List of relocated NBA teams

Teams with the National Basketball Association (NBA), a professional men's basketball league in North America, have moved between cities some two dozen times.[1][2][3] This 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 moved again

Permanent moves

Team First Last Moved 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 [note 1] [6]
Cincinnati Royals 1957 1972 Kansas City–Omaha Kings* 15 .467 7 0
Baltimore Bullets 1963 1973 Capital Bullets 10 .493 7 0 [note 2]
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 [note 3]
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 [note 4]
Kansas City Kings 1975 1985 Sacramento Kings 10 .465 4 0 Low attendance
Vancouver Grizzlies 1995 2001 Memphis Grizzlies 6 .220 0 0 [note 5] [7]
Charlotte Hornets^ 1988 2002 New Orleans Hornets 14 .485 7 0 [note 6] [8][9]
Seattle SuperSonics 1967 2008 Oklahoma City Thunder 41 .524 22 1 [note 7] [10][11][12]
New Jersey Nets 1977 2012 Brooklyn Nets 35 - - - [note 8]

Temporary moves

Team First Last Moved to Seasons Win% PA C Main reason Ref
New Orleans Hornets 2002 2005 Oklahoma City (2005–07) 3 .512 2 0 [note 9] [13][14][15]
Toronto Raptors 1995 2020 Tampa (2020–21) 25 - - 1 [note 10] [16]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ 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
  2. ^ The Capital Bullets were later renamed Washington Bullets (1974–1997) and Washington Wizards (since 1997). Despite moving, the team would play a few home games in Baltimore from 1989 to 1997.
  3. ^ Sale to California owner Irv Levin, who previously owned the Boston Celtics and swapped franchises with Braves owner John Y. Brown Jr.
  4. ^ Sold to Donald Sterling, who wanted the team in his hometown and eventually succeeded in moving. In 2024, the Clippers' NBA G League team moved from Ontario, California to San Diego, adopting the San Diego Clippers branding.
  5. ^ Financial problems caused by low attendance and the weak Canadian dollar; sold to Michael Heisley with the intention of moving the team to Memphis.
  6. ^ Declining attendance, reported lack of profitability, and the declining popularity of owner George Shinn. This move was reversed retroactively in 2014 when the newly rebranded Charlotte Hornets (founded as the Bobcats in 2004) was awarded the history and records of the original Hornets in Charlotte from 1988 to 2002, while retroactively suspending operations from 2002 to 2004. The now-New Orleans Pelicans (rebranded from the Hornets in 2013) kept the history and records of the team in New Orleans from 2002 onward, but were retroactively reclassified as an expansion team.
  7. ^ 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. As part of a settlement with the city of Seattle, all colors, logos and trademarks associated with the SuperSonics were kept in Seattle. The NBA continues to acknowledge the SuperSonics and Thunder as one continuous franchise; however, the Thunder do not include any pre-2008 statistics and records in their media guides, nor do they acknowledge the SuperSonics' 1979 NBA championship as part of its history. Should a future expansion Seattle franchise join the NBA, that franchise will inherit the pre-2008 statistics and records from the Thunder, while retroactively reclassifying the Thunder as a 2008 expansion team.
  8. ^ Nets former owner Bruce Ratner bought them to move them to their new arena in Brooklyn, which is within 14 miles of its former arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey, both of which are in the same New York Metropolitan Area
  9. ^ Damage to the New Orleans metropolitan area caused by Hurricane Katrina forced the Hornets to play most of their home games in Oklahoma City as the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets. The Hornets returned to New Orleans after repairs to the team's home arena were completed. The team was later renamed the New Orleans Pelicans (since 2013) and subsequently returned the Hornets brand to the NBA, which was reclaimed by the new Charlotte team (originally Bobcats) in 2014. Oklahoma City would later be the site for a permanent location, as the Seattle SuperSonics moved there in 2008 and became the Oklahoma City Thunder.
  10. ^ The Raptors played their home games at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida, home of the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League during their 2020–21 season, as a result of COVID-19 cross-border travel restrictions imposed by the Government of Canada. They returned to Toronto the following season.

References

  1. ^ 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. ^ Beamish, Mike (February 19, 2011). "NBA dreams rekindled, 10 years after Grizzlies' demise". 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. ^ "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.
  11. ^ Brunner, Jim; Pian Chan, Sharon (July 2, 2008). "Sonics, city reach settlement". The Seattle Times. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
  12. ^ Bontemps, Tim; Marks, Bobby (March 16, 2026). "NBA expansion: Seattle, Las Vegas, draft format, news, updates". ESPN. Retrieved March 20, 2026.
  13. ^ "Hornets to Play in Oklahoma City". Pelicans.com. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. September 21, 2005. Retrieved September 21, 2005.
  14. ^ 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.
  15. ^ Longman, Jeré (November 1, 2007). "Putting the New Orleans in the New Orleans Hornets". The New York Times. Retrieved February 3, 2016.
  16. ^ "Toronto Raptors to Start Season in Tampa". SI.com. November 20, 2020. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
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