The Western Division was a division in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and its forerunner, the Basketball Association of America (BAA). The division was created at the start of the 1946–47 BAA season, when the league was created, and was then kept as one of the divisions when BAA merged with the National Basketball League (NBL) to create the NBA on August 3, 1949. Originally, when the merger between the BAA and NBL happened, it was planned for the Western and Eastern divisions to be renamed into the American and National divisions (similar to what Major League Baseball had done following the National League and American League allowing for each league to compete with each other for the World Series in order for their leagues to maintain their independent integrity) with the divisions being re-divided between the Western and Eastern teams in both leagues not long afterward (though it was likely going to have the American Division teams being teams originally playing in the 1948–49 BAA season at the time and the National Division teams being teams planned to have been from the NBL at the time, including the Indianapolis Olympians expansion team), but the sudden dropout of the Oshkosh All-Stars from the initial BAA–NBL merger into the NBA by September 3, 1949, led to the Western and Eastern divisions returning as planned alongside the temporary creation of a Central Division for that season., pp. 223–224 The division existed until the 1970–71 NBA season when the NBA expanded from 14 to 17 teams and realigned into the Eastern and Western conferences with two divisions each.
Teams Team City Year From Year To Current divisionJoined Left Anderson Packers Anderson, Indiana —* NPBL — Tri-Cities Blackhawks Milwaukee Hawks St. Louis Hawks Atlanta Hawks Moline, IllinoisMilwaukee, WisconsinSt. Louis, MissouriAtlanta, Georgia —* Central Division Southeast Division Baltimore Bullets Baltimore, Maryland ABL Eastern Division — Chicago Packers Chicago Zephyrs Baltimore Bullets Chicago, IllinoisChicago, IllinoisBaltimore, Maryland — Eastern Division Southeast Division Chicago Bulls Chicago, Illinois — Midwest Division Central Division Chicago Stags Chicago, Illinois § Central Division — Rochester Royals Cincinnati Royals Rochester, New YorkCincinnati, Ohio NBLCentral Division Central DivisionEastern Division Pacific Division Cleveland Rebels Cleveland, Ohio § Folded — Denver Nuggets Denver, Colorado —* Folded — Detroit Falcons Detroit, Michigan § Folded — Fort Wayne Pistons Detroit Pistons Fort Wayne, IndianaDetroit, Michigan NBLCentral Division Central DivisionEastern Division Central Division Indianapolis Jets Indianapolis, Indiana NBL Folded — Indianapolis Olympians Indianapolis, Indiana — Folded — Minneapolis Lakers Los Angeles Lakers Minneapolis, MinnesotaLos Angeles, California NBLCentral Division Central DivisionPacific Division Pacific Division Phoenix Suns Phoenix, Arizona — Midwest Division Pacific Division Pittsburgh Ironmen Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania § Folded — San Diego Rockets San Diego, California — Pacific Division Southwest Division San Francisco Warriors San Francisco, California Eastern Division Pacific Division Pacific Division Seattle SuperSonics Seattle, Washington — Pacific Division Northwest Division Sheboygan Red Skins Sheboygan, Wisconsin —* NPBL — St. Louis Bombers St. Louis, Missouri § Central Division — Washington Capitols Washington, D.C. Eastern Division Eastern Division — Waterloo Hawks Waterloo, Iowa —* NPBL — Notes
denotes an expansion team. denotes a team that merged from the National Basketball League (NBL)
Team timeline
Division champions ^ Had or tied for the best regular season record for that season Season Team Record Playoffs result Chicago Stags 39–22 () Lost BAA Finals St. Louis Bombers^ 29–19 () Lost Semifinals Rochester Royals^ 45–15 () Lost Division finals Indianapolis Olympians 39–25 () Lost Division finals Minneapolis Lakers^ 44–24 () Lost Division semifinals Rochester Royals^ 41–25 () Lost Division finals Minneapolis Lakers^ 48–22 () Won NBA Finals Minneapolis Lakers^ 46–26 () Won NBA Finals Fort Wayne Pistons^ 43–29 () Lost NBA Finals Fort Wayne Pistons 37–35 () Lost NBA Finals St. Louis Hawks 34–38 () Lost NBA Finals St. Louis Hawks 41–31 () Won NBA Finals St. Louis Hawks 49–23 () Lost Division finals St. Louis Hawks 46–29 () Lost NBA Finals St. Louis Hawks 51–28 () Lost NBA Finals Los Angeles Lakers 54–26 () Lost NBA Finals Los Angeles Lakers 53–27 () Lost NBA Finals San Francisco Warriors 48–32 () Lost NBA Finals Los Angeles Lakers 49–31 () Lost NBA Finals Los Angeles Lakers 45–35 () Lost NBA Finals San Francisco Warriors 44–37 () Lost NBA Finals St. Louis Hawks 56–26 () Lost Division semifinals Los Angeles Lakers 55–27 () Lost NBA Finals Atlanta Hawks 48–34 () Lost Division finals
Titles by team Team Titles Season(s) won Minneapolis Lakers/Los Angeles Lakers 8 , , , , , , , St. Louis Hawks/Atlanta Hawks 7 , , , , , , Rochester Royals 2 , Fort Wayne Pistons 2 , San Francisco Warriors 2 , Chicago Stags 1 St. Louis Bombers 1 Indianapolis Olympians 1
