How Every NBA Team Got Its Name: The Origin Story Behind All 30

NBA names are younger than baseball's and stranger in a different way. Half of them came out of fan contests, a few were literally pulled out of a hat, and a surprising number stopped making sense the moment the team moved. The Lakers left the Land of 10,000 Lakes for Los Angeles. The Jazz left New Orleans for Salt Lake City. The Grizzlies left British Columbia for Memphis. They all kept the names anyway.

So we went back to the start for all 30, using the teams' own histories, newspaper archives and state and city historical sources. Where the famous story is shaky, we say so.

This is part three of our team-name history series, after How Every NFL Team Got Its Name and How Every MLB Team Got Its Name. The NHL is next.

Quick Facts: NBA Team Names

• Oldest names still in use: the Celtics, Knicks and Warriors, all from 1946. The Celtics and Knicks have never moved.
• Newest names: the Pelicans (2013) and the Hornets, back in Charlotte since 2014.
• Pulled out of a hat: the Knicks (staffers' names in a hat) and the Suns (one of more than 300 "Suns" entries drawn at random).
• Named in fan contests: Bucks, Suns, 76ers, Cavaliers, Trail Blazers, Clippers, Mavericks, Magic, Heat, Timberwolves, Hornets, Raptors, Nuggets, Rockets and Jazz.
• Moved and kept a name that no longer fits: Lakers, Jazz, Grizzlies and Clippers.
• Forced to change by another team: the Nuggets (Houston had the Rockets), the Kings (Kansas City baseball had the Royals) and the Thunder (Seattle kept the SuperSonics name).
• Forced to change by the police: the Grizzlies, after the Royal Canadian Mounted Police blocked "Mounties."
• Changed for a social reason: the Wizards, who dropped "Bullets" over gun violence.
• Named after an insult: the Hornets, from Lord Cornwallis's hornet's nest.
• Named after a factory: the Pistons, a company team from a Fort Wayne piston foundry.

Atlantic Division

Boston Celtics

The Celtics name came from New York. In the 1920s the Original Celtics, a barnstorming team from New York, were the most famous club in basketball. When Boston Garden-Arena Corporation president Walter Brown started a team in the new Basketball Association of America in 1946, he and publicist Howie McHugh kicked around Whirlwinds, Unicorns and Olympics. Brown picked Celtics. As the story goes, he said the name had "a great basketball tradition" and that "Boston is full of Irishmen," so the team would wear green. The Celtics have never changed their name or their city. Boston Celtics uniform schedule 2026-27

Photo: Hameltion / CC BY-SA 4.0

The Nets started as the New Jersey Americans, an original ABA team in 1967-68 that played at the Teaneck Armory. Their first season ended in a forfeit: a one-game playoff was moved to Long Island's Commack Arena, and the league ruled the wet, patched floor unplayable. Owner Arthur Brown moved the team to Long Island for 1968-69 and renamed it the New York Nets, a name chosen to rhyme with the Mets and the Jets. The name followed the team back to New Jersey in 1977 and to Brooklyn in 2012. Brooklyn Nets uniform schedule 2026-27

Nets marks over the years. Logos via Wikimedia Commons.

Photo: Erik Drost / CC BY 2.0

The name was pulled out of a hat. Madison Square Garden executive Fred Podesta later explained that founder Ned Irish, publicity man Lester Scott and a few staffers each dropped a name in, and "most of them said Knickerbockers, after Father Knickerbocker, the symbol of New York City." That symbol came from a hoax. In 1809 Washington Irving planted newspaper notices about a missing Dutch historian named Diedrich Knickerbocker to promote his satirical history of New York, and the name came to mean any old-stock New Yorker. The New York Times reported the team's name on July 24, 1946, and "Knicks" was in print within weeks. New York Knicks uniform schedule 2026-27

Knicks marks over the years. Logos via Wikimedia Commons.

Illustration: Anonymous, Daily Attractions in New York (1906). Public domain.

