Name Founded About Division
Boston Celtics 1947 The Boston Celtics was founded in 1946 and is currently owned by Boston Basketball Partners LLC. Their 17 NBA Championships are the most for any NBA franchise. The Celtics' greatest domination came from 1957 to 1969, with 11 championships in 13 years, and eight in a row, the longest consecutive championship winning streak of any North American professional sports team. They currently play their home games at TD Garden. Atlantic
Cleveland Cavaliers 1970 The Cleveland Cavaliers (also known as the Cavs) are a professional basketball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They began playing in the National Basketball Association (NBA) in 1970 as an expansion team and won their first Eastern Conference Championship in 2007. Central
Chicago Bulls 1966 The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago, Illinois. The team was founded in 1966. They play their home games at the United Center. The team is well known for having one of the greatest dynasties in NBA history during the 1990s, winning six championships in 8 years with two three-peats. All six of those championship teams were led by Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and coach Phil Jackson. The first three championship teams included the likes of Bill Cartwright, Horace Grant, John Paxson and B.J. Armstrong, while the latter three championship teams had Luc Longley, Steve Kerr, Ron Harper, Toni Kukoc( and Dennis Rodman on the roster. The Bulls won an NBA record 72 games during the 1995-96 NBA season and are the only team in NBA history to win at least 70 games in a single season. During the 1990s, the Bulls helped spread the popularity of the NBA around the world. The 1998 NBA Finals, the Bulls' most recent championship appearance, was the most watched championship series in NBA history. Central
Milwaukee Bucks 1968 The Milwaukee Bucks are a professional basketball team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The team was founded in 1968. The current franchise owner is Herb Kohl. Central
Los Angeles Lakers 1948 The Los Angeles Lakers are a professional basketbal team based in Los Angeles, California. The Lakers play their home games at Staples Center, which they share with their fellow NBA rival, the Los Angeles Clippers, and their sister team, the Los Angeles Sparks of the WNBA. The Lakers' franchise was founded in 1946 in Detroit, Michigan before moving to Minneapolis, where the team got its official title from the state's nickname, "Land of 10,000 Lakes." The Lakers won five championships before relocating to Los Angeles in the 1960-61 NBA season. The Lakers lost all of their eight appearances in the NBA Finals in the 1960s, despite having help from Elgin Baylor and Jerry West. In 1972, the Lakers won their sixth title under coach Bill Sharman. The Lakers' popularity soared in the 1980s when they won five additional championships during a nine-year span with the leadership of Hall of Famers Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, James Worthy and coach Pat Riley, the franchise's all-time leader in regular season game wins and playoff games coached and wins. Pacific
Portland Trail Blazers 1970 The Portland Trail Blazers, commonly known as the Blazers, are a professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers originally played their home games in the Memorial Coliseum, before moving to the Rose Garden Arena in 1995. Based in Portland throughout its existence, the franchise entered the league in 1970, and is the only major league franchise in Oregon until 2011 when the Portland Timbers will join the MLS. The franchise has also enjoyed a strong following; from 1977 through 1995, the team sold out 814 consecutive home games, the longest such streak in American professional sports. Northwest
New York Knicks 1946 The New York Knickerbockers, known familiarly as the Knicks, are a professional team based in New York City, and the most valuable franchise in the league, valued at $608 million. The organization was a founding member of the Basketball Association of America in 1946 and would join the NBA after the BAA and National Basketball League merged. The Knicks are one of only two teams of the original National Basketball Association still located in its original city (the other being the Boston Celtics). The team was originally known as the Knickerbockers, which it has retained as the official name, as reference to the synonymity between the term and New York City in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Atlantic
Philadelphia 76ers 1949 The Philadelphia 76ers (also known as the Sixers for short) are a professional basketball team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 1946, Danny Biasone sent a $5,000 check to the National Basketball League offices in Chicago, and the Syracuse Nationals became the largely Midwest-based league's easternmost team. In 1949, the Nationals were one of seven NBL teams that merged with the Basketball Association of America to form the NBA. In 1955, the Nationals (led by forward Dolph Schayes) won the NBA championship. By the early 1960s, the NBA's Nationals were struggling. Syracuse was the last of the medium-sized cities, but it was too small for a professional team to be profitable. Paper magnate Irv Kosloff bought the Nationals from Danny Biasone and moved them to Philadelphia in 1963. The NBA thus returned to Philadelphia one year after the Warriors had left for San Francisco. A contest was held to decide on their new name and the winner was the late Walt Stahlberg. Their name was changed to the "76ers", after 1776, the year the Declaration of Independence was signed in Philadelphia. The nickname was quickly shortened to "Sixers" by headline writers, and the two names soon became interchangeable for marketing purposes. Atlantic
