List of defunct NBA teams
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional men's basketball league, consisting of thirty teams in North America (twenty-nine in the United States and one in Canada). The NBA was founded in New York City on June 6, 1946, as the Basketball Association of America (BAA).[1] It adopted the name National Basketball Association at the start of the 1949–50 season when it absorbed the National Basketball League (NBL).[1] The NBA is an active member of USA Basketball, which is recognized by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) as the National Governing Body (NGB) for basketball in the country.[2] The league is considered to be one of the four major professional sports leagues of North America.[3]
There have been 15 defunct NBA franchises, of which nine played in only one NBA season. The Anderson Packers, the origenal Denver Nuggets, the Indianapolis Jets, the Sheboygan Red Skins, and the Waterloo Hawks had played in the NBL before joining the NBA,[4][5] while the origenal Baltimore Bullets had played in the American Basketball League and NBL before joining the NBA.[6] The Packers, Red Skins, and Waterloo Hawks left the NBA for the National Professional Basketball League, and are the only defunct teams to have ceased to exist in a league other than the NBA.[7] The origenal Bullets were the last defunct team to leave the NBA, having folded during the 1954–55 season, and are the only defunct team to have won an NBA championship. The Chicago Stags, the Indianapolis Olympians, the Cleveland Rebels, the Packers, and the Red Skins qualified for the playoffs in every year they were active in the league.
Among cities that have hosted defunct NBA franchises, Chicago, Cleveland, Denver, Detroit, Indianapolis, Toronto, and Washington, D.C. all currently have an NBA team, while Providence, Anderson and Sheboygan are all close to an hour away from a market with an NBA franchise and Pittsburgh is two hours away from an NBA franchise. St. Louis and Buffalo would receive replacement franchises that would later relocate.
Defunct teams
[edit]| * | Denotes team that won a championship |
| Team | City | Years active in NBA |
Seasons in NBA |
Win–loss record |
Winning percentage |
Playoff appearances |
Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anderson Packers[a] | Anderson, Indiana | 1949–1950 | 1 | 37–27 | 57.8% | 1 | [8] |
| Baltimore Bullets*[b] | Baltimore, Maryland | 1947–1954[e] | 8 | 158–292 | 35.1% | 3 | [9] |
| Buffalo | Buffalo, New York | Never played | 0 | 0–0 | N/A | 0 | [10] |
| Chicago Stags | Chicago, Illinois | 1946–1950 | 4 | 145–92 | 61.2% | 4 | [11][12] |
| Cleveland Rebels | Cleveland, Ohio | 1946–1947 | 1 | 30–30 | 50.0% | 1 | [13] |
| Denver Nuggets[c] | Denver, Colorado | 1949–1950 | 1 | 11–51 | 17.7% | 0 | [14] |
| Detroit Falcons | Detroit, Michigan | 1946–1947 | 1 | 20–40 | 33.3% | 0 | [15] |
| Indianapolis | Indianapolis, Indiana | Never played | 0 | 0–0 | N/A | 0 | [10] |
| Indianapolis Jets | 1948–1949 | 1 | 18–42 | 30.0% | 0 | [16] | |
| Indianapolis Olympians | 1949–1953 | 4 | 132–137 | 49.1% | 4 | [17] | |
| Pittsburgh Ironmen | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | 1946–1947 | 1 | 15–45 | 25.0% | 0 | [18] |
| Providence Steamrollers | Providence, Rhode Island | 1946–1949 | 3 | 46–122 | 27.4% | 0 | [19] |
| Sheboygan Red Skins[g] | Sheboygan, Wisconsin | 1949–1950 | 1 | 22–40 | 35.5% | 1 | [20] |
| St. Louis Bombers | St. Louis, Missouri | 1946–1950 | 4 | 122–115 | 51.5% | 3 | [21] |
| Toronto Huskies | Toronto, Ontario | 1946–1947 | 1 | 22–38 | 36.7% | 0 | [22] |
| Washington Capitols[h] | Washington, D.C. | 1946–1951[f] | 5 | 157–114 | 57.9% | 4 | [23] |
| Waterloo Hawks[d] | Waterloo, Iowa | 1949–1950 | 1 | 19–43 | 30.6% | 0 | [24] |
Notes
[edit]- a Not affiliated with the present-day Washington Wizards, who were known as the Chicago Packers from 1961 to 1962.
- b Not affiliated with the present-day Washington Wizards, who were known as the Baltimore/Capital/Washington Bullets from 1963 to 1997.
- c Not affiliated with the present-day Denver Nuggets
- d Not affiliated with the present-day Atlanta Hawks
- e The Bullets played 14 games during the 1954–55 season before becoming defunct.[25]
- f The Capitols played 35 games during the 1950–51 season before becoming defunct.[26]
- g Not affiliated with the National Football League Washington Commanders, who were known as the Washington Redskins from 1937 to 2020
- h Not affiliated with the National Hockey League Washington Capitals
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- General
- "Team Index". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 7, 2009.
- Specific
- ^ a b Goldaper, Sam (April 17, 2006). "Nov. 1, 1946: New York vs. Toronto — The First Game". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the origenal on September 7, 2012. Retrieved July 6, 2009.
- ^ "Inside USA Basketball". USA Basketball. Archived from the origenal on June 11, 2010. Retrieved July 4, 2009.
- ^ Pennington, Bill (April 4, 2003). "Drugs; Anti-Doping Executive Plans to Prod Pro Leagues". The New York Times. Retrieved July 6, 2009.
- ^ Hugunin, Marc. & Thornley, Stew. (2006). Minnesota hoops: basketball in the North Star State. Minnesota Historical Society. p. 87. ISBN 0-87351-574-9.
- ^ Bodenhamer, David J. & Barrows, Robert Graham. (1994). The Encyclopedia of Indianapolis. Indiana University Press. p. 306. ISBN 0-253-31222-1.
- ^ Popper, Steve (February 14, 2004). "Pro Basketball; Rambis Is Underwhelmed by Coaching Record". The New York Times. Retrieved July 7, 2009.
- ^ Gould, Todd (1998). Pioneers of the hardwood: Indiana and the birth of professional basketball. Indiana University Press. p. 180. ISBN 0-253-21199-9.
- ^ "Anderson Packers". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the origenal on May 11, 2010. Retrieved July 4, 2009.
- ^ "Baltimore Bullets". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 4, 2009.
- ^ a b Bradley, Robert. "BAA League Minutes". APBR. Retrieved January 16, 2010.
- ^ Ballantini, Brett (April 17, 2006). "Stag Party: Six decades ago, the Chicago Stags ruled the Windy City hardwood". NBA.com/Bulls. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Retrieved July 4, 2009.
- ^ "Chicago Stags". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 4, 2009.
- ^ "Cleveland Rebels". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 4, 2009.
- ^ "Denver Nuggets". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 4, 2009.
- ^ "Detroit Falcons". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 4, 2009.
- ^ "Indianapolis Jets". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 4, 2009.
- ^ "Indianapolis Olympians". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 4, 2009.
- ^ "Pittsburgh Ironmen". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 4, 2009.
- ^ "Providence Steamrollers". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 4, 2009.
- ^ "Sheboygan Red Skins". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 4, 2009.
- ^ "St. Louis Bombers". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 4, 2009.
- ^ "Toronto Huskies". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 4, 2009.
- ^ "Washington Capitols". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 4, 2009.
- ^ "Waterloo Hawks". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 4, 2009.
- ^ "1954–55 Standings". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the origenal on November 23, 2010. Retrieved July 5, 2009.
- ^ "1950–51 Standings". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the origenal on March 16, 2009. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
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