Photo: Erik Drost / CC BY 2.0

Only nine people suggested it. When Ike Richman and Irv Kosloff bought the Syracuse Nationals and moved them to Philadelphia in 1963, they ran a name contest that drew fewer than 4,000 entries. "Colonials" was the most common. The winner, announced August 6, 1963, was a West Collingswood, New Jersey, fan whose entry said no team had "paid tribute to the gallant men who forged this country's independence." The name honors 1776 and the Declaration of Independence, signed a few miles from where the team plays. A local columnist joked: if they play .500 ball, will they be the 38ers? Philadelphia 76ers uniform schedule 2026-27

76ers marks over the years. Logos via Wikimedia Commons.

Photo: Unknown photographer (c. 1958). Public domain.

Painting: John Trumbull, 1819 (U.S. Capitol). Public domain.

Photo: Chensiyuan / CC BY-SA 4.0

Toronto's expansion team was named at the height of dinosaur mania, less than a year after Jurassic Park came out. A fan contest produced finalists including the Bobcats and the Dragons, and rejected ideas included the "Canadian Eh's" and the "Toronto Mighty Dunks." The team unveiled the name and its dribbling-dinosaur logo in May 1994. "Raptors" is short for velociraptor, the movie's breakout villain, and the merchandise was expected to help pay off a $125 million expansion fee. Toronto Raptors uniform schedule 2026-27

Photo: All-Pro Reels / CC BY-SA 2.0

Chicago Bulls

Founding owner Dick Klein first leaned toward the Matadors or the Toreadors. He wanted a one-syllable name to match Chicago's Bears, Cubs, Sox and Hawks. In Klein's telling, while he brainstormed with his family, his young son Mark said, "Dad, that's a bunch of bull!" Klein took it. Bulls also tied to Chicago's meatpacking history, since the team's first home, the Chicago Amphitheatre, sat next to the Union Stock Yards. The Bulls joined the NBA in 1966. Chicago Bulls uniform schedule 2026-27

Bulls marks over the years. Logos via Wikimedia Commons.

Photo: All-Pro Reels / CC BY-SA 2.0

One of the finalists was named after the owner's son. Owner Nick Mileti picked five finalists for his 1970 expansion team and explained each: "Presidents, because Ohio is the state of presidents; Towers, like the Terminal Tower; Foresters, since Cleveland is known as the Forest City; Jays, for my son Jimmy; and of course, the Cavaliers." Fans voted in a newspaper contest, and Cavaliers took more than a third of about 6,000 votes. The winning entry came from Jerry Tomko of Eastlake, who wrote that cavaliers were "daring, fearless men, whose life's pact was never surrender, no matter what the odds." Cleveland Cavaliers uniform schedule 2026-27

Cavaliers marks over the years. Logos via Wikimedia Commons.

Photo: Erik Drost / CC BY 2.0

The Pistons were a factory team. Fred Zollner ran a foundry in Fort Wayne, Indiana, that made pistons for car, truck and locomotive engines, and his club played as the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons in the National Basketball League. "Zollner" was dropped in 1948 when the team moved to the Basketball Association of America. In 1957 Zollner moved the club to Detroit, which had gone about a decade without pro basketball. In the Motor City, the name fit even better. Detroit Pistons uniform schedule 2026-27

Pistons marks over the years. Logos via Wikimedia Commons.

Photo: Pikraken / CC BY 4.0

A group of Indiana investors pooled their money to buy into the new ABA and announced the name on June 16, 1967. Co-founder Dick Tinkham said it reflected two Indiana traditions: harness racing pacers, horses bred to race at a pacing gait, and the pace car that leads the field at the Indianapolis 500. It also signaled that the team meant to set the pace. The Pacers kept the name when they joined the NBA in 1976. Indiana Pacers uniform schedule 2026-27

Photo: Chensiyuan / CC BY-SA 4.0

The fan who explained "Bucks" best won a car. Milwaukee's 1968 expansion team got more than 14,000 contest entries, and at least 45 people suggested "Bucks," so the judges picked a winner by reasoning. R.D. Trebilcox of Whitefish Bay won a new car for writing that bucks are "spirited, good jumpers, fast and agile." Rejected names included Skunks, Badgers, Beavers, Stags and Robins. Longtime broadcaster Eddie Doucette remembered seeing Skunks on the list and saying, "this stinks." The white-tailed deer is Wisconsin's state wildlife animal. Milwaukee Bucks uniform schedule 2026-27

Bucks marks over the years. Logos via Wikimedia Commons.

