Timeline of the NBA

The following is a timeline of the organizational changes in the National Basketball Association (NBA), including contractions, expansions, relocations, and divisional realignment. The league was formed as the Basketball Association of America (BAA) in 1946 and took its current name in 1949. The histories of NBA franchises that were also members of the American Basketball League (ABL), National Basketball League (NBL), National Pro Basketball League (NPBL), and American Basketball Association (ABA) are also included.

• The Basketball Association of America (BAA) was established with 11 teams (divided into Eastern and Western divisions).

• The Cleveland Rebels, Detroit Falcons, Pittsburgh Ironmen, and Toronto Huskies folded.
• The Baltimore Bullets joined the Western division from the ABL.

The Washington Capitols moved to the Western division.

• The Fort Wayne Pistons, Indianapolis Jets, Minneapolis Lakers, and Rochester Royals (all from the NBL) joined the Western division.
• The Washington Capitols moved back to the Eastern division.

• The Indianapolis Jets and Providence Steamrollers folded.
• The BAA merged with the NBL and became the NBA.
• The Anderson Packers, Denver Nuggets, Sheboygan Red Skins, Syracuse Nationals, Tri-Cities Blackhawks, and Waterloo Hawks all joined from the NBL.
• The Indianapolis Olympians joined.
• The Central division was created.

• The Central division disappeared.
• The Chicago Stags, Denver Nuggets, and St. Louis Bombers folded.
• The Anderson Packers, Sheboygan Red Skins, and Waterloo Hawks transferred to the NPBL.
• The Washington Capitols folded mid-season.

• The Tri-Cities Blackhawks moved to Milwaukee and became the Milwaukee Hawks.

• The Indianapolis Olympians folded.
• The Baltimore Bullets folded after 14 games.

• The Milwaukee Hawks moved to St. Louis and became the St. Louis Hawks.

• The Fort Wayne Pistons moved to Detroit and became the Detroit Pistons.
• The Rochester Royals moved to Cincinnati and became the Cincinnati Royals.

• The Minneapolis Lakers moved to Los Angeles and became the Los Angeles Lakers.

• The Chicago Packers joined the West division.

• The Philadelphia Warriors moved to San Francisco and became the San Francisco Warriors, and moved to the Western division.
• The Cincinnati Royals moved to the Eastern division.
• The Chicago Packers became the Chicago Zephyrs.

• The Chicago Zephyrs moved to Baltimore and became the Baltimore Bullets.
• The Syracuse Nationals moved to Philadelphia and became the Philadelphia 76ers.

• The Chicago Bulls joined the Western division.
• The Baltimore Bullets moved to the Eastern division.

• The San Diego Rockets and Seattle SuperSonics joined the Western division.
• The Detroit Pistons moved to the Eastern division.

• The Milwaukee Bucks joined the Eastern division.
• The Phoenix Suns joined the Western division.
• The St. Louis Hawks moved to Atlanta and became the Atlanta Hawks.

• The league realigned into the Eastern and Western conferences.
• The Atlantic, Central, Midwest, and Pacific divisions were created.
• The Boston Celtics, Buffalo Braves, New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers joined the Atlantic division.
• The Atlanta Hawks, Baltimore Bullets, Cincinnati Royals and Cleveland Cavaliers joined the Central division.
• The Chicago Bulls, Detroit Pistons, Milwaukee Bucks and Phoenix Suns joined the Midwest division.
• The Los Angeles Lakers, Portland Trail Blazers, San Diego Rockets, San Francisco Warriors and Seattle SuperSonics joined the Pacific division.

• The San Diego Rockets moved to Houston and became the Houston Rockets.
• The San Francisco Warriors moved to Oakland and became the Golden State Warriors.

• The Cincinnati Royals left Cincinnati and decided to split their home games between Kansas City, Missouri, and Omaha, Nebraska, became the Kansas City–Omaha Kings, and moved to the Midwest division.
• The Houston Rockets moved to the Central division.
• The Phoenix Suns moved to the Pacific division.

