How many basketball teams does california have

NBA Teams By State

How Many NBA Teams Are in California?

There are four NBA teams located in the state of California, a staggering number to consider as there are only thirty total teams in the entire league. That means that the state of California makes up 13% of the entire league. It may not seem like a large number upon first glance but to think that if you take away the four California teams, you would have to represent forty-nine other states with only twenty-six teams in total.

Today, we will be taking a deeper look at each team located in the state of California along with a brief recap of their team history and some of their highlights throughout their tenure in the league.

Contents

• 1. Sacramento Kings
• 2. Los Angeles Clippers
• 3. Golden State Warriors
• 4. Los Angeles Lakers

1. Sacramento Kings

• First Year in NBA: 1985
• NBA Titles: 0
• Franchise Highlights: Took Lakers to 7 games in 2002 Western Conference Finals
• Notable Players: Mitch Richmond, Chris Webber, Peja Stojakovic, DeMarcus Cousins
• Notable Coaches: None

The Kings’ history dates back much further than 1985. The Kings were known as the Rochester Royals from 1948 until 1957, winning the title in 1951. After that stint, they became the Kansas City Royals from 1957 through 1972. Their most notable star while in Kansas City was Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson. They changed their name to the Kansas City Kings from 1973 through 1985 before moving to Sacramento.

Sacramento’s tenure in the league has not been as fruitful as Kings fans hoped. They seem to be in a constant rebuilding phase and have only experienced seven seasons with a winning record in the past thirty-three years. Their most notable team was the 2002 Kings who took the juggernaut Los Angeles Lakers to Game 7 in the Western Conference Finals before ultimately losing.

2002 has always been the year that got away and is bittersweet with fans due to a league-wide controversy where many fans believe the league wanted the Lakers to win the series to earn higher ratings for the league in the NBA Finals. Overall, however, their reputation has been one of the lackluster teams and mostly unforgettable seasons in their 33-year history.

2.

• First Year in NBA: 1984
• NBA Titles: 0
• Franchise Highlights: Reaching three Western Conference Semifinals (2012, 2014, 2015)
• Notable Players: Bob McAdoo, Elton Brand, Blake Griffin, Chris Paul
• Notable Coaches: Larry Brown, Bill Fitch, Doc Rivers

The Clippers’ reign in Los Angeles began in 1984 after then-owner Donald Sterling moved the team from San Diego. The Clippers also hold a similar reputation with the Sacramento Kings as a team that always seems to be in a transition phase. They always seem to have high first-round draft picks and usually whiff on those picks or unload them to other teams before having to pay them a big contract.

The Clippers have succeeded slightly more than their Sacramento neighbors, experiencing ten winning seasons in the last thirty-four years but have never made it to a Western Conference Finals series in their history.

The most well-known story about the team that has gotten them the most attention in franchise history is the controversy with their former owner, Donald Sterling, and the offensive, racist remarks he made in 2014. While he had been in the news for past frequent offenses, this instance got the most media attention.

3. Golden State Warriors

• First Year in NBA: 1962
• NBA Titles: 6 (1947 & 1956 – as Philadelphia Warriors, 1975, 2015, 2017, 2018)
• Franchise Highlights: Winning 6 NBA Titles, 2016: Broke NBA regular-season win total (73)
• Notable Players: Nate Thurmond, “Tiny” Archibald, Rick Barry, Tim Hardaway, Chris Mullin, Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant
• Notable Coaches: Don Nelson, Steve Kerr

The Golden State Warriors have seen both peaks and valleys during their 50-plus tenure in the league. Their early days in Philadelphia saw the rise of a young Wilt Chamberlain introduced to the league and the crowning achievement of winning multiple titles.

The team’s 1975 squad exceeded their expectations that year and upset the heavily favored Washington Bullets in a four-game sweep in the NBA Finals. The team was led by future Hall of Famers Rick Barry and Jamaal Wilkes and were on track to repeat the following year entering the playoffs with the league’s best record, but got upset in the playoffs.