Print: after John Woodhouse Audubon (1840s), Missouri Historical Society. Public domain.

Photo: Nowoco / CC0

Atlanta Hawks

The Hawks were born in Buffalo in 1946 and moved within weeks to Moline, Illinois, part of the "Tri-Cities" with Rock Island and Davenport, Iowa. There they became the Tri-Cities Blackhawks, after Black Hawk, the Sauk leader born near today's Rock Island, whose name was already on local hotels, clubs and teams. Owner Ben Kerner moved the club to Milwaukee in 1951 and shortened the name to Hawks. It kept the name in St. Louis in 1955 and Atlanta in 1968. Atlanta Hawks uniform schedule 2026-27

Photo: All-Pro Reels / CC BY-SA 2.0

The Hornets are named after a British general's insult. In 1780 Lord Cornwallis spent a frustrating stretch in Charlotte, harassed by outnumbered local Patriots, and reportedly called the town a hornet's nest. Charlotte adopted the insult, and a hornet's nest went on the city seal. When George Shinn won an NBA team in 1987, he planned to call it the Charlotte Spirit, but a name-the-team contest picked Hornets. The franchise moved to New Orleans in 2002 and took the name along. Charlotte got it back in 2014, along with the 1988-2002 history. Charlotte Hornets uniform schedule 2026-27

Photo: Erik Drost / CC BY 2.0

Orlando threw out "Heat," and Miami took it. In 1986 Orlando's ownership group narrowed its contest to Heat, Tropics, Juice and Magic, then dropped Heat for sounding negative. A few months later Miami's group, led by former 76ers star and coach Billy Cunningham and Carnival Cruise Lines founder Ted Arison, picked "Heat" from its own fan contest. The name fits a city where the heat is the first thing visitors notice. The two Florida teams joined the NBA a year apart: Miami in 1988, Orlando in 1989. Miami Heat uniform schedule 2026-27

Photo: All-Pro Reels / CC BY-SA 2.0

The Orlando Sentinel's 1986 contest drew 4,296 entries, cut to four finalists: Heat, Tropics, Juice and Magic. The committee rejected Heat as negative, Tropics as too South Florida, and Juice because freezes had hurt the citrus industry. Co-founder Pat Williams had his 7-year-old daughter visit from Philadelphia, and at the airport she said, "I really like this place. This place is like Magic." The name also points to the region's biggest attraction, Walt Disney World and its Magic Kingdom. Orlando Magic uniform schedule 2026-27

Photo: All-Pro Reels / CC BY-SA 2.0

The owner dropped "Bullets" over gun violence. Abe Pollin had been leaning toward a change for years and made it final after his friend, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, was assassinated in November 1995. Fans voted by phone among five finalists: Wizards, Sea Dogs, Dragons, Express and Stallions. The finalists were booed at home games, but Wizards won by a wide margin, and it was announced in February 1996. "This name change is just one little part of the anti-violence campaign," Pollin said. The Wizards debuted in 1997-98 with a new downtown arena. Washington Wizards uniform schedule 2026-27

Photo: Chensiyuan / CC0

Denver Nuggets

Today's Nuggets began in 1967 as the ABA's Denver Rockets. With an NBA move in sight, "Rockets" was a problem, because Houston already had a team by that name. A 1974 contest picked "Nuggets," reviving the name of Denver's first NBA team, which lasted one season, 1949-50. Both point to Colorado's 19th-century mining boom, when people rushed in hoping to strike gold and silver. The original Nuggets are not part of today's franchise, which joined the NBA in the 1976 merger. Denver Nuggets uniform schedule 2026-27

Photo: Detroit Publishing Co., Library of Congress (c. 1898-1905). Public domain.

