The Hawks Take Flight The Atlanta Hawks got their start in 1946. However, back then, they were known as the Buffalo Bisons and were a part of the National Basketball League, where they played for 38 days before departing for Moline, Illinois. There, they took on a new name — the Tri-Cities Blackhawks, in reference to the Black Hawk … Read more
Knickerbockers Origins The New York Knicks got their start in 1946 as one of the initial members of the NBA. Ned Irish – the founding father of the Knicks – led the club to victory against the Toronto Huskies (68-66) during their first showdown in this newfound league. The Knickerbockers moniker goes back to the Dutch settlers who first settled in New … Read more
The Sacramento Kings have only been around since 1985, but their time in the NBA goes way beyond that. The team started out in 1948 as the Rochester Royals with the Basketball Association of America. The Royals were one of 17 teams to participate in the merger of the American Basketball Association and the National Basketball League … Read more
Creating a Franchise The Toronto Raptors were born in 1993 when the NBA received a formal application from the Professional Basketball Franchise Inc. (PBF) in Canada. In the summer of ’93, the NBA expansion committee visited Toronto to examine the PBF’s plans, which was led by high-esteemed businessmen, who were eager to get their own franchise. To … Read more
The Utah Jazz were established in New Orleans, Louisiana, as the New Orleans Jazz in 1974. As history goes, a contest was held to name the expansion team, which received more than 6,500 entries. After much consideration, team officials announced the team’s name as the “Jazz” on June 7, 1974. With New Orleans being the “Jazz Capital of the … Read more
The Beginning Before the San Antonio Spurs became what they are, the team started out as the Dallas Chaparrals in 1967 as part of the American Basketball Association. Cliff Hagan came out of his one-year retirement to become a player-coach for the Chaparrals. The Chaparrals ended the season 46-32, but this was only the start to some … Read more
The Bay Area of California didn’t always have a basketball team to call its own. The Philadelphia Warriors were founded in 1946. They are one of three teams (including the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks) to survive in the NBA after the BAA merged with it in 1949. In 1962, the team moved to the Bay Area and adopted the San Francisco … Read more
The Houston Rockets were founded as the San Diego Rockets in the 1967-68 season as an NBA expansion team. The team only played four seasons in “America’s Finest City” before touching down in Houston, Texas, in 1971. They’re currently celebrating their 50th season in the NBA and have delighted fans with two championship runs back to back in the 1993-94 and … Read more
Though you might know and root for the Philadelphia 76ers today, the franchise joined the National Basketball League as the Syracuse Nationals in 1949 before relocating to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from upstate New York in 1963. In over 50 years they’ve called the City of Brotherly Love their home, the 76ers have delighted fans with 33 appearances in the … Read more
NBA fans in “Brew City,” Milwaukee, Wis., have been able to cheer on their local team, the Bucks, for almost 50 seasons. Founded in 1968, the Bucks play in the Eastern Conference’s Central Division with the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Chicago Bulls, the Indiana Pacers, and the Detroit Pistons. They keep their fans entertained in the regular season, and usually … Read more