align=right | .363 | align=right | 1 | align=right | 0 | Sold to Houston ownership group after original owner Robert Breitbard came under financial distress due to tax assessment issues surrounding the arena he developed, the San Diego International Sports Center | [6] | |||
| 1957 | 1972 | Kansas City–Omaha Kings | align=right | 15 | align=right | .467 | align=right | 7 | align=right | 0 | |||||
| 1963 | 1973 | Capital Bullets§ | 10 | align=right | .493 | align=right | 7 | align=right | 0 | The Capital Bullets were later renamed Washington Bullets (1974–1997) and Washington Wizards (since 1997). Despite relocating, the team would play a few home games in Baltimore from 1989 to 1997. | |||||
| 1972 | 1975 | Kansas City Kings | align=right | 3 | align=right | .459 | align=right | 1 | align=right | 0 | Moved all games to Kansas City | ||||
| 1968 | 1977 | New Jersey Nets | align=right | 8 | align=right | align=right | 1 | align=right | 0 | NBA-ABA Merger, poor attendance | |||||
| 1970 | 1978 | San Diego Clippers | align=right | 8 | align=right | .395 | align=right | 3 | align=right | 0 | |||||
| New Orleans Jazz^ | 1974 | 1979 | align=right | 5 | align=right | .393 | align=right | 0 | align=right | 0 | Lack of profitability | ||||
| 1978 | 1984 | align=right | 6 | align=right | .378 | align=right | 0 | align=right | 0 | Sold to Donald Sterling, who wanted the team in his hometown and eventually succeeded in relocation. In 2024, the Clippers' NBA G League team moved from Ontario, California to San Diego, adopting the San Diego Clippers branding. | |||||
| 1975 | 1985 | align=right | 10 | align=right | .465 | align=right | 4 | align=right | 0 | Low attendance | |||||
| 1995 | 2001 | align=right | 6 | align=right | .220 | align=right | 0 | align=right | 0 | Financial problems caused by low attendance and the weak Canadian dollar; sold to Michael Heisley with the intention of moving the team to Memphis. | align=center | [7] | |||
| Charlotte Hornets^ | 1988 | 2002 | New Orleans Hornets | align=right | 14 | align=right | .485 | align=right | 7 | align=right | 0 | Declining attendance, reported lack of profitability, and the declining popularity of owner George Shinn. This relocation was reversed retroactively in 2014 when the newly-rebranded Charlotte Hornets (founded as the Bobcats in 2004) was awarded the history and records of the original Hornets in Charlotte from 1988 to 2002, while retroactively suspending operations from 2002 to 2004. The now-New Orleans Pelicans (rebranded from the Hornets in 2013) kept the history and records of the team in New Orleans from 2002 onward, but were retroactively reclassified as an expansion team. | align=center | [8] [9] | |
| New Orleans Hornets^ | 2002 | 2005 | New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets | align=right | 3 | align=right | .512 | align=right | 2 | align=right | 0 | Damage to the New Orleans metropolitan area caused by Hurricane Katrina forced the Hornets to play most of their home games in Oklahoma City. | align=center | [10] [11] | |
| New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets^ | 2005 | 2007 | align=right | 2 | align=right | .470 | align=right | 0 | align=right | 0 | The Hornets returned to New Orleans for the 2007–08 season after repairs to the team's home arena were completed. The team was later renamed the New Orleans Pelicans (since 2013) and subsequently returned the Hornets brand to the NBA, which was reclaimed by the new Charlotte team (originally Bobcats) in 2014. | [12] | |||
| 1967 | 2008 | align=right | 41 | align=right | .524 | align=right | 22 | align=right | 1 | Financial problems exacerbated by the failure to provide funds for a new arena in Seattle; sold to Clay Bennett in 2006 who concealed the intention of moving the team to Oklahoma City. | align=center | [13] [14] | |||
| 1977 | 2012 | align=right | 35 | align=right | - | align=right | - | align=right | - | ||||||
| 1995 | 2020 | temporarily relocated to Tampa | align=right | 25 | align=right | - | align=right | - | align=right | - | The Raptors played their home games at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida, home of the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League during their 2020–21 season, as a result of COVID-19 cross-border travel restrictions imposed by the Government of Canada. They returned to Toronto the following season. | [15] |