In 1985 the team drafted Chris Mullin seventh overall and began building the team around his potent shooting and scoring abilities. The team also added talented guards Mitch Richmond and Tim Hardaway, and behind coach Don Nelson, began playing with high octane. They were dubbed “Run-TMC” – Tim, Mitch, and Chris after popular rap group Run-DMC – and began smoking teams all across the league.

The timing of the ‘90s Warriors teams was unlucky, however, with established teams like the Lakers and Pistons, and rising teams like the Bulls and Suns taking up much of the NBA hardware during these years. But it did put San Francisco on the map as an exciting place to watch great basketball.

The team earned moderate levels of success heading into and through the early 21st century until they drafted Stephen Curry in the 2009 NBA Draft. Once they realized what kind of talent they had in Curry, they began to build a team around his exciting run and gun style of play and added stars Draymond Green and Klay Thompson to the mix. This team, led by Steve Kerr and the newly dubbed “Splash Brothers”, surprised people by winning the NBA Title in 2015.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tS11RXj-jpg

The Warriors had a record-setting regular season in 2016 but lost the title to the Cleveland Cavaliers. They added all-world player Kevin Durant to the team and rattled off two straight titles in 2017 and 2018. Curry and Thompson.

4. Los Angeles Lakers

• First Year in NBA: 1958
• NBA Titles: 16 (1949, 1950, 1952, 1953, 1954 – as Minneapolis Lakers, 1972, 1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2009, 2010)
• Franchise Highlights: Winning 16 NBA Titles – 2nd place all-time behind the Celtics
• Notable Players: Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, Wilt Chamberlain, Gail Goodrich, Jamaal Wilkes, Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, James Worthy, Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol
• Notable Coaches: John Kundla, Bill Sharman, Pat Riley, Phil Jackson

The most successful team from California is without a doubt the Los Angeles Lakers. Other than the Boston Celtics, the Lakers are the gold standard of teams in the history of the NBA. They have won a total of sixteen titles and five titles since 2000.

Their history is rich with success, beginning in the late 1940s and not truly letting up ever. They have won an NBA title in every decade except the 1960s and 1990s, but they did play in the Finals in those decades.

The Los Angeles time period of the Lakers’ history can be loosely broken down into the Wilt/Jerry West/Elgin Baylor era (1 title), the Magic Johnson/Showtime era (5 titles), the Kobe/Shaq/Phil Jackson era (3 titles), and the second Kobe/Phil Jackson (2 titles) era.

As an NBA fan, it would be a dream to root for an organization like the Lakers because they have always been competitive, they constantly look for the next generational star to sign or draft, and they are very loyal to their fans in Los Angeles.

If you are a basketball fan in the state of California, chances are you have experienced some success with your team, no matter who you pull for. As Lakers and Warriors fans, you have been luckier than most, but with the rise of popularity in the league overall, the “Golden State” is prepped for decades more success.

Are you lucky enough to root for a great California team? If so, let us know your favorite memory as a fan of theirs!

Sports in the State of California

The State of California is the only US state to have hosted both the Summer and Winter Olympics. California hosted the 1960 Winter Olympics (Squaw Valley) and the 1932 and 1984 Summer Olympics (Los Angeles), as well as the 1994 FIFA World Cup. The state has nineteen professional league teams in various sports. San Francisco has seven major league teams in three major cities: San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland. Greater Los Angeles is home to the top ten teams in the league. Two sports teams are also based in San Diego, one of them in Sacramento.

The NFL Super Bowl has been hosted 11 times in California at four different stadiums: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Rose Bowl, Stanford Stadium, and San Diego Qualcomm Stadium.

California has also long been a center for motorsports and auto racing. In the city of Long Beach every year in the month of April, the famous IndyCar Series takes place. Long Beach has also hosted Formula 1 cup racing. The city also hosts the annual American Le Mans Series.

Auto Club Raceway in Pomona has been organizing NHRA drag racing events for the past 50 years.

Major League Baseball:

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim - Based in Anaheim, a professional baseball club in Major League Baseball (MLB). The club was founded in 1961.

