NBA Franchise Relocation: About Those Names

There are certainly no Raptors in Toronto, hopefully there are no Bulls in Chicago, and a drive through New York City’s largest borough will reveal very few outdoor basketball hoops in Brooklyn with Nets on them.

So while there is no rule stating that professional sports franchises must have a team name that speaks to its geographic location, there are several examples of teams – especially when relocation is involved – ending up with names totally mismatched with the represented city or region.

New Orleans Jazz to Utah

It’s difficult to think of the great U.S. city of New Orleans, Louisiana without considering its impact on the world of jazz as its birthplace. Louis Armstrong, Sidney Bechet, Jelly Roll Morton, King Oliver, Wynton Marsalis, Terence Blanchard and hundreds more have graced us with a musical style unique to that city dating back almost a century.

So when New Orleans was awarded with an NBA franchise in 1974, there was little surprise at the announcement that the team would be called the Jazz.

After lots of losing over the course of five NBA seasons, and playing in non-basketball venues like the cavernous Louisiana Superdome, in 1979 the franchise relocated to Salt Lake City, Utah, formerly the home of a relatively well-supported ABA franchise that was not part of the NBA-ABA merger, the Utah Stars.

Team name upon relocation? The Utah Jazz.

Utah is known for many things: mountain ranges, ski slopes, high altitude, Brigham Young University, the Osmonds. It is not, however, known for its jazz clubs or producing trumpet players and saxophonists.

In fact, Golden State’s Matt Barnes caused a stir during the 2017 playoffs by proclaiming there was ‘no nightlife in Utah’ at all.

During the John Stockton – Karl Malone era, even the team jerseys contained a picture of a mountain range and no musical reference.

Too late to change the name now – its been nearly 40 years and the name does have a nice ring to it.

Salt Lake City, along with nearby Park City, Utah each hosts an annual jazz festival. So take that!

Minneapolis Lakers to Los Angeles

The city of Minneapolis, Minnesota is located in the Great Lakes region of the United States. In 1960, its NBA franchise relocated to Los Angeles, California, a city and state where lakes aren’t nearly as prominent. Los Angeles, the nation’s 3rd largest city, is known for many things – Hollywood, music, traffic, smog, beaches, sunshine, palm trees, warm climate – but not lakes, necessarily.

So it was a no-brainer that the team name would change upon settling in Los Angeles, right?

Nope. The Los Angeles Lakers.

There is certainly no push to change the name – not that there ever was – after so many championships the Los Angeles Lakers name is officially a brand.

Vancouver Grizzlies to Memphis

Vancouver, British Columbia in Canada is one of the most scenic cities in North America. It has a surprisingly moderate climate,  a still growing population and is one of the jewels of the Pacific Northwest.

It also has a sizable grizzly bear presence in the nearby mountainous areas that surround the city.

So when Vancouver was awarded an NBA franchise that began play in the 1995-96 season, the team was named the Vancouver Grizzlies, which was perfectly fitting.

Poor attendance resulted in the team’s sale in 2001 to a gentleman who moved the team to Memphis, Tennessee, a city in a region not known for its population of grizzly bears.

A name like the Memphis Blues would have been more fitting, and there are other qualities the city has to offer that have nothing thing to do with grizzly bears.

Seattle Supersonics to Oklahoma City

This one had to be changed. The name “Oklahoma City Supersonics” requires too much labor to say, spell or read, whether it fits or not.

So What If:

The Miami Heat move to Buffalo, New York. The Buffalo Heat.

The Phoenix Suns move to rainy Seattle, Washington. The Seattle Suns.

The San Antonio Spurs move to Brooklyn. The Brooklyn Spurs.

The Philadelphia 76ers move anywhere. Nowhere fits except perhaps Denver (Colorado admitted to the union in 1876), or Atlanta (Jimmy Carter elected President in 1976).

Good Lord,  the 2017-18 NBA season can’t begin soon enough…