• The Baltimore Bullets moved to the Washington, D.C. suburb of Landover, Maryland and became the Capital Bullets.

• The New Orleans Jazz joined the Central division.
• The Capital Bullets became the Washington Bullets.

• The Kansas City–Omaha Kings abandoned playing in Omaha and became the Kansas City Kings.

• The Denver Nuggets, Indiana Pacers, New York Nets, and San Antonio Spurs joined from the American Basketball Association (ABA)

• The New York Nets moved to Piscataway, New Jersey and became the New Jersey Nets.

• The Buffalo Braves relocated to San Diego and became the San Diego Clippers.
• The Clippers moved to the Pacific division.
• The Detroit Pistons moved to the Central division.
• The Washington Bullets moved to the Atlantic division.

• The New Orleans Jazz relocated to Salt Lake City, Utah and became the Utah Jazz, and moved to the Midwest division.
• The Indiana Pacers moved to the Central division.

• The Dallas Mavericks are enfranchised as the league's 23rd team, and are placed in the Midwest division.
• The NBA's two other Texas teams, the Houston Rockets and the San Antonio Spurs, moved to the Midwest division to join the Mavericks.
• The Chicago Bulls and the Milwaukee Bucks moved to the Central division.

• The San Diego Clippers moved to Los Angeles and became the Los Angeles Clippers.

• The Kansas City Kings moved to Sacramento, California and became the Sacramento Kings.

• The Charlotte Hornets and the Miami Heat are enfranchised as the league's 24th and 25th teams.
• The Hornets are placed in the Atlantic division and the Heat in the Midwest division.
• The Sacramento Kings moved to the Pacific division.

• The Minnesota Timberwolves and the Orlando Magic are enfranchised as the league's to 26th and 27th teams.
• The Timberwolves are placed in the Midwest division and the Magic in the Central division.
• The Charlotte Hornets and the Miami Heat switched conferences. The Hornets moved to the Midwest division while the Heat moved to the Atlantic division.

• The Charlotte Hornets moved to the Central division, while the Orlando Magic moved to the Midwest division.

The Orlando Magic moved to the Atlantic division to reduce travel after spending the previous season in the Western Conference.

• The NBA expands into Canada as the Toronto Raptors and Vancouver Grizzlies are enfranchised as the league's 28th and 29th teams.
• The Raptors are placed in the Central division and the Grizzlies in the Midwest division.

• The Washington Bullets are renamed the Washington Wizards.

• The Vancouver Grizzlies moved to Memphis, Tennessee and became the Memphis Grizzlies.

The Charlotte Hornets moved to New Orleans and became the New Orleans Hornets.

• The Charlotte Bobcats are enfranchised as the league's 30th team.
• The NBA realigns to create three divisions with five teams each in both conferences.
• The New Orleans Hornets are the only team to switch conferences, moving from the Eastern Conference to the Western Conference.

• Due to the damages caused by Hurricane Katrina, the Hornets split their home games between New Orleans and Oklahoma City for two seasons, and thus officially play as the New Orleans–Oklahoma City Hornets.

• With damages caused by Hurricane Katrina fully repaired, the Hornets return to New Orleans full-time.

The Seattle SuperSonics moved to Oklahoma City and became the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The New Jersey Nets moved to Brooklyn and became the Brooklyn Nets.

The New Orleans Hornets are renamed the New Orleans Pelicans.

The Charlotte Bobcats are renamed the Charlotte Hornets after the New Orleans Pelicans agree to return the original Charlotte Hornets' name, history, and records from 1988 to 2002 to the city of Charlotte.^[1]

• List of defunct NBA teams
• List of relocated NBA teams
• Expansion of the NBA

• "Franchise History". NBA.com. 2016. Retrieved May 25, 2016.