Toronto Raptors 1995 The Toronto Raptors are a professional basketball team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The team was established in 1995, along with the Vancouver Grizzlies, as part of the NBA's expansion into Canada. When the Grizzlies relocated to Memphis, Tennessee in 2001, the Raptors became the only Canadian team in the NBA. They originally played their home games at SkyDome, before moving to the Air Canada Centre (ACC) in 1999. Atlantic
Orlando Magic 1989 The Orlando Magic are a professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The franchise was founded in 1989 as an expansion franchise and has had such notable NBA stars as Shaquille O'Neal, Penny Hardaway, Steve Francis, Grant Hill, Tracy McGrady, Vince Carter, and Dwight Howard throughout its young history. The franchise has also been in the playoffs for more than half of their existence (11 playoff appearances in 20 years). Southeast
Atlanta Hawks 1946 The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta, Georgia. Buffalo Bisons (1946) Tri-Cities Blackhawks (1946-51) Milwaukee Hawks (1951-55) St. Louis Hawks (1955-68) Atlanta Hawks (1968-present) Southeast
Washington Wizards 1961 The Washington Wizards are a professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C., previously known as Washington Bullets. Southeast
Brooklyn Nets 1967 The Brooklyn Nets are a professional team based in Brooklyn, New York. Team played as the New Jersey Nets from 1977 to 2012. During this time, the Nets won two consecutive Eastern Conference championships (in the 2001–02 and 2002–03 seasons), but failed to win a championship. In the summer of 2012, the team moved to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn and was renamed the Brooklyn Nets. Atlantic
Miami Heat 1987 The Miami Heat are a professional basketball team based in Miami, Florida, United States. They play their home games at American Airlines Arena. The team is owned by Micky Arison, coached by Erik Spoelstra and are managed by Basketball Hall of Fame coach Pat Riley. The Heat were formed in 1988 as an expansion franchise along with the Charlotte Hornets. Since then, Miami has fielded squads that have made the playoffs 13 out of the 21 seasons, captured seven division titles and won the 2006 NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks 4:2. Southeast
Detroit Pistons 1948 The Detroit Pistons is a team in the NBA based in the Detroit metropolitan area. The team's home arena is The Palace of Auburn Hills. The team was found in 1941 as Fort Wayne (Zollner) Pistons. In 1957 the team moved to Detroit. Central
Indiana Pacers 1967 The Indiana Pacers are a professional basketball team. The team is based in the state's capital and largest city, Indianapolis, Indiana, located in the center of the state. Central
Minnesota Timberwolves 1989 The Minnesota Timberwolves are a professional basketball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The team was found in 1989. Arena: Target Center. Northwest
Oklahoma City Thunder 1967 The Oklahoma City Thunder are a professional basketball franchise based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The home arena is Oklahoma City's Ford Center. Formerly the Seattle SuperSonics, the Thunder was established in 2008 after a dispute between owner Clay Bennett and lawmakers in Seattle, Washington. As the Seattle SuperSonics, the club qualified for the NBA Playoffs 22 times, won its division six times and won the 1979 NBA Championship against the Washington Bullets. Northwest
Sacramento Kings 1945 The Sacramento Kings are a professional team based in Sacramento, California, United States. The team was found in 1945 as Rochester Royals (Rochester, New York) and joined NBA in 1948. In 1957, the Royals were moved to Cincinnati, Ohio. In in 1972 the team were moved to Kansas City. The Royals were renamed the Kings because Kansas City already had the Royals baseball team. The Kings moved to their current home of Sacramento, California in the 1985-86 NBA season. Pacific
San Antonio Spurs 1967 The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio, Texas. The Spurs are one of four former American Basketball Association teams (along with the Nets, Pacers, and Nuggets) to remain intact in the NBA after the 1976 ABA-NBA merger and is the only former ABA team to have won an NBA championship. The Spurs have won four NBA championships, more than any NBA franchise except the Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers, and Chicago Bulls. The Spurs' perfect record in NBA Finals series is surpassed only by the Chicago Bulls, who have won six without a loss; the Bulls and Spurs are the only two teams to maintain perfect records through multiple Finals series. As of July 2009, the Spurs rank third among active franchises for the highest winning percentage in NBA history; they have only missed the playoffs 4 times as an NBA franchise. Southwest