Photo: All-Pro Reels / CC BY-SA 2.0

Minnesota's 842 city councils voted on the name. In late 1986 owners Harvey Ratner and Marv Wolfenson held a contest that drew 6,076 entries with 1,284 different names. The two most common, Timberwolves and Polars, became finalists, and then the team asked every city council in the state to vote. Timberwolves won by about 2-to-1, and the name was official in December 1986, months before the NBA even awarded the franchise. Minnesota has one of the country's largest wolf populations. The first game was in November 1989. Minnesota Timberwolves uniform schedule 2026-27

Photo: All-Pro Reels / CC BY-SA 2.0

The Thunder are the old Seattle SuperSonics, but the name did not move. Under the 2008 settlement that let Clay Bennett's group leave Seattle, the team left the SuperSonics name, logos and colors behind. On September 3, 2008, Bennett announced "Thunder," a nod to the storms of Tornado Alley and to the 45th Infantry Division's "Thunderbirds." The team had also filed trademarks for Wind, Barons, Marshalls, Energy and Bison. The SuperSonics name itself came from a 1967 contest inspired by Boeing's supersonic jet project. Oklahoma City Thunder uniform schedule 2026-27

Photo: All-Pro Reels / CC BY-SA 2.0

Portland got its franchise in February 1970 and held a name contest right away. The fans' top choice, "Pioneers," was out because Lewis & Clark College in Portland already used it. The judges went with "Trail Blazers," a salute to the explorers and pioneers who opened the Oregon Country, and founder Harry Glickman's team unveiled it at halftime of a SuperSonics game at Memorial Coliseum in March 1970. Portland Trail Blazers uniform schedule 2026-27

Trail Blazers marks over the years. Logos via Wikimedia Commons.

Map: Samuel Lewis after William Clark, engraved by Samuel Harrison (1814). Public domain.

Photo: Frenchieinportland / CC BY 4.0

The Jazz were named for New Orleans music, then moved to Utah. The team began in New Orleans in 1974, and officials chose "Jazz" partly for the city's music and partly for its dictionary meaning, "collective improvisation." The colors were Mardi Gras purple, green and gold, and Mardi Gras also forced the team on a long road trip every February. When owner Sam Battistone moved the club to Salt Lake City in 1979, he kept the name so New Orleans would know it was the same franchise. Utah Jazz uniform schedule 2026-27

Jazz marks over the years. Logos via Wikimedia Commons.

Photo: Strand Studio, New York (1921). Public domain.

Golden State Warriors

The Warriors name came from Philadelphia, where Eddie Gottlieb's club won the first BAA title in 1946-47, echoing the Philadelphia Warriors of the 1920s. The team moved to San Francisco in 1962. In 1971 owner Franklin Mieuli moved it to Oakland and planned to play some home games in San Diego, so a San Francisco name no longer fit, and "California Warriors" sounded too much like the Cal Bears. He chose "Golden State," the state's official nickname. Only a few San Diego games were ever played, and the team kept the name when it moved back to San Francisco in 2019. Golden State Warriors uniform schedule 2026-27

Photo: Unknown photographer (1960). Public domain.

Photo: All-Pro Reels / CC BY-SA 2.0

The Clippers exist because two owners traded entire teams. They began in 1970 as the Buffalo Braves. In 1978 Irv Levin, who owned the Boston Celtics, wanted a team in California, so he and Braves owner John Y. Brown swapped franchises: Brown took the Celtics, and Levin moved the Braves to San Diego. "Braves" didn't fit there, and a contest picked "Clippers" for the fast sailing ships that once passed through San Diego Bay. The team moved to Los Angeles in 1984 and kept the name. LA Clippers uniform schedule 2026-27

Clippers marks over the years. Logos via Wikimedia Commons.

