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, when it merged with the National Basketball League (NBL). The histories of NBA franchises that were also members of the American Basketball League (ABL), NBL, National Pro Basketball League (NPBL), and American Basketball Association (ABA) are also included.
Timeline
1946–1949: BAA years
1946: Founding of the BAA
- The Basketball Association of America (BAA) was established with 11 teams (divided into Eastern and Western Divisions).
| Team folded after this season †
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1947
- 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.
1948
- 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.
- The Baltimore Bullets moved to the Eastern Division.
| First season in BAA *
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Only season in the league §
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Folded after this season †
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1949–1966: BAA–NBL merger
1949: BAA–NBL merger
- The Indianapolis Jets and Providence Steamrollers folded.
- The BAA merged with the NBL to form the NBA.
- The BAA teams from the Western Division were moved to a newly created Central Division.
- The Anderson Packers, Denver Nuggets, Sheboygan Red Skins, Syracuse Nationals, Tri-Cities Blackhawks, and Waterloo Hawks joined from the NBL. All were placed in the Western Division, except the Nationals, who were placed in the Eastern Division.
- The Indianapolis Olympians joined as an expansion team and were placed in the Western Division.
| Team merged from NBL ^
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First season in NBA *
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Folded after this season †
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| Team merged from the NBL, but then jumped to the NPBL after this season §
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| Team merged from the NBL, but then folded after this season ^†
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1950 contraction
- The Chicago Stags, Denver Nuggets, and St. Louis Bombers folded.
- The Anderson Packers, Sheboygan Red Skins, and Waterloo Hawks transferred to the NPBL.
- The Pistons, Lakers, and Royals moved back to the Western Division and the Central Division was eliminated.
- The Washington Capitols folded mid-season.
| Folded midway through this season †
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1951: Hawks relocate to Milwaukee
| Folded after the 1952–53 season †
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1953 and 1954 contraction
- The Indianapolis Olympians folded.
- The Baltimore Bullets folded after 14 games into the 1954–55 season.
| Folded midway through the 1954–55 season †
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1955: Hawks relocate to St. Louis
1957: Pistons and Royals relocate
1960: Lakers relocate to Los Angeles
1961 expansion
- The Chicago Packers joined as an expansion team and were placed in the Western Division.
1962: Warriors relocate and Chicago rebrands
1963: Zephyrs and Nationals relocate
1966–1976: Expansion era
1966 expansion
- The Chicago Bulls joined as an expansion team and were placed in the Western Division.
- The Baltimore Bullets moved to the Eastern Division.
1967 expansion
1968 expansion and relocation
- The Milwaukee Bucks and Phoenix Suns joined as expansion teams. The Bucks were placed in the Eastern Divsion 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 *
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1970 expansion and realignment
- The league realigned into the Eastern and Western Conferences, with two new divisions each. The Atlantic and Central Divisions were added to the Eastern Conference, while the Midwest and Pacific Divisions were added to the Western Conference.
- The Buffalo Braves, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Portland Trail Blazers joined as expansion teams. The Braves were placed in the Atlantic Division, the Cavaliers in the Central Division, and the Trail Blazers in the Pacific Division.
- While most of the remaining teams were placed in the conference of the same name as their former division, the Atlanta Hawks moved from the Western Division to the Eastern Conference, while the Detroit Pistons and Milwaukee Bucks moved from the Eastern Division to the Western Conference.
1971: Rockets and Warriors relocate
1972: Royals relocate to Kansas City–Omaha
- 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
- The Baltimore Bullets relocated to the Washington, D.C. suburb of Landover, Maryland to become the Capital Bullets.
1974 expansion
1975: Kings play in Kansas City full-time
- The Kansas City–Omaha Kings abandoned playing in Omaha to become the Kansas City Kings.
1976–1988: ABA–NBA merger
1976: ABA–NBA merger
1977: Nets relocate to New Jersey
1978: Braves relocate to San Diego
- 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
- 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
- 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 *
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1984: Clippers relocate to Los Angeles
1985: Kings relocate to Sacramento
1988–2004: Modern expansion era
1988 expansion
- 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.
1989 expansion
- 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 moved from the Midwest to the Atlantic Division.
1990: Hornets and Magic switch conferences
- The Charlotte Hornets moved from the Midwest to the Central Division, while the Orlando Magic moved from the Central to the Midwest Division.
1991: Magic moves back to the Eastern Conference
- The Orlando Magic moved from the Midwest to the Atlantic Division to reduce travel after spending the previous season in the Western Conference.
1995 expansion
- 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 *
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1997: Washington renaming
2001: Grizzlies relocate to Memphis
2002: Hornets relocate to New Orleans
The Charlotte Hornets relocated to New Orleans to become the New Orleans Hornets.
2004–present: Realignment
2004 expansion and realignment
- 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
- 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
- With damages caused by Hurricane Katrina fully repaired, the Hornets returned to New Orleans full-time.
2008: SuperSonics relocate to Oklahoma City
The Seattle SuperSonics relocated to Oklahoma City to become the Oklahoma City Thunder.
2012: Nets relocate to Brooklyn
The New Jersey Nets relocated to Brooklyn to become the Brooklyn Nets.
2013: New Orleans renaming
The New Orleans Hornets are renamed the New Orleans Pelicans.
2014: Charlotte renaming
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]
See also
References
Sources
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