The NBA started at 1946, when there were 1 1 teams. Through a series of team expansion, contraction and migration, there are currently 30 teams. There are 29 teams in America, one of which is located in Canada.
But from the beginning, there was no such team in the NBA. It has experienced a series of changes and expansions.
Since the establishment of 1946, the expansion of NBA has occurred several times in the history of the league. There are three stages for you to explain:
Early days:1946–1966 In the early days of the NBA, the organization expanded and moved many times. During these twenty years, famous teams such as Syracuse Nationals (now Philadelphia 76ers), Philadelphia Warriors (now Golden State Warriors), Minneapolis Lakers (now Los Angeles Lakers) and Rochester Royals (now NBA) entered the NBA (in Sacramento Kings). During this period, the league once fell to 9 teams, 196 1 year.
Expansion era: 1966–1980 During the period of 15, starting from Chicago Bulls of1966, at present, 14 of 30 teams entered the league. A year later, the San Diego Rockets (now Houston Rockets) and seattle supersonics (now Oklahoma City Thunder) joined the league. After two seasons of 1968, Buffalo Warriors (now Los Angeles Clippers), Cleveland Cavaliers and Portland Trailblazers all joined in 1970. The New Orleans Jazz (now Utah Jazz) became the first 18 team in the league in 1974.
After the 1975-76 season, the NBA merged with the American Basketball Association, which has been running for nine seasons since 1967. With the merger of ABA-NBA, four ABA teams became NBA members: Denver Nuggets, Indiana Pacers, new york Nets (now Brooklyn Nets) and San Antonio Spurs. 1980, Dallas Mavericks became the 23rd member of the league.
Modern expansion: From 1988 to 2004, starting from 1988, the NBA added seven teams, the last time being in 2004. Four teams were founded in 1988 and 1989 respectively: the former Charlotte Hornets (now the New Orleans Pelican), Miami Heat and Orlando Magic, all in Florida and Minnesota Timberwolves. 1995, the NBA established two new teams in Canada, the first team since the first season of 1946-47, in Toronto. Namely Toronto Raptors and Vancouver Grizzlies (now Memphis Grizzlies). In 2004, with the development of the current Charlotte Hornet to 30 leagues, it turned out to be Charlotte Bobcats.
The possible expansion cities of NBA in the future are: Seattle, Las Vegas, San Diego, Louisville, Vancouver, Montreal,
Kansas City, Pittsburgh, Hampton Road, Virginia, Mexico City.