How Many NBA Teams Are in Texas?
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The NBA has two teams in Texas, the Houston Rockets and the Dallas Mavericks.
NBA Teams in Texas
As of the 2020-2021 season, there are two NBA teams in Texas: the Houston Rockets and the Dallas Mavericks.
Houston Rockets
The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston, Texas. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league’s Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its home games at the Toyota Center, located in downtown Houston. Throughout its history, Houston has won two NBA championships and four Western Conference titles. It was established in 1967 as the San Diego Rockets, an expansion team originally based in San Diego. In 1971, the Rockets moved to Houston.
San Antonio Spurs
The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio, Texas. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league’s Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its home games at the AT&T Center in San Antonio.
The Spurs are one of four former American Basketball Association (ABA) teams to remain intact in the NBA after the 1976 ABA–NBA merger and are the only former ABA team to have won an NBA championship. The Spurs five NBA championships are tied for fourth-most in NBA history behind only the Boston Celtics (17), Los Angeles Lakers (16), and Chicago Bulls (6). As of 2019, Spurs players have been voted onto 53 All-NBA teams (second most all-time), 39 All-Defensive teams, and 12 All-Star teams. Sports Illustrated named the San Antonio Spurs the “Sportsperson of the Year” for 2003.
The team’s primary investors include Julianna Hawn Holt and magnate Peter Holt, who purchased[10] the team in 1993 from Red McCombs. Since Holt was a born-and-raised Texan, he preferred to keep teams he bought in Texas.[11] As a result, when he bought controlling interest in the Utah Jazz from Larry Miller in 2005,[12] he kept that team as well and moved it to Oklahoma City following that season. The team also twice became temporarily defunct – once when during World War II it struggled to stay afloat due to war efforts restricting travel,[13] and another time when owner Angelo Drossos was unable due to financial difficulties maintain his ownership stake.[14][15] Nevertheless, Hawn remained committed towards keeping her father’s legacy alive by financing most of Peter Holt’s purchases himself with family money so that she retains controlling interest.[16][17][18] Through his ownership stake, which has always been majority share since 1996,[19][20][21] Julia governs all three branches of Holt family business: car dealerships; ranches;[22] and construction companies.[23]
Dallas Mavericks
The Dallas Mavericks are a professional basketball team based in Dallas, Texas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league’s Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its home games at the American Airlines Center, which it shares with the National Hockey League’s Dallas Stars.
Other NBA Teams in the US
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is the men’s professional basketball league in North America, and is widely considered to be the premier men’s professional basketball league in the world. It has 30 teams, 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. Of the 30 teams in the NBA, 3 are located in Texas.
Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league’s Western Conference in the Pacific Division. The Lakers play their home games at Staples Center, an arena shared with the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers and the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks.
The Lakers are one of the most successful teams in the history of the NBA, having won 16 NBA championships, their last being in 2010. As of 2019, the Lakers have won 33 percent of all NBA Championships since 1947, making them the second winningest franchise behind only the Boston Celtics.
Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics are an American professional basketball team based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league’s Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of the league’s original eight teams, the team play their home games at TD Garden, which they share with the National Hockey League (NHL)’s Boston Bruins. The Celtics are one of the most successful teams in NBA history; they have won the most championships of any NBA franchise with 17, accounting for 23.9 percent of all NBA championships since the league’s founding in 1947.
Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago, Illinois. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league’s Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January 16, 1966, and played its first game during the 1966–67 NBA season. The Bulls play their home games at the United Center, an arena shared with the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL).
International NBA Teams
There are two NBA teams in Texas, the Houston Rockets and the Dallas Mavericks. The Rockets are in the Western Conference and the Mavericks are in the Eastern Conference.
Toronto Raptors
The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto, Ontario. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member club of the league’s Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. They play their home games at the Scotiabank Arena, which they share with the National Hockey League’s Toronto Maple Leafs. The team was established in 1995, along with the Vancouver Grizzlies, as part of the NBA’s expansion into Canada.
When Vince Carter was traded to the New Jersey Nets in December 2004, he left as the Raptors’ all-time leader in points, three-point field goals (652), free throws (2,annahmde061), steals (540), and games played (509). He is currently ranked 21st on the NBA’s all-time scoring list, and 3rd on the Raptors franchise scoring list behind only DeMar DeRozan and Chris Bosh.
Vancouver Grizzlies
The Vancouver Grizzlies were a Canadian professional basketball team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. They were part of the Midwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The team was established in 1995, along with the Toronto Raptors, as part of the NBA’s expansion into Canada. Following the 2000–01 season, the team relocated to Memphis, Tennessee, United States, and were renamed as the Memphis Grizzlies.
Mexico City Suns
The Mexico City Suns are a former professional basketball team that was based in Mexico City, Mexico. The team was founded in 1992 and played in the World Basketball League (WBL). The Suns were one of the league’s original eight teams. The team played its home games at the Palacio de los Deportes, which is also home to the Mexican national basketball team.
The Suns were owned by Jorge Vergara Madero, who also owned the WBL’s Guadalajara Jokers. The team’s head coach was Rodthro Piantini and its general manager was Fernando Quiroga. The Suns’ mascot was a sunflower.
The Suns finished the 1992 season with a 28-16 record, good for second place in the WBL’s West Division behind the Tulsa Fast Breaks. In the playoffs, the Suns defeated the Fast Breaks in the division semifinals before losing to the Arkansas Razerbacks in the division finals.
The following season, 1993, saw the WBL merge with the Continental Basketball Association (CBA). The new league was known as the International Basketball Association (IBA). The Suns joined seven other WBL teams in making the move to the IBA: Arkansas, Tulsa, Wisconsin, Birmingham, Omaha, Detroit and Tampa Bay.