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.
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bar:Bullets
bar:Pistons bar:Jets bar:Lakers bar:Kings
bar:Packers bar:NuggetsI bar:Olympians bar:Sheboygan bar:76ers bar:Hawks bar:Waterloo
bar:Wizards bar:Bulls bar:Rockets bar:Thunder bar:Bucks bar:Suns
bar:Clippers bar:Cavs bar:Trailblazers bar:Jazz
bar:NuggetsII bar:Pacers bar:Nets bar:Spurs
bar:Mavericks bar:Hornets bar:Heat bar:Magic bar:Timberwolves
bar:Raptors bar:Grizzlies bar:Pelicans
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bar:Falcons from:1946 till:1947 text:"Detroit Falcons" $Left color:red bar:Rebels from:1946 till:1947 text:"Cleveland Rebels" $Left color:maroon bar:Steamrollers from:1946 till:1949 text:"Providence Steamrollers" $Left color:redorange bar:Ironmen from:1946 till:1947 text:"Pittsburgh Ironmen" $Left color:silver bar:Huskies from:1946 till:1947 text:"Toronto Huskies" $Left color:blue
bar:Waterloo from:1948 till:1949 $Left text:"Waterloo Hawks (NBL)" bar:Waterloo from:1949 till:1950 $Up color:iceblue bar:Waterloo from:1950 till:1951 $Right $NPBL
bar:Capitols from:1946 till:1950 text:"Washington Capitols" $Left color:green bar:Bombers from:1946 till:1950 text:"St Louis Bombers" $Left color:red
bar:NuggetsI from:1948 till:1949 $Left $NBL bar:NuggetsI from:1949 till:1950 text:"Denver Nuggets" $Right color:gold
bar:Olympians from:1949 till:1953 text:"Indianapolis Olympians" $Left color:blue
bar:Stags from:1946 till:1950 text:"Chicago Stags" $Left color:blue
bar:Jets from:1937 till:1948 $NBL bar:Jets from:1948 till:1949 text:"Indianapolis Jets" $Right color:red
bar:Packers from:1946 till:1949 text:"Anderson Packers (NBL)" $Left bar:Packers from:1949 till:1950 color:darkred bar:Packers from:1950 till:1951 $NPBL $right
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bar:76ers from:1946 till:1949 $NBL bar:76ers from:1949 till:1963 text:"Syracuse Nationals" color:red $t:darkblue bar:76ers from:1963 till:end text:"Philadelphia 76ers" $RightIn color:royalblue $t:White
bar:Bucks from:1968 till:end text:"Milwaukee Bucks" $RightIn color:green $t:white
bar:Bulls from:1966 till:end text:"Chicago Bulls" $RightIn color:red $t:black
bar:Celtics from:1946 till:end text:"Boston Celtics" $RightIn color:green $t:white
bar:Cavs from:1970 till:end text:"Cleveland Cavaliers" $RightIn color:burgundy $t:gold
bar:Clippers from:1970 till:1978 text:"Buffalo Braves" color:lightblue $t:black bar:Clippers from:1978 till:1984 text:"San Diego~Clippers" $Up color:redorange $t:blue bar:Clippers from:1984 till:end text:"Los Angeles Clippers" $RightIn color:navy $t:white
bar:Grizzlies from:1995 till:2001 text:"Vancouver~Grizzlies" $Up color:teal $t:black bar:Grizzlies from:2001 till:end text:"Memphis Grizzlies" $RightIn color:lightblue $t:darkblue
bar:Hawks from:1946 till:1949 text:"Tri-Cities Blackhawks (NBL)" $t:black $Left bar:Hawks from:1949 till:1951 color:navy bar:Hawks from:1951 till:1955 text:"Milwaukee~Hawks" $up color:royalblue $t:iceblue bar:Hawks from:1955 till:1968 text:"St Louis Hawks" color:red $t:white bar:Hawks from:1968 till:end text:"Atlanta Hawks" $RightIn color:red2 $t:yellow
bar:Heat from:1988 till:end text:"Miami Heat" $RightIn color:darkred $t:white
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bar:Lakers from:1947 till:1948 $Left $NBL bar:Lakers from:1948 till:1960 text:"Minneapolis Lakers" $t:yellow color:iceblue bar:Lakers from:1960 till:end text:"Los Angeles Lakers" $RightIn color:gold $t:purple
bar:Mavericks from:1980 till:end text:"Dallas Mavericks" $RightIn color:royalblue $t:silver
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bar:Magic from:1989 till:end text:"Orlando Magic" $RightIn color:blue $t:white