Season results ^ Denotes team that won the BAA/NBA championships+ Denotes team that lost the BAA/NBA Finals* Denotes team that qualified for the BAA/NBA playoffs
Season Team (record) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th1946: the Western Division was formed with five inaugural members. Chicago+ (39–22) St. Louis* (38–23) Cleveland* (30–30) Detroit (20–40) Pittsburgh (15–45) 1947: the Cleveland Rebels, Detroit Falcons and Pittsburgh Ironmen folded during the off-season, while the Washington Capitols joined from the Eastern Division and the Baltimore Bullets joined from the American Basketball League (ABL). St. Louis* (29–19) Baltimore^ (28–20) Chicago* (28–20) Washington* (28–20) 1948: the Washington Capitols left to re-join the Eastern Division, the Baltimore Bullets left to join the Eastern Division, while the Fort Wayne Pistons, Indianapolis Jets, Minneapolis Lakers and Rochester Royals joined from the National Basketball League (NBL). Rochester* (45–15) Minneapolis^ (44–16) Chicago* (38–22) St. Louis* (29–31) Fort Wayne (22–38) Indianapolis (18–42) 1949: the Indianapolis Jets folded during the off-season, the Chicago Stags, Fort Wayne Pistons, Minneapolis Lakers, Rochester Royals and St. Louis Bombers left to join the Central Division. An expansion team, the Indianapolis Olympians, joined the division, while the Anderson Packers, Denver Nuggets, Sheboygan Red Skins, Tri-Cities Blackhawks and Waterloo Hawks merged from the National Basketball League (NBL). Indianapolis* (39–25) Anderson* (37–27) Tri-Cities* (29–35) Sheboygan* (22–40) Waterloo (19–43) Denver (11–51) 1950: the Denver Nuggets folded during the off-season, while the Anderson Packers, Sheboygan Red Skins and Waterloo Hawks left to join the National Professional Basketball League (NPBL). The Fort Wayne Pistons, Minneapolis Lakers and Rochester Royals re-joined the division. Minneapolis* (44–24) Rochester^ (41–27) Fort Wayne* (32–36) Indianapolis* (31–37) Tri-Cities (25–43) 1951: the Tri-Cities Blackhawks relocated and became the Milwaukee Hawks. Rochester* (41–25) Minneapolis^ (40–26) Indianapolis* (34–32) Fort Wayne* (29–37) Milwaukee (17–49) Minneapolis^ (48–22) Rochester* (44–26) Fort Wayne* (36–33) Indianapolis* (28–43) Milwaukee (27–44) 1953: the Indianapolis Olympians folded during the off-season. Minneapolis^ (46–26) Rochester* (44–28) Fort Wayne* (40–32) Milwaukee (21–51) Fort Wayne+ (43–29) Minneapolis* (40–32) Rochester* (29–43) Milwaukee (26–46) 1955: the Milwaukee Hawks relocated and became the St. Louis Hawks. Fort Wayne+ (37–35) Minneapolis* (33–39) St. Louis* (33–39) Rochester (31–41) St. Louis+ (34–38) Minneapolis* (34–38) Fort Wayne* (34–38) Rochester (31–41) 1957: the Fort Wayne Pistons relocated and became the Detroit Pistons, the Rochester Royals relocated and became the Cincinnati Royals. St. Louis^ (41–31) Detroit* (33–39) Cincinnati* (33–39) Minneapolis (19–53) St. Louis* (49–23) Minneapolis+ (33–39) Detroit* (28–44) Cincinnati (19–53) St. Louis+ (46–29) Detroit* (30–45) Minneapolis* (25–50) Cincinnati (19–56) 1960: the Minneapolis Lakers relocated and became the Los Angeles Lakers. St. Louis+ (51–28) Los Angeles* (36–43) Detroit* (34–45) Cincinnati (33–46) 1961: an expansion team, the Chicago Packers, joined the division. Los Angeles+ (54–26) Cincinnati* (43–37) Detroit* (37–43) St. Louis (29–51) Chicago (18–62) 1962: the Chicago Packers were renamed the Chicago Zephyrs, while the Cincinnati Royals were shifted to the Eastern Division, because the Philadelphia Warriors relocated and joined the division as the San Francisco Warriors. Los Angeles+ (53–27) St. Louis* (48–32) Detroit* (34–46) San Francisco (31–49) Chicago (25–55) 1963: the Chicago Zephyrs relocated and became the Baltimore Bullets. San Francisco+ (48–32) St. Louis* (46–34) Los Angeles* (42–38) Baltimore (31–49) Detroit (23–57) Los Angeles+ (49–31) St. Louis* (45–35) Baltimore* (37–43) Detroit (31–49) San Francisco (17–63) Los Angeles+ (45–35) Baltimore* (38–42) St. Louis* (36–44) San Francisco (35–45) Detroit (22–58) 1966: an expansion team, the Chicago Bulls, joined the division, while the Baltimore Bullets left to join the Eastern Division. San Francisco+ (44–37) St. Louis* (39–42) Los Angeles* (36–45) Chicago* (33–48) Detroit (30–51) 1967: expansion teams, the San Diego Rockets and Seattle SuperSonics, joined the division, while the Detroit Pistons left to join the Eastern Division. St. Louis* (56–26) Los Angeles+ (52–30) San Francisco* (43–39) Chicago* (29–53) Seattle (23–59) San Diego (15–67) 1968: an expansion team, the Phoenix Suns, joined the division, while the St. Louis Hawks relocated and became the Atlanta Hawks. Los Angeles+ (55–27) Atlanta* (48–34) San Francisco* (41–41) San Diego* (37–45) Chicago (33–49) Seattle (30–52) Phoenix (16–66) Atlanta* (48–34) Los Angeles+ (46–36) Chicago* (39–43) Phoenix* (39–43) Seattle (36–46) San Francisco (30–52) San Diego (27–55)1970: the NBA divided the league into the Eastern and Western conferences. The Atlanta Hawks joined the Central Division, the Chicago Bulls and Phoenix Suns joined the Midwest Division, while the Los Angeles Lakers, San Diego Rockets, San Francisco Warriors and Seattle SuperSonics joined the Pacific Division.
References