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
Top of page