The following is a timeline of the expansion and evolution of franchises in the National Basketball Association (NBA). 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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See also: List of defunct NBA teams, Expansion of the NBA and List of relocated NBA teams. The following is a history of the organizational changes in the NBA, including contractions, expansions, relocations, and divisional realignment since the founding of the ABA in 1946.
The Basketball Association of America is formed with 11 teams, and divided into East and West divisions. Four of these teams fold after the season.
| Team folded after this season † |
The BAA plays with eight teams, with the Baltimore Bullets joining the league from the ABL.
| First season in BAA * |
| East | West | |
|---|---|---|
| Boston Celtics | Baltimore Bullets | |
| New York Knicks | Chicago Stags | |
| Philadelphia Warriors | St. Louis Bombers | |
| Providence Steamrollers | Washington Capitols |
Four teams from the NBL, the Fort Wayne Pistons, Indianapolis Jets, Minneapolis Lakers, and the Rochester Royals, join the BAA. Both the Jets and the Providence Steamrollers fold after the season.
| First season in BAA * | Only season in the league § | Folded after this season † |
| East | West | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 |
The ten surviving BAA teams merge with the six remaining teams from the NBL to form the NBA. The Indianapolis Olympians also join the merged league as an expansion team. The merged NBA realigns into three divisions.
| Team merged from NBL ^ | Expansion team * | Folded after this season † | |
| Team merged from the NBL, but then jump to the NPBL after this season § | |||
| Team merged from the NBL, but then fold after this season ^† | |||
| East | Central | West | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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§ |
The NBA contracts to 11 teams, and realigns back to East and West divisions, after three clubs fold and three other teams jump to the NPBL. The Washington Capitols then also fold midway through the season.
| Folded midway through this season † |
| East | West | |
|---|---|---|
| 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† |
The Tri-Cities Blackhawks move to Milwaukee to become the Milwaukee Hawks.
| Folded after the 1952–53 season † |
| East | West | |
|---|---|---|
| Baltimore Bullets | Fort Wayne Pistons | |
| Boston Celtics | Indianapolis Olympians† | |
| New York Knicks | Milwaukee Hawks | |
| Philadelphia Warriors | Minneapolis Lakers | |
| Syracuse Nationals | Rochester Royals |
The league contracts to nine teams for the 1953–54 season after the Indianapolis Olympians fold. The Baltimore Bullets then fold 14 games into the 1954–55 season.
| Folded midway through the 1954–55 season † |
| East | West | |
|---|---|---|
| Baltimore Bullets† | Fort Wayne Pistons | |
| Boston Celtics | Milwaukee Hawks | |
| New York Knicks | Minneapolis Lakers | |
| Philadelphia Warriors | Rochester Royals | |
| Syracuse Nationals |
The Milwaukee Hawks move to St. Louis to become the St. Louis Hawks.
| East | West | |
|---|---|---|
| Boston Celtics | Fort Wayne Pistons | |
| New York Knicks | Minneapolis Lakers | |
| Philadelphia Warriors | Rochester Royals | |
| Syracuse Nationals | St. Louis Hawks |
| East | West | |
|---|---|---|
| Boston Celtics | Cincinnati Royals | |
| New York Knicks | Detroit Pistons | |
| Philadelphia Warriors | Minneapolis Lakers | |
| Syracuse Nationals | St. Louis Hawks |
The Minneapolis Lakers move to Los Angeles to become the Los Angeles Lakers.
| East | West | |
|---|---|---|
| Boston Celtics | Cincinnati Royals | |
| New York Knicks | Detroit Pistons | |
| Philadelphia Warriors | Los Angeles Lakers | |
| Syracuse Nationals | St. Louis Hawks |
The Chicago Packers are enfranchised and are placed in the West Division, bringing the league back to nine teams.
| First season in NBA * |
| East | West | |
|---|---|---|
| Boston Celtics | Chicago Packers | |
| New York Knicks | Cincinnati Royals | |
| Philadelphia Warriors | Detroit Pistons | |
| Syracuse Nationals | Los Angeles Lakers | |
| St. Louis Hawks |
| East | West | |
|---|---|---|
| Boston Celtics | Chicago Zephyrs | |
| Cincinnati Royals | Detroit Pistons | |
| New York Knicks | Los Angeles Lakers | |
| Syracuse Nationals | San Francisco Warriors | |
| St. Louis Hawks |
| East | West | |
|---|---|---|
| Boston Celtics | Baltimore Bullets | |
| Cincinnati Royals | Detroit Pistons | |
| New York Knicks | Los Angeles Lakers | |
| Philadelphia 76ers | San Francisco Warriors | |
| St. Louis Hawks |
The Chicago Bulls are enfranchised and are placed in the West Division, while the Baltimore Bullets move to the East Division.