Phoenix Suns 1968 The Phoenix Suns are a team based in Phoenix, Arizona. Their home arena is the US Airways Center in downtown Phoenix at Copper Square. The Suns have been generally successful since they began play as an expansion team in 1968. In forty-one years of play, they have posted eighteen fifty-win seasons, and made eight trips to the Western Conference Finals, advancing to the NBA Finals in 1976 and 1993. Despite their successes they have yet to win an NBA title. Pacific
Houston Rockets 1967 The Houston Rockets are a basketball team based in Houston, Texas. The team was established in 1967, and played in San Diego, California for four years, before being moved to Houston. Southwest
Utah Jazz 1974 The Utah Jazz are a professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City, Utah. The franchise began in 1974 as the New Orleans Jazz, based out of New Orleans, Louisiana, but the team moved to Utah in 1979 after just five seasons. Northwest
Memphis Grizzlies 1995 The Memphis Grizzlies are a professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. Along with the Toronto Raptors, the Grizzlies were established in 1995 in Vancouver, British Columbia as part of the NBA's expansion into Canada, and relocated to Memphis in 2001. The team's majority owner is Michael Heisley, who controls a 95% share of the franchise; the remaining 5% is controlled by several local owners, including AutoZone founder J. R. ("Pitt") Hyde, his wife Barbara Hyde, equity manager Staley Cates, and former NBA player and University of Memphis point guard Elliot Perry. Southwest
Denver Nuggets 1967 The Denver Nuggets are a professional basketball team based in Denver, Colorado. The team was founded in 1967 as Denver Rockets. In 1974, in anticipation of moving into the NBA, the franchise held a contest to choose a new team nickname, as Rockets was already in use by the Houston Rockets. The name Nuggets won, having been the nickname first used by the Denver 1949-50 NBA franchise. Northwest
Golden State Warriors 1946 The Golden State Warriors are a professional basketball team based in Oakland, California. The team was first established in 1946 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where the franchise won the championship in the inaugural season of the Basketball Association of America (BAA), the league that would eventually become the National Basketball Association. In 1962, the franchise was relocated to San Francisco, California and became known as the San Francisco Warriors until 1971, when its name was changed to the current Golden State Warriors. The team has played all of its home games in the Oracle Arena since 1966, with the exception of a one-year hiatus. Along with their inaugural championship win in the 1946-1947 season, the Warriors have won two others in the team's history, including another in Philadelphia after the 1955-56 season, and one as Golden State after the 1974-75 season, which is tied for 5th in the NBA in number of championships. Pacific
New Orleans Pelicans 1988 The New Orleans Pelicans are a professional basketball team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They play in the Southwest Division of the league's Western Conference. The franchise was established as the New Orleans Hornets in the 2002-03 season when then-owner of the Charlotte Hornets, George Shinn, moved the franchise to New Orleans. Due to the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the franchise temporarily relocated to Oklahoma City, where they spent two seasons officially known as the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets. The team returned to New Orleans full-time for the 2007-08 season. On January 24, 2013, the franchise announced it would rename itself the Pelicans. The name change to the Pelicans took effect after the conclusion of the 2012-13 season. The Charlotte Hornets name, history and records from 1988-2002 were returned to its original city to be used by the then-Charlotte Bobcats franchise, which then became the Charlotte Hornets, starting May 20, 2014. Southwest
Los Angeles Clippers 1970 The Los Angeles Clippers are a professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California. The club's home games are played at the Staples Center, which they share with the Los Angeles Lakers, the Los Angeles Sparks, and the Los Angeles Kings. The team has only six winning seasons in its entire history, and only two since moving to Los Angeles. Pacific
Charlotte Hornets 2004 The Charlotte Hornets are a professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The original Charlotte Hornets franchise was established in 1988 as an expansion team. The team relocated to New Orleans following the 2001-02 season, becoming the New Orleans Hornets. In 2004, the NBA established a new expansion team in Charlotte, the Charlotte Bobcats. In 2013, the New Orleans franchise announced it would rename itself the New Orleans Pelicans, relinquishing the Hornets name, records, and official history for use by Charlotte. The Bobcats became the Charlotte Hornets for the 2014-15 NBA season. Southeast
Dallas Mavericks 1980 The Dallas Mavericks (also known as the Mavs) are a professional basketball team based in Dallas, Texas, USA. Founded in 1980, the Mavericks have won two division titles and one conference championship. According to Forbes Magazine, they are the seventh most valuable basketball franchise in the United States, valued at approximately $466 million; the franchise is surpassed in value only by the New York Knicks, the Los Angeles Lakers, the Chicago Bulls, the Detroit Pistons, the Cleveland Cavaliers, and the Houston Rockets. Southwest
MIN: 1945