List of relocated National Basketball Association teams
The National Basketball Association is a professional men's basketball league, consisting of 30 teams in North America—29 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. It adopted the name National Basketball Association at the start of the 1949–50 season when it absorbed the National Basketball League. The NBA is an active member of USA Basketball, which is recognized by the International Basketball Federation as the national governing body for basketball in the country. The league is considered to be one of the four major professional sports leagues of North America.
Relocated teams
The list contains current franchises in the NBA. It does not include name changes.| First | First year in original city |
| Last | Last year in original city |
| Win% | Winning percentage |
| PA | NBA Playoffs appearances |
| C | Championship titles |
| ^ | City later received a new franchise |
| * | Later relocated again |
| Team | First | Last | Relocated to | Seasons | Win% | PA | C | Main reason | Ref |
| Tri-Cities Blackhawks | 1949 | 1951 | Milwaukee Hawks* | 2 | .409 | 1 | 0 | Small city | - |
| Milwaukee Hawks^ | 1951 | 1955 | St. Louis Hawks* | 4 | .324 | 0 | 0 | - | |
| Fort Wayne Pistons | 1948 | 1957 | Detroit Pistons | 9 | .506 | 8 | 0 | Small city | - |
| Rochester Royals | 1948 | 1957 | Cincinnati Royals* | 9 | .576 | 7 | 1 | Lack of profitability | - |
| Minneapolis Lakers^ | 1948 | 1960 | Los Angeles Lakers | 12 | .545 | 11 | 5 | Poor attendance | |
| Philadelphia Warriors^ | 1946 | 1962 | San Francisco Warriors | 16 | .506 | 12 | 2 | Sold to San Francisco owner | - |
| Chicago Zephyrs^ | 1961 | 1963 | Baltimore Bullets* | 2 | .269 | 0 | 0 | - | |
| Syracuse Nationals | 1949 | 1963 | Philadelphia 76ers | 14 | .569 | 14 | 1 | - | |
| St. Louis Hawks | 1955 | 1968 | Atlanta Hawks | 13 | .550 | 12 | 1 | Sold to Atlanta owners | - |
| San Diego Rockets^ | 1967 | 1971 | Houston Rockets | 4 | .363 | 1 | 0 | Sold to Houston ownership group | |
| Cincinnati Royals | 1957 | 1972 | Kansas City–Omaha Kings* | 15 | .467 | 7 | 0 | - | |
| Baltimore Bullets | 1963 | 1973 | Capital Bullets§ | 10 | .493 | 7 | 0 | - | |
| Kansas City–Omaha Kings | 1972 | 1975 | Kansas City Kings* | 3 | .459 | 1 | 0 | Moved all games to Kansas City | - |
| Buffalo Braves | 1970 | 1978 | San Diego Clippers* | 8 | .395 | 3 | 0 | Sale to California owner | - |
| New Orleans Jazz^ | 1974 | 1979 | Utah Jazz | 5 | .393 | 0 | 0 | Lack of profitability | - |
| San Diego Clippers | 1978 | 1984 | Los Angeles Clippers | 6 | .378 | 0 | 0 | Declining attendance, owner wanted the team in his hometown | - |
| Kansas City Kings | 1975 | 1985 | Sacramento Kings | 10 | .465 | 4 | 0 | Low attendance | - |
| Vancouver Grizzlies | 1995 | 2001 | Memphis Grizzlies | 6 | .220 | 0 | 0 | Financial problems caused by low attendance and the weak Canadian dollar; sold to Michael Heisley with the intention of moving the team to Memphis. | |
| New Orleans Hornets ^ | 2002 | 2005 | New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets* | 3 | .512 | 2 | 0 | Damage to the New Orleans metropolitan area caused by Hurricane Katrina forced the Hornets to play most of their home games in Oklahoma City. | |
| New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets^ | 2005 | 2007 | New Orleans Hornets | 2 | .470 | 0 | 0 | The Hornets returned to New Orleans for the 2007–08 season after repairs to the team's home arena were completed. The team was renamed the New Orleans Pelicans in 2013. | |
| Seattle SuperSonics | 1967 | 2008 | Oklahoma City Thunder | 41 | .524 | 22 | 1 | Financial problems exacerbated by the failure to provide funds for a new arena in Seattle; sold to Clay Bennett in 2006 who concealed the intention of moving the team to Oklahoma City. |
§The Capital Bullets later became the Washington Bullets, then the Washington Wizards.