| First season in NBA * |
| East | West | |
|---|---|---|
| Baltimore Bullets | Chicago Bulls | |
| Boston Celtics | Detroit Pistons | |
| Cincinnati Royals | Los Angeles Lakers | |
| New York Knicks | San Francisco Warriors | |
| Philadelphia 76ers | St. Louis Hawks |
The San Diego Rockets and the Seattle SuperSonics are enfranchised, bringing the league to 12 teams. Both expansion teams are placed in the West Division while the Detroit Pistons move to the East Division.
| First season in NBA * |
| 1968–69 is first season in NBA * |
The NBA expands to 17 teams with the Buffalo Braves, the Cleveland Cavaliers, and the Portland Trail Blazers. The league realigns into four divisions and two conferences.
| First season in NBA * |
| East | West | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlantic | Central | Midwest | Pacific | |
| Boston Celtics | Atlanta Hawks | Chicago Bulls | Los Angeles Lakers | |
| Buffalo Braves | Baltimore Bullets | Detroit Pistons | Portland Trail Blazers | |
| New York Knicks | Cincinnati Royals | Milwaukee Bucks | San Diego Rockets | |
| Philadelphia 76ers | Cleveland Cavaliers | Phoenix Suns | San Francisco Warriors | |
| Seattle SuperSonics | ||||
The Cincinnati Royals relocate and became the Kansas City–Omaha Kings, splitting their home games between Kansas City, Missouri, and Omaha, Nebraska. This results in the Kings moving to the Midwest Division, the Houston Rockets moving to the Central, and the Phoenix Suns moving to the Pacific.
The Baltimore Bullets become the Capital Bullets after they move to the Washington, D.C. suburb of Landover, Maryland.
| First season in NBA * |
| East | West | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | |||
The Kansas City–Omaha Kings are renamed the Kansas City Kings after they decide to play in Kansas City full-time.
The ABA–NBA merger. Four American Basketball Association franchises join the NBA: the Denver Nuggets, the Indiana Pacers, the New York Nets, and the San Antonio Spurs.
| Team merged from ABA ^ |
The New York Nets move to Piscataway, New Jersey, to become the New Jersey Nets.
The Buffalo Braves relocate to San Diego to become the San Diego Clippers. This results in the Clippers moving to the Pacific Division, the Detroit Pistons moving to the Central, and the Washington Bullets moving to the Atlantic.
| East | West | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | |||
The New Orleans Jazz relocate to Salt Lake City, Utah, to become the Utah Jazz. This results in the Jazz moving to the Midwest Division and the Indiana Pacers moving to the Central.
The Dallas Mavericks are enfranchised as the league's 23rd team, and are placed in the Midwest Division. The NBA's two other Texas teams, the Houston Rockets and the San Antonio Spurs, move to the Midwest Division to join the Mavericks, while the Chicago Bulls and the Milwaukee Bucks move to the Central Division.
| 1980–81 is first season in NBA * |
| East | West | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | ||
The San Diego Clippers move to Los Angeles to become the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Kansas City Kings move to Sacramento, California, to become the Sacramento Kings.
The Charlotte Hornets and the Miami Heat are enfranchised to bring the league to 25 teams. The Hornets are placed in the Atlantic Division, the Heat in the Midwest Division, and the Sacramento Kings move to the Pacific Division.
| First season in NBA * |
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, the Magic in the Central Division, the Charlotte Hornets move to the Midwest Division, and the Miami Heat move to the Atlantic Division.
| First season in NBA * |
The Charlotte Hornets move to the Central Division, while the Orlando Magic move to the Midwest Division.
The Orlando Magic move 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 are placed in the Midwest Division.
| 1995–96 is first season in NBA * |
The Washington Bullets are renamed the Washington Wizards.
The Vancouver Grizzlies move to Memphis, Tennessee, to become the Memphis Grizzlies.
The Charlotte Hornets move to New Orleans to become the New Orleans Hornets.
The Charlotte Bobcats are enfranchised as the league's 30th team. The NBA realigns to create three divisions with five teams each in both conferences. The New Orleans Hornets are the only team to switch conferences, moving from the Eastern Conference to the Western Conference.
| First season in NBA * |
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.
With damages caused by Hurricane Katrina fully repaired, the Hornets return to New Orleans full-time.
The Seattle SuperSonics move to Oklahoma City to become the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The New Jersey Nets move 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]