bar:Pacers from:1967 till:1976 $ABA bar:Pacers from:1976 till:end text:"Indiana Pacers" color:navy textcolor:yellow $RightIn
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bar:Raptors from:1995 till:end text:"Toronto Raptors" $RightIn color:red $t:white
bar:Rockets from:1967 till:1971 text:"San Diego Rockets" $Left color:green $t:green bar:Rockets from:1971 till:end text:"Houston Rockets" $RightIn color:red $t:yellow
bar:Spurs from:1967 till:1973 $Left text:"Dallas Chaparrals (ABA)" bar:Spurs from:1973 till:1976 $ABA bar:Spurs from:1976 till:end text:"San Antonio Spurs" $RightIn color:black textcolor:silver
bar:Suns from:1968 till:end text:"Phoenix Suns" $RightIn color:purple $t:orange
bar:Timberwolves from:1989 till:end text:"Minnesota Timberwolves" $RightIn color:lions_lightblue $t:white
bar:Trailblazers from:1970 till:end text:"Portland Trail Blazers" $RightIn color:black $t:red
bar:Thunder from:1967 till:2008 text:"Seattle SuperSonics" color:green $t:yellow bar:Thunder from:2008 till:end text:"Oklahoma City Thunder" color:orange $t:darkblue
bar:Warriors from:1946 till:1962 text:"Philadelphia Warriors" color:blue $t:darkred bar:Warriors from:1962 till:1971 text:"San Francisco~Warriors" $up color:gold $t:blue bar:Warriors from:1971 till:end text:"Golden State Warriors" $RightIn color:blue $t:yellow
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| Team folded after this season † |
| First season in BAA * |
| Eastern | Western | |
|---|---|---|
| Boston Celtics | Baltimore Bullets | |
| New York Knicks | Chicago Stags | |
| Philadelphia Warriors | St. Louis Bombers | |
| Providence Steamrollers | Washington Capitols |
| First season in BAA * | Only season in the league § | Folded after this season † |
| Eastern | Western | |
|---|---|---|
| Baltimore Bullets | Chicago Stags | |
| Boston Celtics | Fort Wayne Pistons | |
| New York Knicks | Indianapolis Jets§ | |
| Philadelphia Warriors | Minneapolis Lakers | |
| Providence Steamrollers† | Rochester Royals | |
| Washington Capitols | St. Louis Bombers |
| 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 ^† | |||
| Eastern | Central | Western | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baltimore Bullets | Chicago Stags† | Anderson Packers§ | |
| Boston Celtics | Fort Wayne Pistons | Denver Nuggets^† | |
| New York Knicks | Minneapolis Lakers | Indianapolis Olympians | |
| Philadelphia Warriors | Rochester Royals | Sheboygan Red Skins§ | |
| Syracuse Nationals^ | St. Louis Bombers† | Tri-Cities Blackhawks^ | |
| Washington Capitols | Waterloo Hawks§ |
| Folded midway through this season † |
| Eastern | Western | |
|---|---|---|
| Baltimore Bullets | Fort Wayne Pistons | |
| Boston Celtics | Indianapolis Olympians | |
| New York Knicks | Minneapolis Lakers | |
| Philadelphia Warriors | Rochester Royals | |
| Syracuse Nationals | Tri-Cities Blackhawks | |
| Washington Capitols† |
| Folded after the 1952–53 season † |
| Eastern | Western | |
|---|---|---|
| Baltimore Bullets | Fort Wayne Pistons | |
| Boston Celtics | Indianapolis Olympians† | |
| New York Knicks | Milwaukee Hawks | |
| Philadelphia Warriors | Minneapolis Lakers | |
| Syracuse Nationals | Rochester Royals |
| Folded midway through the 1954–55 season † |
| Eastern | Western | |
|---|---|---|
| Baltimore Bullets† | Fort Wayne Pistons | |
| Boston Celtics | Milwaukee Hawks | |
| New York Knicks | Minneapolis Lakers | |
| Philadelphia Warriors | Rochester Royals | |
| Syracuse Nationals |
| Eastern | Western | |
|---|---|---|
| Boston Celtics | Fort Wayne Pistons | |
| New York Knicks | Minneapolis Lakers | |
| Philadelphia Warriors | Rochester Royals | |
| Syracuse Nationals | St. Louis Hawks |