Los Angeles Dodgers is a professional baseball club in Major League Baseball (MLB). The club was founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grace. In 1887, many players from the disbanded New York Metropolitans moved to the club. In 1899, some Baltimore Orioles players also played for the Dodgers.

Oakland Athletics is a Major League Baseball (MLB) professional baseball club based in Oakland, California. "Athletic" comes from "athletic club" in the late 19th century, more specifically from the "Baseball Athletic Club of Philadelphia". Better known as "the A's" (Ace), as well as "White Elephants" or simply "Elephants". One of eight American League charter franchisees, the club was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1901 as the Philadelphia Athletics. At 19Left Philadelphia in 1955 and moved to Kansas City, Missouri as the Kansas City Athletics. In 1968, the team moved to Oakland, California, where it remains today. In 2002, the team won 20 straight games, breaking the American League record.

San Diego Padres is a professional baseball club in Major League Baseball (MLB). The club was founded in 1969.

San Francisco Giants is a professional baseball club in Major League Baseball (MLB). The club was founded in 1879year. The San Francisco Giants are the 2010 World Series winners.

National Basketball Association (NBA):

Golden State Warriors - A professional basketball club that plays in the National Basketball Association. The team was founded in 1946. The club is based in Oakland, California. Initially, the team played home games in Philadelphia, in the 1962-63 season the team already played for San Francisco, and only starting from the 1966-67 season, the Warriors moved to Oakland, where their home arena is located to this day.

Los Angeles Clippers is a professional basketball team in the National Basketball Association. The team was founded in 1970. The club is based in Los Angeles, California.

Los Angeles Lakers is a professional basketball team in the National Basketball Association. 16-time NBA champion (only the Boston Celtics have more wins - 17). The team was founded in 1946. The club is based in Los Angeles, California.

The club was founded in Detroit under the name of the Detroit Gems. A year later, the team moved to Minneapolis and changed its name to the Minneapolis Lakers (Minneapolis Lakers). In 1960, the team moved to Los Angeles and took on its current name.

The Los Angeles Lakers play their home games at the Staples Center, a multi-use sports facility in Los Angeles, California, opened in 1999. Located next to the Los Angeles Convention Center. The Staples Center is also home to the Los Angeles Kings (NHL), Los Angeles Clippers (NBA), Los Angeles Sparks (WNBA), Los Angeles Avengers (AFL) . The arena is the only home arena for 5 professional sports teams.

Sacramento Kings is a professional basketball team that plays in the National Basketball Association. The team was founded in 1945. The club is based in Sacramento, California.

National Football League (NFL):

Oakland Raiders is a professional football club that plays in the National Football League. The team was founded in 1960.

Despite the lack of outstanding sporting success in recent decades, the Oakland Raiders are the world's leading merchandise seller of any team in any sport.

San Diego Chargers is a professional football club in the National Football League. The team was founded in 1960.

San Francisco 49ers is a professional football club that plays in the National Football League. The team was founded in 1946.

National Hockey League (NHL):

Anaheim Ducks is a professional ice hockey club based in Anaheim, California, USA. Team founded in 1993 by the Walt Disney Company, plays in the National Hockey League (NHL) and is a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. The club was originally called the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim) and its best achievement was reaching the 2003 Stanley Cup Final. , winning the series against the Ottawa Senators 4-1 in the final.

Los Angeles Kings is a professional hockey club that plays in the National Hockey League. Club founded 9February 1966. Joined the NHL as a result of the 1967 expansion.

The Kings won their division once in the 1990-91 season. In 24 seasons they participated in the playoffs, in 12 of them they went beyond the first round and 1 time beyond the second. The best result was the Stanley Cup Final in the 1992-93 season, in which the Kings lost to the Montreal Canadiens in five games.

The team at different times included such famous players as Wayne Gretzky, Luc Robitaille, Jari Kurri, Paul Coffey and others. A number of Kings players are members of the Hockey Hall of Fame.

The club is based in Los Angeles, California, USA. The team's home arena is the Staples Center.

