List of Current NBA Teams 2009-10

Entering the 2009-10 season (the league's 64th), here's a look at the current list of all 30 NBA Teams, as well as a bit of a history lesson. The oldest franchises listed which have kept their original names are the Boston Celtics and New York Knickerbockers (shortened to Knicks), while the Oklahoma City Thunder is technically the newest squad, since the team used to be the Seattle Supersonics until a few years ago. Technically, Toronto Raptors or the Memphis Grizzlies are the newest expansion teams, while the Charlotte Bobcats and New Orleans Hornets merely moved around a bit.

The original NBA Team list when the league was founded back in 1946 consisted of just 11 squads:

Boston Celtics
Chicago Stags
Cleveland Rebels
Detroit Falcons
New York Knickerbockers
Philadelphia Warriors
Pittsburgh Ironmen
Providence Steamrollers
St. Louis Bombers
Toronto Huskies
Washington Capitols

As you can see several of the cities above have survived into 2009-10, yet with different names for their teams. Chicago, Detroit, Philly, Toronto and Washington all exist today but with different names. In 1948-49 several of the ABL franchises were added into the mix including the Minneapolis Lakers and Denver Nuggets.

NBA Teams list 2009-10

Atlanta Hawks
Boston Celtics
Charlotte Bobcats
Chicago Bulls
Cleveland Cavaliers
Dallas Mavericks
Denver Nuggets
Detroit Pistons
Golden State Warriors
Houston Rockets
Indiana Pacers
Los Angeles Clippers
Los Angeles Lakers
Memphis Grizzlies
Miami Heat
Milwaukee Bucks
Minnesota Timberwolves
New Jersey Nets
New Orleans Hornets
New York Knicks
Oklahoma City Thunder
Orlando Magic
Philadelphia 76ers
Phoenix Suns
Portland Trail Blazers
Sacramento Kings
San Antonio Spurs
Toronto Raptors
Utah Jazz
Washington Wizards

2009 Trade Deadline brings few moves

While the recent rumors of Shaq going to Cleveland have been squashed, there were a handful of deals made by teams looking to improve...

One of the bigger deals saw the Bulls and Kings swapping several players, with the Bulls clearly looking to chase down a playoff spot. Here's the ESPN Recap:

The Chicago Bulls and Sacramento Kings reached tentative agreement on Wednesday to trade Andres Nocioni, Drew Gooden, Michael Ruffin and Cedric Simmons to the Kings for Brad Miller and John Salmons.

The Kings then turned around and shipped Ruffin to the Portland Trail Blazers for forward Ike Diogu and cash considerations. The Kings waived guard Quincy Douby and veteran Sam Cassell, acquired on Tuesday from Boston, to make room for their new players.

- NBA Trades before 2009 Deadline -

RAEFER ALSTON TO MAGIC, KYLE LOWRY TO ROCKETS

LARRY HUGHES TO KNICKS, TIM THOMAS TO BULLS

CHRIS WILCOX TO KNICKS, MALIK ROSE TO OKC

WILLIAMS TO WOLVES
- Shelden Williams and Bobby Brown to the Timberwolves
- Kings will receive Rashad McCants and Calvin Booth

BRAD MILLER, JOHN SALMONS TO BULLS
*(see above ESPN recap for full deal)

CHRIS MIHM TO GRIZZLIES, LAKERS GET FUTURE PICK

Jordan Headed to Hall of Fame

(It's time...)

Michael Jordan is a six time NBA Champion, five time NBA MVP, won two Olympic Gold Medals and an NCAA Championship at University of North Carolina. Add to that multiple scoring titles, many all-star game appearances, retirement-comeback stories, taking a swing at a baseball career, playing ball with Bugs Bunny, lucrative endorsement deals as well as his own status as a CEO and brand. Now Jordan's impressive basketball resume has lead to him being named one of 16 finalists for the 2009 Hall of Fame. Was there any doubt?

A few of Jordan's Dream Team buddies have also been nominated. Former San Antonio Spur, David Robinson, one of the league's best assist-men in John Stockton (Utah Jazz), and sharpshooter Chris Mullin (Golden State Warriors) all were included as Finalists. Former Celtics great Dennis Johnson was nominated as were NBA Coaches Don Nelson and Jerry Sloan, and women's coach C. Vivian Stringer. The 16 finalists made a cut from 164 total choices.

According to Google News Associated Press:

Other finalists include former Golden State coach Al Attles, who was nominated as a contributor; Bob Hurley Sr., who has more than 900 wins at St. Anthony's High School in New Jersey; Vladimir Kondrashin, who coached the Soviet Union to the 1972 Olympic gold medal, defeating the U.S. in a controversial final; Pereira "Ubiratan" Maciel, a player known as "The King" in his native Brazil; Richie Guerin, a six-time NBA All-Star with the New York Knicks and a former player-coach with the St. Louis and Atlanta Hawks; and Johnny "Red" Kerr, a longtime Chicago Bulls commentator who was named NBA Coach of the Year in 1967 after leading the expansion Bulls into the playoffs in their first season.

