What NBA Teams Call Florida Home?

The NBA is full of teams with interesting names. What NBA teams Call Florida Home? We explore the origins of some of the more unique team names in the league.

The Miami Heat

The Miami Heat is a professional basketball team based in Miami, Florida. The Heat competes in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league’s Eastern Conference Southeast Division The Heat play their home games at American Airlines Arena and has won three NBA championships

The Orlando Magic

The NBA’s Orlando Magic call central Florida home. The team was founded in 1989 as an expansion team. The Magic have compiled a 985-1,177 record in 30 seasons, qualifying for the playoffs 12 times. They have played in the NBA Finals twice, losing to the Houston Rockets in 1995 and the Los Angeles Lakers in 2009. The Magic have retired four numbers: Shaquille O’Neal’s 32, Penny Hardaway’s 1, Tracy McGrady’s 1, and Patrick Ewing’s 33.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football franchise based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers currently compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Along with the Seattle Seahawks, the team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team. The Buccaneers played their first season in the American Football Conference (AFC) West division as part of the 1976 expansion plan, whereby each new franchise would play every other franchise over the course of two years. After the season, they switched conferences with the Seahawks and became a member of the NFC Central Division During the 2002 league realignment, the Bucs joined three former NFC West teams to form the NFC South. The club is owned by Glazer family, and plays its home games at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa.

The Jacksonville Jaguars

The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football franchise based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. They play their home games at TIAA Bank Field.

The Miami Dolphins

The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league’s American football Conference (AFC) East division. The team plays its home games at Hard Rock Stadium in the northern suburb of Miami Gardens, Florida.

The Tampa Bay Lightning

The Tampa Bay Lightning are a professional ice Hockey Team based in Tampa, Florida. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Lightning were founded in 1992 as an expansion team and played their Home Games at the Expo Hall in Tampa until 1996, when they moved to the then-Ice Palace (now AMALIE Arena) in Tampa.

The Lightning won the Stanley Cup championship in their 2003–04 season. The most recent appearance by the Lightning in the Stanley Cup Finals was in 2015, where they lost to the Chicago Blackhawks four games to two.

The Florida Panthers

The Florida Panthers are a professional Ice Hockey team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). The team has played their home games at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida, since 1998.

The Miami Marlins

The Miami Marlins are a professional baseball team based in Miami, Florida. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. Their home park is Marlins Park. Though one of only two MLB franchises to have never won a division title, the Marlins have two World Series championships and two NL pennants.

The Tampa Bay Rays

The Tampa Bay Rays are a professional Baseball Team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team’s home ballpark has been Tropicana Field.

The Rays began play as an expansion team in 1998 along with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Tampa Bay was previously the home of two now-defunct professional baseball teams, the original St. Louis Cardinals (now the Cardinals) and the Pittsburgh Pirates (now the Tampa Bay Rays). The region was previously home to spring training facilities for both the Cincinnati Reds and Chicago White Sox

The Florida State Seminoles

The Florida State Seminoles are the only NBA team that calls Florida home. Based in Tallahassee, the Seminoles have been members of the NBA since 1988.