San Jose Sharks is a professional hockey club that plays in the NHL (National Hockey League). The club is based in San Jose, California, USA. The team's colors, black and dark orange, are based on a popular color combination in American sports. In the summer of 2010, the only Russian legionnaire left the team, its main goalkeeper for several years, Evgeny Nabokov, instead of whom the current Stanley Cup holder, Chicago Blackhawks goalkeeper Antti Niemi, was taken.

Major League Soccer:

Chivas USA - Based in Carson. The club was formed on August 2, 2004. Received the name in honor of the nickname of the most popular Mexican club "Guadalajara", "Chivas", which translates as "Goats". The "Chivas USA" emblem and colors were also taken from the "senior" Mexican club. The emblem of "Chivas USA" is also almost identical to the emblem of the Mexican club, the upper part of which is the coat of arms of the city of Guadalajara. In the logo of the Los Angeles team, only the stars symbolizing the champion titles of Guadalajara in Mexico are not used.

Los Angeles Galaxy is an American football club that plays in the MLS, the major league football in the United States and Canada. It is one of the ten clubs that founded the league in 1996. Three-time MLS Cup winner (2002, 2005, 2011). Winner of the 2000 CONCACAF Champions League, one of only two MLS clubs to win the title. The team is based in Carson. David Beckham has been a member of the team since 2007. Also, from 2009 to 2010, the famous Ukrainian football player Dmitry Kovalenko played for this team.

San Jose Earthquakes is an American football club based in Santa Clara. Founded in 1995. Became one of the 10 founding clubs of MLS. In 1995-1999, he was called the San Jose Clash, then received the current name that the NASL and WSA club, which existed in 1974-1988, had before him. In the early years of its existence, it was one of the weakest in the league, but at the beginning of the new century it became one of the best, winning the MLS playoffs twice and the regular championship once. Disbanded at the end of the 2005 season. All the players and coaching staff moved to Houston, where the Houston Dynamo team was formed. In 2008, the revived team from San Jose resumed participation in the MLS championship.

Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA):

Los Angeles Sparks is a professional women's basketball club that plays in the Women's National Basketball Association. The club was founded in 1997. Two-time WNBA champion (2001, 2002).

See also: Nile River, Netherlands, Spain, Luoyang, Bendery, Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kagera River

The Lakers and Warriors were the first NBA teams in California, their rivalry could become legendary. Why didn't this happen? - Blogg on the floor - Blogs

Can LeBron and Curry organize a raiwalry?

This night, two of the most titled basketball players of the last 15 years will meet in the fight for a ticket to the playoffs: 4-time MVP and 4-time champion LeBron James and 2-time MVP, 3-time champion Stephen Curry. The winner will get the seventh seed in the West, the loser will get the last chance to get into the playoffs in the final play-in match:

"The person who came up with this shitty idea should be fired." The NBA play-in tournament is the invention of either a genius or an idiot, but LeBron and Curry will play for elimination before the playoffs

The Warriors and Lakers have represented the Western Conference in the last 6 NBA Finals, and before LeBron moved to Los Angeles, it was his Cleveland that played four times against Curry and the Warriors. This is the biggest contender in James' career.

But somehow it didn’t work out with the club confrontation between LAL and GSV, and this is strange: as in all areas of life, in professional sports there is a fundamental rivalry between Southern California (Los Angeles) and Northern California (San Francisco, as well as Auckland and other Bay Area cities). In baseball, it's the rivalry between the Dodgers and the Giants that originated on the other side of the coast. In the NFL, the Battle of California: Rams vs. 49ers. Even in the NHL there is a young and not very toothy, but still enmity between the Sharks and the Kings (the Los Angeles team fought back from 0-3 in the series against San Jose in 2014, and then took the Stanley Cup).

Even MLS has a California Clasico between LA Galaxy and San Jose Earthquakes! And in the NBA, historically, the Golden State for the Lakers is at best the fifth strongest irritant.

Why did it happen? How come two 75-year-old franchises that became the first NBA clubs on the West Coast in general and California in particular to play in the same division and represent rival regions throughout the world never became sworn enemies?

