1946

The Basketball Association of America was founded with 11 franchises:

Boston Celtics
Chicago Stags
Cleveland Rebels
Detroit Falcons
New York Knickerbockers
Philadelphia Warriors
Pittsburgh Ironmen
Providence Steamrollers
St. Louis Bombers
Toronto Huskies
Washington Capitols

1947

Added:
Baltimore Bullets
Folded:
Cleveland Rebels
Detroit Falcons
Pittsburgh Ironmen
Toronto Huskies

1948

Added:
Minneapolis Lakers (from the ABL)
Rochester Royals (from the ABL)
Ft. Wayne Zollner Pistons (from the ABL)
Indianapolis Jets (from the ABL)

1949

The BAA merged with the American Basketball League to become the National Basketball Association.

Added:
Anderson Packers (from the ABL)
Denver Nuggets(from the ABL)
Indianapolis Olympians (new franchise)
Sheboygan Redskins (from the ABL)
Syracuse Nationals (from the ABL)
Tri-Cities Blackhawks (from the ABL)
Waterloo Hawks (from the ABL)

1950

Folded:
Anderson Packers
Chicago Stags
Denver Nuggets
St. Louis Bombers
Sheboygan Redskins
Waterloo Hawks

1951

Folded:
Washington Capitals (Jan. 10, 1951, with a 10-25 record)
Moved:
Tri-Cities Blackhawks became the Milwaukee Hawks

1953

Folded:
Indianapolis Jets

1954

Folded:
Baltimore Bullets (with a 3-11 record)

1955

Moved:
Milwaukee Hawks became St. Louis Hawks

1957

Moved:
Rochester Royals became Cincinnati Royals
Ft. Wayne Pistons became Detroit Pistons

1960

Moved:
Minneapolis Lakers became Los Angeles Lakers

1961

Added:
Chicago Packers

1962

Moved:
Philadelphia Warriors became San Francisco Warriors
Name change:
Chicago Packers become Zephyrs

1963

Moved:
Chicago Zephyrs became Baltimore Bullets
Syracuse Nationals became Philadelphia 76ers

1966

Added:
Chicago Bulls

1967

Added:
San Diego Rockets
Seattle SuperSonics

1968

Added:
Milwaukee Bucks
Phoenix Suns
Moved:
St. Louis Hawks became Atlanta Hawks

1970

Added:
Buffalo Braves
Cleveland Cavaliers
Portland Trail Blazers

1971

Moved:
San Diego Rockets became Houston Rockets
San Francisco Warriors moved to Oakland and became Golden State Warriors

1972

Moved:
Cincinnati Royals became Kansas City-Omaha Kings

1973

Moved:
Baltimore Bullets moved to Landover, MD, and became Capital Bullets

1974

Name change:
Capital Bullets became Washington Bullets

1974

Added:
New Orleans Jazz

1975

Moved:
Kansas City-Omaha Kings became Kansas City Kings

1976

The American Basketball Association folded after nine years of operation and four of its teams were admitted to the NBA.

Added:
Denver Nuggets (from ABA)
Indiana Pacers (from ABA)
New York Nets (from ABA)
San Antonio Spurs (from ABA)

1977

Moved:
New York Nets became New Jersey Nets

1978

Moved:
Buffalo Braves became San Diego Clippers

1979

Moved:
New Orleans Jazz became Utah Jazz

1980

Added:
Dallas Mavericks

1984

Moved:
San Diego Clippers became Los Angeles Clippers

1985

Moved:
Kansas City Kings became Sacramento Kings

1988

Added:
Charlotte Hornets
Miami Heat

1989

Added:
Minnesota Timberwolves
Orlando Magic

1995

Added:
Toronto Raptors
Vancouver Grizzlies

1997

Name change:
Washington Bullets became Washington Wizards

2001

Moved:
Vancouver Grizzlies became Memphis Grizzlies

2002

Moved:
Charlotte Hornets became New Orleans Hornets

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