List of relocated NBA teams

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List of relocated National Basketball Association teams
)

The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional men's basketball league, consisting of 30 teams in North America—29 in the United States and one in Canada. The NBA was founded in New York City on June 6, 1946, as the Basketball Association of America (BAA).[1] It adopted the name National Basketball Association at the start of the 1949–50 season when it absorbed the National Basketball League (NBL).[1] The NBA is an active member of USA Basketball, which is recognized by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) as the national governing body for basketball in the country.[2] The league is considered to be one of the four major professional sports leagues of North America.[3]

Relocated teams

The list contains current franchises in the NBA. It does not include name changes.[4]

First First year in original city
Last Last year in original city
Win% Winning percentage
PA
NBA Playoffs
appearances
C Championship titles
^ City later received a new franchise
* Later relocated again
Team First Last Relocated to Seasons Win% PA C Main reason Ref
Tri-Cities Blackhawks
1949 1951
Milwaukee Hawks
*
2 .409 1 0 Small city
Milwaukee Hawks
^
1951 1955
St. Louis Hawks
*
4 .324 0 0
Fort Wayne Pistons
1948 1957 Detroit Pistons 9 .506 8 0 Small city
Rochester Royals
1948 1957
Cincinnati Royals
*
9 .576 7 1 Lack of profitability
Minneapolis Lakers
^
1948 1960 Los Angeles Lakers 12 .545 11 5 Poor attendance [5]
Philadelphia Warriors
^
1946 1962
San Francisco Warriors
16 .506 12 2 Sold to San Francisco owner
Chicago Zephyrs
^
1961 1963
Baltimore Bullets
*
2 .269 0 0
Syracuse Nationals
1949 1963 Philadelphia 76ers 14 .569 14 1
St. Louis Hawks
1955 1968 Atlanta Hawks 13 .550 12 1 Sold to Atlanta owners
New Jersey Americans 1967 1968 New York Nets* 1 0 0 Overbooked play location
San Diego Rockets
^
1967 1971 Houston Rockets 4 .363 1 0 Sold to Houston ownership group after original owner Robert Breitbard came under financial distress due to tax assessment issues surrounding the arena he developed, the
San Diego International Sports Center
[6]
Cincinnati Royals
1957 1972
Kansas City–Omaha Kings
*
15 .467 7 0
Baltimore Bullets
1963 1973
Capital Bullets
§
10 .493 7 0 The Capital Bullets were later renamed
Washington Bullets (1974–1997) and Washington Wizards
(since 1997). Despite relocating, the team would play a few home games in Baltimore from 1989 to 1997.
Kansas City–Omaha Kings
1972 1975
Kansas City Kings
*
3 .459 1 0 Moved all games to Kansas City
New York Nets 1968 1977 New Jersey Nets* 8 1 0 NBA-ABA Merger, poor attendance
Buffalo Braves 1970 1978
San Diego Clippers
*
8 .395 3 0 Sale to California owner Irv Levin
New Orleans Jazz
^
1974 1979 Utah Jazz 5 .393 0 0 Lack of profitability
San Diego Clippers 1978 1984 Los Angeles Clippers 6 .378 0 0 Sold to Donald Sterling, who wanted the team in his hometown and eventually succeeded in relocation. In 2024, the Clippers' NBA G League team moved from Ontario, California to San Diego, adopting the San Diego Clippers branding.
Kansas City Kings
1975 1985 Sacramento Kings 10 .465 4 0 Low attendance
Vancouver Grizzlies 1995 2001 Memphis Grizzlies 6 .220 0 0 Financial problems caused by low attendance and the weak Canadian dollar; sold to Michael Heisley with the intention of moving the team to Memphis. [7]
Charlotte Hornets^ 1988 2002
New Orleans Hornets
*
14 .485 7 0 Declining attendance, reported lack of profitability, and the declining popularity of owner George Shinn. In 2014, the franchise's history in Charlotte was given to the new Charlotte franchise (formerly the Bobcats) which started play in 2004, thus retconning the original relocation as a suspension of the Charlotte NBA team and the expansion of the New Orleans NBA team. [8][9]
New Orleans Hornets
^
2002 2005
New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets
*
3 .512 2 0 Damage to the New Orleans metropolitan area caused by Hurricane Katrina forced the Hornets to play most of their home games in Oklahoma City. [10][11]
New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets
^
2005 2007
New Orleans Hornets
2 .470 0 0 The Hornets returned to New Orleans for the 2007–08 season after repairs to the team's home arena were completed. [12]
Seattle SuperSonics 1967 2008 Oklahoma City Thunder 41 .524 22 1 Financial problems exacerbated by the failure to provide funds for a new arena in Seattle; sold to Clay Bennett in 2006 who concealed the intention of moving the team to Oklahoma City. [13][14]
New Orleans Hornets
2007 2013 New Orleans Pelicans 6 .480 3 0 The team was renamed the New Orleans Pelicans in 2013.
New Jersey Nets
1977 2012 Brooklyn Nets 35 - - - Nets former owner
New York Metropolitan Area
Toronto Raptors+ 1995 2020 Toronto Raptors (Tampa) 25 - - - The Raptors played their home games at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida, home of the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League during the 2020-21 season, as a result of COVID-19 cross-border travel restrictions imposed by the Government of Canada. [15]

+Active franchise

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Goldaper, Sam (17 April 2006). "The First Game". NBA.com. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. Retrieved 6 July 2009.
  2. ^ "Inside USA Basketball". USA Basketball. Archived from the original on 11 June 2010. Retrieved 4 July 2009.
  3. ^ Pennington, Bill (April 4, 2003). "Drugs; Anti-Doping Executive Plans to Prod Pro Leagues". The New York Times. Retrieved July 6, 2009.
  4. ^ "Team Index". Sport Reference. Retrieved 25 May 2011.
  5. ^ "History of the Lakers". Lakers.com. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. Retrieved February 3, 2016.
  6. ^ "Owners, fans waited years before Rockets took off". Houston Chronicle. September 16, 2001. Retrieved February 3, 2016.
  7. The Vancouver Sun. Archived from the original
    on February 23, 2011. Retrieved February 3, 2016.
  8. ^ "HORNETS: Move to New Orleans Approved". www.nba.com. Archived from the original on 5 August 2002. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  9. ^ "Charlotte Hornets Name Returns to Carolinas". Hornets.com. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. May 20, 2014. Archived from the original on May 22, 2014.
  10. ^ "Hornets to Play in Oklahoma City". Pelicans.com. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. September 21, 2005. Retrieved September 21, 2005.
  11. ^ Smith, Jimmy (September 21, 2005). "The buzz is Oklahoma City – Hornets will play 35 games there, six at the PMAC". New Orleans Times-Picayune. p. C5.
  12. ^ Longman, Jeré (November 1, 2007). "Putting the New Orleans in the New Orleans Hornets". The New York Times. Retrieved February 3, 2016.
  13. ^ "NBA Commissioner David Stern Statement on Settlement Between Sonics and the City of Seattle". NBA.com. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. July 2, 2008. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
  14. ^ Brunner, Jim; Pian Chan, Sharon (July 2, 2008). "Sonics, city reach settlement". The Seattle Times. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
  15. ^ "Toronto Raptors to Start Season in Tampa". SI.com. November 20, 2020. Retrieved November 20, 2020.