The announcement of who gets in this year will be made on April 6th at the NCAA Final Four in Detroit. The official enshrinement comes September at the Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachussetts. While all 16 finalists can officially get elected are there any doubts over names like MJ, Stockton, Mullin, Bernard King and The Admiral making it?

Vote in NBA.com's FanNight!

Tuesday November 4, 2008 marks an important voting day for NBA fans everywhere. Each Tuesday, fans can log on to NBA.com and vote for the game they most want to see on NBA TV the following Tuesday. Today there are a total of 8 games to choose from for your viewing pleasure.

Here's a look at this weeks candidates:

Denver AT Charlotte

Milwaukee AT Cleveland

Utah AT Philadelphia

Atlanta AT Chicago

L.A. Lakers AT Dallas

New York AT San Antonio

Detroit AT Sacramento

Minnesota AT Golden State

You'd have to believe Kobe and the Lakers have a strong chance to win this vote, but Lebron and the Cavs may have their fair share of votes as well. The Lakers and Dallas seem to be two top tier Western Conference teams that fans will want to see. Don't count out Chicago either which is the key home state of a presidential hopeful!

To cast your vote head over to NBA.com - NBA TV Pick a Game

SI's Fortunate 50 features NBA Starpower

Sports Illustrated has released its 2008 list called "The Fortunate 50". The list is composed of athletes from all sports who are earning the most between their endorsements and actual sports salaries. Topping the list this year easily was Tiger Woods, the pro golfer who's also seen pitching products on almost every commercial break. Tiger's endorsements make up $105, 000, 000 of his overall total.

Several NBA stars made it into the top 10, thanks to their hefty contracts. Lebron James comes in at #3 thanks to a high NBA salary and his endorsements from the likes of Nike, Vitamin Water and Powerade. Also included on the list are both Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett who will appear in the 2008 Finals starting Thursday evening. Kobe still makes a decent amount of endorsements despite his legal trouble in the past. Kobe's former pal in Los Angeles, Shaq trails him by about a half a million dollars on the list.

Here's the top 10 highest paid athletes (total earnings in parentheses):

1. Tiger Woods ($127,902,706)
2. Phil Mickelson ($62,372,685)
3. Lebron James ($40,455,000)
4. Floyd Mayweather, Jr. ($40,250,000)
5. Kobe Bryant ($35,490,625)
6. Shaquille O'Neal ($35,000,000)
7. Alex Rodriguez ($35,000,000)
8. Kevin Garnett ($31,000,000)
9. Peyton Manning ($30,500,000)
10. Derek Jeter ($30,000,000)

See the entire article and rest of the list here at Sports Illustrated's website.

Win a Shot to Play 1-on-1 vs. Lebron James!

Club Cadet, a company devoted to meeting the needs of rural and suburban homeowners wants to give one lucky winner the chance of a lifetime! The company is partnering with NBA superstar Lebron James to offer quite the grand prize. The prize will be the chance to compete 1-on-1 against King James of the Cleveland Cavs, and also $5,000 worth of lawn equipment, of the winner's choice!

Here's more from the official press release:

Valley City, OH (PRWEB) May 12, 2008 -- Cub Cadet, a leader in premium outdoor power equipment, has teamed up with NBA superstar, LeBron James, to launch a contest seeking America's best basketball trick shot. In the Trick Shot Challenge, everyone from playground legends to backyard ballers are encouraged to upload their best trick shot to LeBronsTrickShotChallenge.com by June 28, 2008 for a chance to compete, one-on-one, against King James and fill their garage with $5,000 in the Cub Cadet lawn equipment of their choice.

I see layups, fade away jumpers and slam dunks night in and night out, but now I'm teaming up with Cub Cadet to find the craziest trick shot out there
"Cub Cadet is thrilled to continue our partnership with LeBron James and give fans this amazing opportunity to showcase their talent and creativity and face off against an NBA superstar," said Jean Hlay, Cub Cadet's Senior Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing. "In addition to cleaning up the court with their best trick shot, the winner will also receive $5,000 in Cub Cadet equipment to clean up their yard."

All of the contestants' trick shot videos will be available on the Web site's online gallery where fans can view and vote for their favorite trick shot. Whether a contestant or not, anyone over the age of 13 that registers on LeBronsTrickShotChallenge.com is automatically entered to win $5,000 in cash or signed LeBron James merchandise in a sweepstakes drawing on or around August 4, 2008. Once a fan is registered on the site, every day they log onto the Web site and cast a vote, they will automatically submit additional entries for the sweepstakes, increasing their chances of winning.

To get started head over to Lebron's Trick Shot Challenge for your chance to compete with the King!