Why Are Some NBA Teams Named After States?

In this post, we explore the origins of some NBA team names, including why some teams are named after states.

The History of Team Names in the NBA

The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league was founded in 1946 as the Basketball Association of America (BAA). There are currently 30 teams in the NBA, and each team is named after a city or state. Some teams, like the Boston Celtics, have kept their name since the early days of the league. Others, like the Charlotte Hornets, have changed their name multiple times.

The Early Years

The National Basketball Association (NBA) was founded in 1946, just after World War II. At that time, many professional basketball teams were sponsored by cities or corporations. For example, the Boston Celtics were sponsored by a local Celtics fan club, and the New York Knicks were sponsored by Knickerbocker Knitting.

In the early years of the NBA, there were very few team names that were associated with states. This changed in the late 1950s when the Minneapolis Lakers (now the Los Angeles Lakers) moved to Los Angeles. The team kept its Minnesota name to keep its fan base in the Midwest.

Other teams soon followed suit and began using state names in their team names. This trend continued into the 1960s and 1970s as more and more NBA teams adopted state names. Some of the most famous examples include the Milwaukee Bucks, Indiana Pacers, and Utah Jazz.

Why did this trend occur? There are a few possible explanations. First, state names are often seen as more neutral than city names. This is especially important in the era of competitive expansion, when new franchises were trying to attract fans from all over the country (and not just from their home city).

Second, using a state name can help a team appeal to a wider geographic area. For example, a team named after a city might only appeal to fans in that immediate area. But a team named after a state can attract fans from all over that state (and sometimes even from neighboring states).

Finally, it’s worth noting that many NBA teams are named after states that have large populations of Native Americans. For example, at least four NBA teams are named after tribes that once lived in those states: the Miami Heat (after the Seminole tribe), the Oklahoma City Thunder (after the Cherokee tribe), and both the Utah Jazz and Golden State Warriors (after tribes that once lived in those states).

The ABA Years

The ABA years (1967-1976) were a time of great change and growth for the NBA. The league nearly doubled in size, from 9 to 17 teams, and the level of talent increased dramatically as well. With more teams and more players comes more opportunity for creativity, and that’s exactly what we saw with team names during this period.

While several teams kept traditional names like “Knicks” and “Pistons,” many others experimented with creative and unique names. The most notable example is probably the Kentucky Colonels, who were named after a Marshall county in the state of Kentucky. Other examples include the San Diego Conquistadors, the Miami Floridians, and the Memphis Tams (named after a popular brand of men’s hats).

Perhaps the most interesting team name from this era is the Houston Mavericks. The Mavericks were originally going to be named the Houston Hustlers, but then-owner Kenneth Schnitzer decided that was too close to another team’s name (the Houston Oilers). So he went with Mavericks instead, inspired by the 1967 film The Ballad of Josie Wales (which featured Clint Eastwood as a member of a group of outlaws called “The Regulators”).

The Merger and After

In 1946, the Basketball Association of America (BAA) was formed, merging with the National Basketball League (NBL) in 1949 to form the National Basketball Association (NBA). At the time of the merger, there were 17 NBA teams, all of which were located in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States.

The NBA-ABA Merger

In June of 1976, the NBA and ABA finally merged after years of negotiations. The NBA agreed to absorb four ABA teams- the New York Nets, the Indiana Pacers, the San Antonio Spurs, and the Denver Nuggets. As part of the merger agreement, each of the four ABA teams was permitted to keep their players. The Nets were also allowed to keep their name, while the other three teams had to choose new names. The Pacers chose their name because they wanted to maintain a connection to Indiana’s rich basketball history. The Spurs were named after a minor league team that used to play in San Antonio. The Nuggets were named after a group of miners who arrived in Colorado during the 1859 Gold Rush.

The Modern NBA

The modern NBA has its roots in the Basketball Association of America, which was founded in 1946. The BAA was the first professional basketball league in the United States, and it quickly gained popularity. In 1949, the BAA merged with the National Basketball League to form the NBA.

The NBA today is a global phenomenon, with teams in cities across the United States and Canada. The league has expanded several times since its inception, and it now consists of 30 teams. 27 of those teams are located in the United States, with three located in Canada.

Why are some NBA teams named after states? There are a few reasons. First of all, many NBA teams are named after their city (e.g., the Los Angeles Lakers, the Chicago Bulls). However, there are also several teams whose name refers to a larger geographic area than just their city (e.g., the Utah Jazz, the Indiana Pacers). These team names were chosen to represent not just the city where they play, but also the entire region that supports them.

Another reason why some NBA teams are named after states is because several teams used to be located in different cities before moving to their current location. For example, the Sacramento Kings used to be located in Cincinnati, Ohio before moving to Sacramento, California in 1985. As a result of this move, they changed their name from “the Cincinnati Royals” to “the Sacramento Kings” to better reflect their new home state.

Finally, some NBA teams are named after states because their names simply sound cool or because they have some sort of connection to their state (e.g., the Charlotte Hornets). While there are many different reasons why NBA teams might be named after states, one thing is for sure: these names help create a sense of identity and community for fans across the country (and even in Canada!).

Why Are Some Teams Named After States?

The NBA has thirty teams, and of those, six are named after the states in which they are located. The Los Angeles Lakers, Utah Jazz, Oklahoma City Thunder, Indiana Pacers, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Charlotte Hornets all take their names from the states in which they are based. But why are some teams named after states while others have more creative names?

The Boston Celtics

The Boston Celtics are a professional basketball team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Celtics play their home games at TD Garden, which they share with the National Hockey League (NHL)’s Boston Bruins.

The Celtics were founded in 1946 as one of the original eight NBA teams. The team played its home games in the Boston Arena until 1955, when they moved to Boston Garden. In 1957, the team made their first appearance in the NBA Finals, losing to the St. Louis Hawks in seven games. The following year, they returned to the Finals and defeated the Hawks to win their first NBA Championship. Led by Bill Russell and coach Red Auerbach, the Celtics won an unprecedented 11 championships over a span of 13 seasons from 1957 to 1969. The team has won a record 17 NBA Championships overall, including 14 titles between 1959 and 1986 with players such as Bob Cousy, Bill Russell, John Havlicek, and Larry Bird.

The Los Angeles Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers are a professional basketball team in the National Basketball Association (NBA). They play their home games at Staples Center, which they share with their in-city rivals, the Los Angeles Clippers. The Lakers are one of the most successful teams in the history of the NBA, having won 16 championships.

The team was founded in 1947 as the Minneapolis Lakers. The team moved to Los Angeles in 1960. They were originally named after Minnesota’s nickname, “Land of 10,000 Lakes.” The Lakers have a long-standing rivalry with the Boston Celtics, which is considered one of the greatest rivalries in all of sports.

The Lakers are owned by Jerry Buss, who also owns the Los Angeles Kings hockey team. The team’s head coach is Mike D’Antoni. Their star player is Kobe Bryant, who has played for the Lakers his entire career.

The Utah Jazz

In 1974, the New Orleans Jazz were looking for a new home. They found one in Salt Lake City, Utah, and changed their name to better reflect their new location. The “Utah Jazz” moniker has stuck ever since.

Why are some NBA teams named after states? It’s a combination of marketing and geography. Teams want to identify with a large population center in order to maximize ticket sales and TV viewership. And cities with large populations are usually located in states. So it makes sense for teams to include the state name in their own.

The Jazz are far from the only team named after a state. The Indiana Pacers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Oklahoma City Thunder, Phoenix Suns, Portland Trail Blazers and Sacramento Kings all share this distinction.