The answer is in the picture below:

As you can see from the graph, when one California team (much more often it was the Lakers) aspired to the top, the other moved in the opposite direction. In 75 years, they have met in the playoffs only 7 times, only twice - in the final of the West.

Briefly about how a potentially great confrontation never happened.

The clubs may have been rivals before moving to California

The Warriors were born at 19'46 in Philadelphia in a league called the Basketball Association of America, which has stuck basketball clubs in every major city on the Atlantic coast of the United States to fill the gaps in the hockey stadium calendar.

Parallel to the BAA, there was another league, an older one with a larger player base, but with clubs mostly in small towns in the Midwest. In 1947, businessmen from Minneapolis bought the Detroit James, which went bankrupt after just one season, and the Lakers appeared as a result of its reorganization.

Led by super-scoring forward Joe Fulks (one of the first jumpers), the Warriors became the first BAA champions and should have defended the title in 1948, if not for the oddities of the playoff bracket. And in the NBL, the Lakers just became the champions that year in the very first season - thanks to center George Mikan, who accidentally fell over them, the dominant of the generation.

After that, the Lakers defected to the BAA, which a year later merged with the NBL to form the National Basketball Association. Whatever the name of the league, the Minneapolis Lakers continued to dominate basketball, winning the West over and over again, and then the final series.

And not once in this series against the Lakers and Mikan did the Warriors break through from the East. They could not find a second star for Fulks, and then Joe himself began to drink heavily and lost his goalscoring skills. Young Paul Arizin was drafted into the army at the wrong time - and as soon as he demobilized and began to pull the Warriors back to the top, Mikan ended his career. The Warriors became champions in 1956, but the Lakers disappeared from the list of top teams.

By 1960, the club without championship ambitions was no longer profitable to keep in Minnesota, and he was moved to Los Angeles. At 19The Warriors followed him to California in 62nd - San Francisco businessman Franklin Miuli liked how the Los Angeles Lakers with West and Baylor conquered the western public, and he bought and moved the Philadelphia with Wilt Chamberlain, seeking to create a competitor for LAL.

Failed.

Wilt

Chamberlain already in the second season in the new city was able to bring the Warriors to the NBA Finals, where he lost without a fight to Boston and Bill Russell. But on the way to the final, the Lakers did not meet him - in that season, club leader Elgin Baylor struggled more with problem knees than with rivals, and the striker simply had no strength and health left for the playoffs. LAL were eliminated in the first round.

The next year, the Lakers regained the crown of the West, but now Wilt decided not to strain. California had not yet become an attractive location for NBA superstars, and Chamberlain wanted to move to the opposite coast - back to Philadelphia or to the Knicks. He was traded to the Sixers, where he became a champion in 1967.

Wilt's opponent was...his former team, the Warriors. Now with Rick Barry as the leader. A year later, Chamberlain decided that Los Angeles was ready for him, and moved to the Lakers.

Between 1962 and 1975, the Lakers or Warriors won the Western Conference 12 times out of 14 in total. was not in any series. Only in 1969, the Warriors (without Barry, who had fled to the new American Basketball Association) unexpectedly stole two wins from the favorite, but LAL pulled themselves together and easily recouped.

The only thing that hinted at rivalry in the 1960s was star forward Rudy Larusso, who was kicked out of the Lakers after an injury, calling him too decrepit, he even announced his retirement, but then changed his mind, moved to San Francisco and spent after that two of the best seasons in his career. Two wins in series-69– as times his revenge. It is a pity that after that she completely cooled down, and the sad Rudy ended his career for real.

And the only thing that hinted at rivalry in the 1970s was the rebranding of San Francisco to Golden State in '71. Rick Barry was preparing to return to the NBA from the ABA, where his contract was ending, the Warriors planned to become the main force in the West and specifically California - hence the attempt to capture the entire state with a new name. After all, Wilt and West were well over thirty, and LAL still had not become champions. However, they immediately became them at 1972nd, even before Barry returned, but by the 74/75 season, Wilt and West had really finished their careers, and Kareem had not yet demanded a trade.

