Relocation Series: NBA (Part 2)

By Shawn Stewart

Some of the NBA franchises, like the other major sports in the United States, have not always been connected to the same city. The location transfers, on occasion, carry with them a name change, but every so often there is also a change in the nickname for issues related to other circumstances outside the removals. The National Basketball Association has made some questionable moves and name changes in its 71-year history. Below we review the origins and changes of city and name of some of the NBA franchises.

Brooklyn Nets:

The New Jersey Nets official logo (sportsteamhistory.com)

The Brooklyn Nets are the successor to the New Jersey Nets that were originally born in 1967 under the name, New York Americans and played in the ABA. (American Basketball Association) Eventually, they moved to New Jersey and had an immense competition with the New York Knicks franchise. In 1969 the name was changed from Americans to Nets, and they finally moved the franchise to Brooklyn in 2012. Minority owner Jay-Z helped spearhead the move of the franchise back to New York. The move was considered to be huge at the time, as it was an attempt to usher in a new era of basketball back to New York. The team redesigned its logo, and added a new color scheme to the their franchise to try and reinvent itself with the new move.

Sacramento Kings:

The Rochester Royals logo (sportslogohistory.com)

The Rochester Royals were founded in 1946 as a team from the NBL (National Basketball League) and later from the ABA (American Basketball Association). The team relocated to Cincinnati in 1957, keeping the name, unlike when they moved to Kansas City in 1972, as the city's baseball team was already established as the Kansas City Royals, so the franchise changed its name to the Kings. Their final destination ended up in Sacramento, in 1975, and they kept the name Kings and are known as the Sacramento Kings to this day. 

San Antonio Spurs:

The Dallas Chaparrals official logo (sportslogohistory.com)

The Spurs emerged as the Dallas Chaparrals in 1968, and in 1971 they traded the name for the Texas Chaparrals. In 1973, two years later, the franchise moved to San Antonio and changed its name to the Gunslingers, although they never played an actual game under that nickname. They changed it to the San Antonio Spurs in 1973 as part of the ABA (American Basketball Association). The Spurs then became an NBA franchise starting in 1976. The Spurs franchise has been very successful since moving to San Antonio. They have won 5 NBA Championships, to go along with 6 Conference titles, and an amazing 22 Division titles. The Spurs have produced a Hall of Fame coach in Gregg Popovich and two Hall of Fame players in David Robinson and Tim Duncan. The two stars were given the nickname the "Twin Towers" The Spurs hold the record for most consecutive seasons with a playoff appearance at 22.

Utah Jazz:

The New Orleans Jazz official logo (sportsteamhistory.com)

One of two head-scratching moves comes from the Jazz organization. The franchise originated in New Orleans, where jazz music was very popular, so you could say the name was very fitting. The organization was founded in 1974 as an expansion franchise and made its home in New Orleans from 1974-1979. The organization's first big move was trading for Pete Maravich (from the Atlanta Hawks), who played his college ball locally at Louisiana State University. The trade included two first-round picks, three second-round picks, and one third-round pick over three years. Even after the blockbuster trade, the franchise's best record while in New Orleans was 39-43, and that happened during the 1977-78 season. The team struggled with venue issues during their time in New Orleans.  The Jazz continued to struggle, which hindered their status as a competitive organization.  After scouting several locations to try and relocate the franchise, the team made its move to Salt Lake City, where the Utah Jazz was born. The irony behind this all is, the state of Utah did not allow jazz music, but somehow the franchise was able to keep the same name. They also kept the same colors, green, purple a gold, which were considered popular Mardi Gras colors in New Orleans. 

Los Angeles Lakers:

The Minneapolis Lakers official logo (sportsteamhistory.com)

The other head-scratching move occurred with one of the best-known franchises not only in the NBA but all sports. The team originated in 1949, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, as a BAA team. In 1960, the team relocated to Los Angeles and kept the same name, but the state of California is not known for its variety of lakes. This franchise has produced some of the greatest basketball players in NBA history. Some of these stars include George Mikan, Elgin Baylor, Jerry West (who, by the way, is the NBA Logo), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Ervin "Magic" Johnson, and James Worthy. The list goes on with Shaquille O' Neal and the late Kobe Bryant. The Lakers are tied with the Boston Celtics for the most NBA Championships with 17. (The 17th title came most recently when LeBron James and Anthony Davis led the Lakers to the 2020 NBA Championship.) The Lakers hold the record for the longest winning streak in NBA history. During the 1971-1972 season, the Lakers won 33 straight games. The Lakers have produced twenty-six Hall of Fame players and four Hall of Fame Coaches. With all the given success the Lakers franchise has accomplished, I guess we can forgive the organization for the questionable move.

There have been several NBA teams that have changed names and locations for several reasons. Some of the moves were necessary to save a crippling franchise and some of the moves we still question today. Regardless of the moves and name changes, it has put some of the biggest franchises in sports on the map. In the final part of this 4 part series, we will look at some of the biggest moves and name changes in the National Hockey League.

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