Print: Nathaniel Currier, The Metropolitan Museum of Art / CC0.

Photo: Joe Glorioso / All-Pro Reels / CC BY-SA 2.0

Los Angeles has very few lakes. Minnesota has thousands. The Lakers began as the Detroit Gems, who went 4-40 in the 1946-47 National Basketball League. In 1947 Minneapolis businessman Ben Berger and promoter Morris Chalfen bought the team for $15,000 and named it for Minnesota's nickname, the "Land of 10,000 Lakes." The Minneapolis Lakers won the 1948 NBL title and five BAA and NBA titles. The team moved west in 1960, and the name came along. Los Angeles Lakers uniform schedule 2026-27

Lakers marks over the years. Logos via Wikimedia Commons.

Photo: Unknown photographer (1950). Public domain.

Photo: Erik Drost / CC BY 4.0

The winning name was drawn out of a hat. In 1968 general manager Jerry Colangelo ran a contest with The Arizona Republic that drew more than 28,000 entries, including the Saguaros, Scorpions, Tumbleweeds, Cactus Cowboys and Jumping Beans. Colangelo wanted something short that would fit a headline. More than 300 people suggested some version of "Suns," so the winner was drawn from a hat: Selinda King, who won $1,000 and season tickets. Purple and orange were picked to match Arizona sunsets. Phoenix Suns uniform schedule 2026-27

Photo: Frenchieinportland / CC BY-SA 4.0

The Kings were the Royals for 27 years. The franchise grew out of Les Harrison's Rochester Royals, who won the 1946 NBL title and joined the NBA, and it moved to Cincinnati in 1957, still the Royals. When the club moved to Kansas City in 1972, the city's three-year-old baseball team already owned "Royals." So the basketball team kept the royalty theme and became the Kansas City-Omaha Kings, splitting home games 180 miles apart. Omaha was dropped in 1975, and the Kings moved to Sacramento in 1985. How the baseball Royals got their name is in our MLB team names story. Sacramento Kings uniform schedule 2026-27

Kings marks over the years. Logos via Wikimedia Commons.

Photo: Pikraken / CC BY 4.0

Dallas Mavericks

The Mavericks are named after a TV cowboy played by one of their owners. Actor James Garner, star of the 1950s western "Maverick," was part of Dallas's original ownership group. In 1980 radio station WBAP ran a contest that drew more than 4,600 entries, and the finalists were Mavericks, Wranglers and Express. Mavericks won, partly to honor Garner, and it was revealed May 1, 1980. The word itself is Texan: it comes from San Antonio landowner Samuel Maverick, who left his cattle unbranded. Dallas Mavericks uniform schedule 2026-27

Photo: Erik Drost / CC BY 2.0

Houston is Space City, but the Rockets name came from San Diego. The team was founded there in 1967, and a fan contest picked "Rockets" for San Diego's booming aerospace industry. In 1971 a Houston group bought the team and moved it to Texas, where the name fit even better next to NASA's Manned Spacecraft Center, so it stayed. Houston Rockets uniform schedule 2026-27

Photo: U.S. Air Force (1958). Public domain.

Photo: Chensiyuan / CC BY-SA 4.0

The Grizzlies were supposed to be the Vancouver Mounties. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police objected to a basketball team using its famous nickname, so on August 11, 1994, the team became the Grizzlies instead, after the big bear native to British Columbia. The team moved to Memphis in 2001, nowhere near a wild grizzly. Management asked fans about a new name, and they "overwhelmingly told us how much they loved" the old one, said business president Andy Dolich. Memphis Grizzlies uniform schedule 2026-27

Print: J.T. Bowen after John Woodhouse Audubon (1848), Missouri Historical Society. Public domain.

