Chronology of NBA Teams: How They Began

A chronology of how each current NBA team began. This is a must read for any basketball fan!

A brief history of the NBA

The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a Professional Basketball league in North America The NBA was founded in 1946 as the Basketball Association of America (BAA). The league changed its name to the National Basketball Association in 1949 after merging with the National Basketball League (NBL). The NBA consists of 30 teams, split evenly between the Eastern and Western Conferences.

The league began with 11 teams, all located in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States The first teams were the New York Knickerbockers Boston Celtics Philadelphia Warriors Minneapolis Lakers Detroit Pistons Cleveland Cavaliers Washington Capitols, Chicago Stags, Denver Nuggets (not related to the present-day team), and Indianapolis Olympians.

How the NBA’s teams began

The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional men’s Basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams. It is one of the four major North American professional sports leagues, and is widely considered to be the premier men’s professional basketball league in the world.

The NBA was founded in New York City on June 6, 1946, as the Basketball Association of America (BAA). The league adopted the name of the National Basketball Association at its first meeting on August 3, 1949. The BAA was originally founded to rival Major League Baseball as a second Major League After unsuccessful attempts to merge with the NFL in 1943 and 1944, it began to sign players from rival leagues, including the American Basketball League (ABL). The first formal draft was held in 1947.

The original teams were:
-Boston Celtics
-New York Knicks
-Philadelphia Warriors
-Toronto Huskies
-Tri-Cities Blackhawks

A chronology of the NBA’s teams

The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional men’s basketball league in North America, composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). It is one of the four major North American professional sports leagues, and one of only two of them organized into a true association (the other being Major League Baseball).

The NBA was founded on June 6, 1946, as the Basketball Association of America (BAA). The league adopted the name National Basketball Association on August 3, 1949, after merging with the rival National Basketball League (NBL). The original idea for the NBA was devised by MPG President Jim Naismith as a way to settle arguments between owners of rival basketball teams concerning which players were allowed on which team.

The chronology of the NBA’s teams gives an overview of the establishment and relocation of all current NBA teams as well as any defunct former teams.

The expansion of the NBA

The NBA was founded in 1946 as the Basketball Association of America (BAA). The first season featured 11 teams, all in the northeastern and midwestern United States In 1949, the BAA merged with the National Basketball League (NBL) to form the NBA. The league expanded to 17 teams for the 1950-1951 season.

The NBA continued to expand in the 1960s, adding eight teams between 1961 and 1966. The most significant expansion came in 1967, when the NBA added four new teams: the San Diego Rockets, Seattle SuperSonics Milwaukee Bucks and Baltimore Bullets. This brought the total number of teams to 23.

The 1970s were a decade of further expansion for the NBA. Nine new teams were added between 1970 and 1980: the Buffalo Braves, Cleveland Cavaliers Portland Trail Blazers Indiana Pacers Kansas City Omaha Kings, Milwaukee Bucks New Orleans Jazz San Antonio Spurs, and Denver Nuggets This brought the total number of teams to 32.

In 1981, the NBA merged with the American Basketball Association (ABA), adding four new teams: The San Diego Conquistadors became the San Antonio Spurs; The Kentucky Colonels became the Kentucky Fried Chicken team (later renamed as just Kentucky); The Indiana Pacers became involved in a dispute and split into two separate franchises; The Spirits of St. Louis ceased operations. This brought the total number of teams back down to 29.

The 1990s were a period of significant expansion for the NBA. In addition to adding 7 new franchises – Charlotte Hornets (now New Orleans Pelicans), Miami Heat Minneapolis Timberwolves (now Oklahoma City Thunder), Orlando Magic Vancouver Grizzlies (now Memphis Grizzlies), Toronto Raptors and Denver Nuggets – 3 existing franchises relocated: The Kansas City Kings became Sacramento Kings The Seattle SuperSonics became Oklahoma City Thunder And finally The Charlotte Hornets became New Orleans Pelicans

The NBA’s teams today

The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The NBA was founded in 1946 as the Basketball Association of America (BAA). The league adopted its current name at the start of the 1949–50 season when it merged with the National Basketball League (NBL). The league consists of 30 teams: 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada.

The Atlanta Hawks Boston Celtics Brooklyn Nets Charlotte Hornets Chicago Bulls Cleveland Cavaliers Dallas Mavericks Denver Nuggets Detroit Pistons Golden State Warriors Houston Rockets Indiana Pacers Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers Memphis Grizzlies Miami Heat Milwaukee Bucks Minnesota Timberwolves New Orleans Pelicans [formerly the Charlotte Bobcats], New York Knicks Oklahoma City Thunder [formerly the Seattle SuperSonics], Orlando Magic [founded as the expansion team of 1989], Philadelphia 76ers [founded as the Syracuse Nationals], Phoenix Suns Portland Trail Blazers , Sacramento Kings [formerly the Rochester Royals and Kansas City Omaha Kings], San Antonio Spurs , Toronto Raptors , Utah Jazz and Washington Wizards are all members of the NBA today

The future of the NBA

In the late 1940s, professional basketball was in danger of folding due to competition from baseball and college football In an effort to save the sport, a merger was proposed between the National Basketball League (NBL) and the Basketball Association of America (BAA). The new league would be called the National Basketball Association (NBA).

The first NBA game was played on November 1, 1946, between the New York Knicks and the Toronto Huskies By 1950, there were only 17 NBA Teams However, the league began to grow in popularity and by 1960 there were 23 teams.

Today, there are 30 NBA teams The most recent expansion team is the Charlotte Hornets who joined the league in 2014.