Central Division (NBA)
The Central Division is one of the three divisions in the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association. The division consists of five teams, the Chicago Bulls, the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Detroit Pistons, the Indiana Pacers and the Milwaukee Bucks. All teams, except the Cavaliers, are former Midwest Division teams, hence the Central Division now largely resembling the Midwest Division in the 1970s.
The division was created at the start of the 1970–71 season, when the league expanded from 14 to 17 teams with the addition of the Buffalo Braves, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Portland Trail Blazers. The league realigned itself into two conferences, the Western Conference and the Eastern Conference, with two divisions each in each conference. The Central Division began with four inaugural members, the Atlanta Hawks, the Baltimore Bullets, the Cincinnati Royals and the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Hawks joined from the Western Division, while the Bullets and the Royals joined from the Eastern Division.
The Pistons have won the most Central Division titles with nine. The Bulls have won the second most titles with eight. Eleven NBA champions came from the Central Division. The Bulls won six championships, the Pistons won three championships and the Bullets and Cavs won one championship each. All of them, except the 1977–78 Bullets and the 2003–04 Pistons, were division champions. In the 2005–06 season, all five teams from the division qualified for the playoffs. The most recent division champion is the Milwaukee Bucks. The Central Division has the most teams that have won an championship, with four out of five teams winning the championship, and the Pacers the only franchise never to have won.
The Central Division existed for one season in the 1949–50 season as one of the three divisions in the NBA, along with the Western and the Eastern Division. On the other hand, the current Central Division that was formed in the 1970, is one of the three divisions in the Eastern Conference, the successor of the Eastern Division.
Standings
Notes- y – Clinched division title
- x – Clinched playoff spot
Teams
- denotes an expansion team.
Former teams
- denotes an expansion team.
- denotes a team that merged from the American Basketball Association.
- The Charlotte NBA franchise was inactive from 2002 to 2004 upon the relocation of the Hornets to New Orleans. A new franchise, initially known as the Bobcats, began play in the 2004–05 season. In 2013, the New Orleans Hornets were renamed the Pelicans, and the following season, the Bobcats were renamed the Hornets, acquiring the history and records of the 1988–2002 Hornets while retroactively designating the Pelicans as an expansion team.
Team timeline
DateFormat = yyyy
ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:25
Period = from:1970 till:2020
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal
PlotArea = right:99 left:1 bottom:211 top:0
Colors = id:barcolor value:rgb
id:line value:black
id:bg value:white
PlotData =
width:15 textcolor:black shift: anchor:from fontsize:s
bar:1 color:tan2 from:1970 till:2004 text:Atlanta Hawks
bar:2 color:tan2 from:1970 till:1978 text:Baltimore / Capital / Washington Bullets
bar:3 color:tan2 from:1970 till:1972 text:Cincinnati Royals
bar:4 color:tan1 from:1970 till:end text:Cleveland Cavaliers
bar:5 color:tan2 from:1972 till:1980 text:Houston Rockets
bar:6 color:tan2 from:1974 till:1979 text:New Orleans Jazz
bar:7 color:tan2 from:1976 till:1980 text:San Antonio Spurs
bar:8 color:tan1 from:1978 till:end text:Detroit Pistons
bar:9 color:tan1 from:1979 till:end text:Indiana Pacers
bar:10 color:tan1 from:1980 till:end text:Chicago Bulls
bar:11 color:tan1 from:1980 till:end text:Milwaukee Bucks
bar:12 color:tan2 from:1989 till:1990 text:Orlando Magic
bar:13 color:tan2 from:1990 till:2002 text:Charlotte Hornets
bar:14 color:tan2 from:1995 till:2004 text:Toronto Raptors
bar:15 color:tan2 from:2002 till:2004 text:New Orleans Hornets
ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:2 start:1970
Division champions
| Season | Team | Record | Playoffs result |
| Baltimore Bullets | 42–40 | Lost NBA Finals | |
| Baltimore Bullets | 38–44 | Lost Conference Semifinals | |
| Baltimore Bullets | 52–30 | Lost Conference Semifinals | |
| Capital Bullets | 47–35 | Lost Conference Semifinals | |
| Washington Bullets^ | 60–22 | Lost NBA Finals | |
| Cleveland Cavaliers | 49–33 | Lost Conference Finals | |
| Houston Rockets | 49–33 | Lost Conference Finals | |
| San Antonio Spurs | 52–30 | Lost Conference Semifinals | |
| San Antonio Spurs | 48–34 | Lost Conference Finals | |
| Atlanta Hawks | 50–32 | Lost Conference Semifinals | |
| Milwaukee Bucks | 60–22 | Lost Conference Semifinals | |
| Milwaukee Bucks | 55–27 | Lost Conference Semifinals | |
| Milwaukee Bucks | 51–31 | Lost Conference Finals | |
| Milwaukee Bucks | 50–32 | Lost Conference Finals | |
| Milwaukee Bucks | 59–23 | Lost Conference Semifinals | |
| Milwaukee Bucks | 57–25 | Lost Conference Finals | |
| Atlanta Hawks | 57–25 | Lost Conference Semifinals | |
| Detroit Pistons | 54–28 | Lost NBA Finals | |
| Detroit Pistons^ | 63–19 | Won NBA Finals | |
| Detroit Pistons | 59–23 | Won NBA Finals | |
| Chicago Bulls | 61–21 | Won NBA Finals | |
| Chicago Bulls^ | 67–15 | Won NBA Finals | |
| Chicago Bulls | 57–25 | Won NBA Finals | |
| Atlanta Hawks | 57–25 | Lost Conference Semifinals | |
| Indiana Pacers | 52–30 | Lost Conference Finals | |
| Chicago Bulls^ | 72–10 | Won NBA Finals | |
| Chicago Bulls^ | 69–13 | Won NBA Finals | |
| Chicago Bulls^ | 62–20 | Won NBA Finals | |
| Indiana Pacers | 33–17 | Lost Conference Finals | |
| Indiana Pacers | 56–26 | Lost NBA Finals | |
| Milwaukee Bucks | 52–30 | Lost Conference Finals | |
| Detroit Pistons | 50–32 | Lost Conference Semifinals | |
| Detroit Pistons | 50–32 | Lost Conference Finals | |
| Indiana Pacers^ | 61–21 | Lost Conference Finals | |
| Detroit Pistons | 54–28 | Won NBA Finals | |
| Detroit Pistons^ | 64–18 | Lost Conference Finals | |
| Detroit Pistons | 53–29 | Lost Conference Finals | |
| Detroit Pistons | 59–23 | Lost Conference Finals | |
| Cleveland Cavaliers^ | 66–16 | Lost Conference Finals | |
| Cleveland Cavaliers^ | 61–21 | Lost Conference Semifinals | |
| Chicago Bulls^ | 62–20 | Lost Conference Finals | |
| Chicago Bulls^ | 50–16 | Lost First Round | |
| Indiana Pacers | 49–32 | Lost Conference Finals | |
| Indiana Pacers | 56–26 | Lost Conference Finals | |
| Cleveland Cavaliers | 53–29 | Lost NBA Finals | |
| Cleveland Cavaliers | 57–25 | Won NBA Finals | |
| Cleveland Cavaliers | 51–31 | Lost NBA Finals | |
| Cleveland Cavaliers | 50–32 | Lost NBA Finals | |
| Milwaukee Bucks^ | 60–22 | Lost Conference Finals |
Titles by team
| Team | Titles | Season won |
| Detroit Pistons | 9 | ,,,,,,,, |
| Chicago Bulls | 8 | ,,,,,,, |
| Milwaukee Bucks | 8 | ,,,,,,, |
| Cleveland Cavaliers | 7 | ,,,,,, |
| Indiana Pacers | 6 | ,,,,, |
| Baltimore / Capital / Washington Bullets^ | 5 | ,,,, |
| Atlanta Hawks^ | 3 | ,, |
| San Antonio Spurs^ | 2 | , |
| Houston Rockets^ | 1 |
Season results
Rivalries
Chicago Bulls vs. Detroit Pistons
Chicago Bulls vs. Cleveland Cavaliers
1949–50 season
Before the 1949–50 season, the BAA merged with the NBL and was renamed NBA. The number of teams competed increased from 12 teams to 17 teams and the league realigned itself to three divisions, creating the Central Division. The division consisted of five teams, the Chicago Stags, the Fort Wayne Pistons, the Minneapolis Lakers, the Rochester Royals and the St. Louis Bombers. All five teams joined from the Western Division. The Minneapolis Lakers won the Central Division title. The division was disbanded before the 1950–51 season, after 6 teams folded and the league realigned itself back into two divisions. The Stags and the Bombers folded, while the other three teams returned to the Western Division.| ^ | Denotes team that won the NBA championships |
| * | Denotes team that qualified for the NBA Playoffs |