| Eastern | Western | |
|---|---|---|
| Boston Celtics | Cincinnati Royals | |
| New York Knicks | Detroit Pistons | |
| Philadelphia Warriors | Minneapolis Lakers | |
| Syracuse Nationals | St. Louis Hawks |
| Eastern | Western | |
|---|---|---|
| Boston Celtics | Cincinnati Royals | |
| New York Knicks | Detroit Pistons | |
| Philadelphia Warriors | Los Angeles Lakers | |
| Syracuse Nationals | St. Louis Hawks |
| First season in NBA * |
| Eastern | Western | |
|---|---|---|
| Boston Celtics | Chicago Packers | |
| New York Knicks | Cincinnati Royals | |
| Philadelphia Warriors | Detroit Pistons | |
| Syracuse Nationals | Los Angeles Lakers | |
| St. Louis Hawks |
| Eastern | Western | |
|---|---|---|
| Boston Celtics | Chicago Zephyrs | |
| Cincinnati Royals | Detroit Pistons | |
| New York Knicks | Los Angeles Lakers | |
| Syracuse Nationals | San Francisco Warriors | |
| St. Louis Hawks |
| Eastern | Western | |
|---|---|---|
| Boston Celtics | Baltimore Bullets | |
| Cincinnati Royals | Detroit Pistons | |
| New York Knicks | Los Angeles Lakers | |
| Philadelphia 76ers | San Francisco Warriors | |
| St. Louis Hawks |
| First season in NBA * |
| Eastern | Western | |
|---|---|---|
| Baltimore Bullets | Chicago Bulls | |
| Boston Celtics | Detroit Pistons | |
| Cincinnati Royals | Los Angeles Lakers | |
| New York Knicks | San Francisco Warriors | |
| Philadelphia 76ers | St. Louis Hawks |
| First season in NBA * |
| 1968–69 is first season in NBA * |
| First season in NBA * |
| First season in NBA * |
| Eastern | Western | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlantic | Central | Midwest | Pacific | |
| Boston Celtics | Atlanta Hawks | Chicago Bulls | Golden State Warriors | |
| Buffalo Braves | Cleveland Cavaliers | Detroit Pistons | Los Angeles Lakers | |
| New York Knicks | Houston Rockets | Kansas City–Omaha Kings | Phoenix Suns | |
| Philadelphia 76ers | New Orleans Jazz | Milwaukee Bucks | Portland Trail Blazers | |
| Washington Bullets | Seattle SuperSonics | |||
| Team merged from ABA ^ |
| Eastern | Western | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlantic | Central | Midwest | Pacific | |
| Boston Celtics | Atlanta Hawks | Chicago Bulls | Golden State Warriors | |
| New Jersey Nets | Cleveland Cavaliers | Denver Nuggets | Los Angeles Lakers | |
| New York Knicks | Detroit Pistons | Indiana Pacers | Phoenix Suns | |
| Philadelphia 76ers | Houston Rockets | Kansas City Kings | Portland Trail Blazers | |
| Washington Bullets | New Orleans Jazz | Milwaukee Bucks | San Diego Clippers | |
| San Antonio Spurs | Seattle SuperSonics | |||
| 1980–81 is first season in NBA * |
| Eastern | Western | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlantic | Central | Midwest | Pacific | |
| Boston Celtics | Atlanta Hawks | Dallas Mavericks | Golden State Warriors | |
| New Jersey Nets | Chicago Bulls | Denver Nuggets | Los Angeles Lakers | |
| New York Knicks | Cleveland Cavaliers | Houston Rockets | Phoenix Suns | |
| Philadelphia 76ers | Detroit Pistons | Kansas City Kings | Portland Trail Blazers | |
| Washington Bullets | Indiana Pacers | San Antonio Spurs | San Diego Clippers | |
| Milwaukee Bucks | Utah Jazz | Seattle SuperSonics | ||
| First season in NBA * |
| First season in NBA * |
| 1995–96 is first season in NBA * |
The Charlotte Hornets relocated to New Orleans to become the New Orleans Hornets.
| First season in NBA * |
The Seattle SuperSonics relocated to Oklahoma City to become the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The New Jersey Nets relocated to Brooklyn to become the Brooklyn Nets.
The New Orleans Hornets are renamed the New Orleans Pelicans.
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]