Conference of the National Basketball Association
The Western Conference is one of two conferences that make up the National Basketball Association (NBA), the other being the Eastern Conference . Both conferences consist of 15 teams organized into three divisions . The Western Conference comprises the Northwest , Pacific , and Southwest Divisions.
The current divisional alignment was adopted at the start of the 2004–05 season , when the now Charlotte Hornets began play as the NBA's 30th franchise. This necessitated the move of the New Orleans Pelicans (named New Orleans Hornets at the time) from the Eastern Conference's Central Division to the newly created Southwest Division of the Western Conference.
The NBA first started awarding a Western Conference championship trophy during the 2000–01 season , renaming it after Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson in the 2021–22 season .[ 1] Also in 2021–22, the league began awarding the Earvin "Magic" Johnson Trophy to the Western Conference Finals Most Valuable Player , named after Hall of Famer Magic Johnson .[ 2]
2024–25 standings
Notes
Teams
Team
Division
Location
Year
From
Arena
Joined
Dallas Mavericks
Southwest
Dallas, Texas
1980 –present
—†
American Airlines Center
Denver Nuggets
Northwest
Denver, Colorado
1976 –present
ABA ‡
Ball Arena
Golden State Warriors
Pacific
San Francisco, California
1970 –present
Western Division
Chase Center
Houston Rockets
Southwest
Houston, Texas
1970 –present
Western Division
Toyota Center
Los Angeles Clippers
Pacific
Los Angeles, California
1978 –present
Eastern Conference
Intuit Dome
Los Angeles Lakers
Pacific
Los Angeles, California
1970 –present
Western Division
Crypto.com Arena
Memphis Grizzlies
Southwest
Memphis, Tennessee
1995 –present
—†
FedEx Forum
Minnesota Timberwolves
Northwest
Minneapolis, Minnesota
1989 –present
—†
Target Center
New Orleans Pelicans
Southwest
New Orleans, Louisiana
2004 –present
Eastern Conference
Smoothie King Center
Oklahoma City Thunder
Northwest
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
1970 –present
Western Division
Paycom Center
Phoenix Suns
Pacific
Phoenix, Arizona
1970 –present
Western Division
Footprint Center
Portland Trail Blazers
Northwest
Portland, Oregon
1970 –present
—†
Moda Center
Sacramento Kings
Pacific
Sacramento, California
1972 –present
Eastern Conference
Golden 1 Center
San Antonio Spurs
Southwest
San Antonio, Texas
1980 –present
Eastern Conference
Frost Bank Center
Utah Jazz
Northwest
Salt Lake City, Utah
1979 –present
Eastern Conference
Delta Center
Notes
Team timeline
Denotes team that is currently in the conference
Denotes team that has left the conference
Conference champions
Bold
Winning team of the NBA Finals
^
Had or tied for the best regular season record for that season
Conference championships by team
^Note: Milwaukee joined the Eastern Conference during the 1980–81 season.
Season results
Notes
a 1 2 3 The New Orleans Hornets temporarily relocated to Oklahoma City due to the effect of Hurricane Katrina . The majority of home games were played in Oklahoma City, while a few remained in New Orleans.
References
^ Golliver, Ben (May 12, 2022). "NBA redesigns Finals trophy, adds awards named after Magic Johnson, Larry Bird" . The Washington Post . To complete the postseason collection, the NBA updated its conference championship trophies, first created in 2001, and renamed them after Hall of Famers Bob Cousy (for the East) and Oscar Robertson (for the West)
^ Powell, Shaun (May 12, 2022). "NBA introduces new lineup of postseason hardware" . NBA.com . Retrieved May 12, 2022 .
^ NBA Season Recap |NBA.com
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Founded in 1923
Formerly the Rochester Seagrams (1923–1942), Rochester Eber Seagrams (1942–1943), Rochester Pros (1943–1945), Rochester Royals (1945–1957), Cincinnati Royals (1957–1972); played in Kansas City-Omaha (1972–1975), Kansas City (1975–1985)
Based in Sacramento, California
Franchise Arenas Administration G League affiliate Retired numbers NBA championships Rivalries Culture and lore
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