Photo: Erik Drost / CC BY 2.0

New Orleans played as the Hornets after the Charlotte franchise moved there in 2002. Saints owner Tom Benson bought the team in 2012 and wanted a name that represented New Orleans and Louisiana, and in January 2013 he announced "Pelicans." The brown pelican is Louisiana's state bird and is on the state flag and seal. The NBA had also filed trademarks for the Rougarou, a Cajun swamp monster, plus the Mosquitos, Swamp Dogs and Bullsharks. The pelican, Benson said, is "a symbol of our resolve, to come back." The switch freed "Hornets" for Charlotte. New Orleans Pelicans uniform schedule 2026-27

Print: Robert Havell after John James Audubon, National Gallery of Art / CC0.

Photo: Erik Drost / CC BY 2.0

They were almost the San Antonio Gunslingers. The Spurs began as the ABA's Dallas Chaparrals in 1967, and in 1973 a San Antonio group led by Angelo Drossos and Red McCombs took over and moved the team south. The plan was to call it the Gunslingers, but before the season started the name became Spurs. One version credits a fan contest. Another points to McCombs, who was born in Spur, Texas. Either way, the "U" in the logo has been shaped like a cowboy spur since 1976. San Antonio Spurs uniform schedule 2026-27

Photo: Frenchieinportland / CC BY 4.0

Why are the Lakers called the Lakers?

The team started in Minneapolis in 1947 and was named for Minnesota's nickname, the "Land of 10,000 Lakes." When the Lakers moved to Los Angeles in 1960, they kept the name, even though LA has very few lakes.

Why is Utah called the Jazz?

The franchise began in New Orleans in 1974, the birthplace of jazz. When the team moved to Salt Lake City in 1979, owner Sam Battistone kept the name and the Mardi Gras purple, green and gold.

How did the Raptors get their name?

Toronto held a fan contest in 1994, the year after Jurassic Park came out. Raptors beat finalists including the Bobcats and Dragons, and the team unveiled the name and its dinosaur logo in May 1994.

Why are the Knicks called the Knicks?

It's short for Knickerbockers, a nickname for New Yorkers that comes from Diedrich Knickerbocker, the made-up Dutch historian Washington Irving used for his 1809 book about the city. Garden staffers put names in a hat in 1946, and most of them said Knickerbockers.

Why did the Bullets change their name to the Wizards?

Owner Abe Pollin wanted to stop tying his team to gun violence and made the decision final after his friend, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, was assassinated in 1995. Fans picked Wizards in a phone vote, and the new name debuted in 1997-98.

Why are the Pistons called the Pistons?

Founder Fred Zollner owned a foundry in Fort Wayne, Indiana, that made engine pistons, and the team started as his company's club, the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons. It moved to Detroit, the Motor City, in 1957 and kept the name.

Why are the Memphis Grizzlies called the Grizzlies?

The team started in Vancouver, where grizzly bears are native. It was supposed to be the Vancouver Mounties until the Royal Canadian Mounted Police objected. When the team moved to Memphis in 2001, fans asked to keep the name.

Why are the 76ers called the 76ers?

The name honors 1776, the year the Declaration of Independence was signed in Philadelphia. A fan's entry won a 1963 contest after the team moved from Syracuse, where it was the Nationals.

Why are the Golden State Warriors not named after a city?

In 1971 owner Franklin Mieuli moved the team to Oakland and planned to play some home games in San Diego, so a San Francisco name no longer fit. He chose "Golden State," California's official nickname.

The Bottom Line

The NBA's names are a map of where the teams used to be. Lakes in Los Angeles, jazz in Utah, grizzlies in Memphis and pistons in a city that builds the engines. A lot of the league's look started with those names, from the Bucks' antlers to the Hornets' teal, and the season tips off Tuesday with every one of them on the floor.

More NBA Coverage

• NBA uniform schedule 2026-27: what every team is wearing
• How every MLB team got its name
• How every NFL team got its name

Team-name histories via NBA.com, the teams' own histories, newspaper archives and state and city historical sources. Logos via Wikimedia Commons. Photos credited under each image.