It was precisely in this gap between West and Abdul-Jabbar that the Golden State climbed, becoming champions that season.

California belongs to only one golden club. Purple gold

And then the Lakers started building dynasty after dynasty. At the same time, the Warriors reached a bottom that was not there under the drunk Fulks, or after the departure of Wilt, or during Barry's demarche to the ABA. 9years without playoffs! If, after the 1975 title, the GSV fought with some team in Los Angeles, then with the Clippers - for the title of the worst organization in the NBA.

Unsurprisingly, the Warriors missed three future Hall of Famers during this period (maybe four if Gus Williams gets there): Jamal Wilks, Robert Parish and Bernard King. And the Lakers of Kareem, Magic and Pat Riley took over the West and were not going to give it to anyone.

The top moment of the 1980s for the GSV, however, is associated with Showtime. At 19In 87, the GSV still made it to the playoffs, in the semi-finals of the West, the Lakers carried them with their noses on the parquet and prepared for the “sweep”. But in the fourth quarter, something divine came over Sleepy Floyd as the Warriors point guard scored 29 points in the quarter (still an NBA playoff record) and saved one game.

Just one. In Game 5, the Lakers closed the series.

In the early 1990s, the GSV was experiencing a renaissance thanks to Don Nelson and his ultra-fast gang "Run TMC" - Tim Hardaway, Mitch Richmond and Chris Mullin (don't forget Marciulionis) made a mini-revolution by playing one "big" or none at all. center. Blasphemy in those days!

But they did not have time to scare LAL - after the series in 1991 (again 4-1 in favor of the Lakers), Run TMC and the rest of Showtime no longer intersected. The Magic was diagnosed with HIV in the offseason, and injuries, bad trades, and Don Nelson's oddities were the death of the Golden State.

That series between GSV and LAL ago remains the last meeting of these teams in the playoffs - and after all, 30 years have passed! And technically the drought continues - the play-in is not the playoffs, although it can be considered more broadly as part of the "post-season".

Out of sync in the 21st century

In the 1990s and 2000s, the FGM hit a new bottom - 12 years of failed seasons, failed drafts, failed trades, failed everything. In 2007, there was a little surprise - Don Nelson returned to the club, and with him his unpredictable basketball. GSV climbed into the playoffs from the eighth line and, under the motto We Believe ("We Believe"), they slammed the championship leader with the current MVP Dirk Nowitzki - Dallas, the same club from which Nelson was recently fired.

The Lakers were one line higher in the table with an identical result (42-40), but for them it was not a local maximum, as for the GSV, but a minimum - until recently the club fought for the title, and not for the right to concede to Phoenix ' in the first round. Already in the next season, LAL will be transformed after the exchange of Pau Gasol, but if they again became a champion-level team, then in the GSV they did not develop the success of We Believe in any way.

New bottom, new high draft picks. This time around, they were treated much better with the 2009 draft pick Stephen Curry.

While Curry was growing up, Kobe and the Lakers had their last ambitious seasons. When the Golden State grew and were ready to take the throne of the best team in California, it was already empty: Kobe tore his Achilles, then broke his leg, and in 2014 LAL no longer made the playoffs.

The roles have changed, with the Warriors now collecting championship rings and the Lakers collecting high picks in the draft.

LeBron, during those years of GM dominance, was reproached for playing in the East to avoid facing Golden State until the NBA Finals. But in 2018, he still moved to the Lakers. The much-anticipated battle for the West didn't happen—James was now injured and missed the season for the first time in his career, and the Lakers were still out of the playoffs as the Warriors returned to the Finals.

A six-month hiatus from basketball reset LeBron's gears, and in 2020 he lifted his fourth championship trophy over his head ... while all the stars of Golden State either left for another club, or were broken, or both simultaneously.

The 2020-21 season has been a mixed one for both the Lakers and the Warriors. Strong competitors, health problems - and now California's top clubs are not only inferior to the Clippers, but cannot even guarantee a place in the playoffs, taking places below six and going to the play-in round.

But at least one of the two teams will continue to fight for the title, albeit in an unusual underdog role.

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