There is a lot more to the story behind how many NBA teams are in California. When people discuss “how many NBA teams are in California,” one important aspect of this question is not being discussed. In any given season, there can be more than two dozen NBA teams in California, making it difficult for anyone to accurately answer questions such as “How many NBA teams are in California?” To find out more about what qualifies an NBA team as actually playing their games in California. Based on the number of teams and their cities, you can see that California has more than one-third of the total teams in the NBA.
There are four official NBA teams in California. Let’s see them in detail.
Sacramento Kings
Sacramento Kings entered into NBA in the year 1985 with 0 NBA titles. It seems to be one of the keys to playing California basketball teams. The most notable Franchise highlights are Sacramento Kings took the Lakers to finals about seven games in the 2002 Western Conference finals. Mitch Richmond, Chris Webber, Peja Stojakovic, and De Marcus cousins are the team’s key players. It is a must to know that the team doesn’t have any notable coaches. Even though there is no coach, this team has made many achievements.
Many California NBA teams but the Sacramento Kings recently moved to Golden 1 Center, right near the Golden Gate Bridge. The team plays home games just one block east of the arena which holds a lot of historic significance in San Francisco Bay Area history.
Los Angeles Clippers
The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Clips compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league’s Western Conference Pacific Division. The Clips play their home games at Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles, an arena that is shared with the L.A. Lakers, the L.A. Sparks, and the L.A Kings.
Los Angeles’s Clippers were steeped into NBA in the year 1984. It is one of the most notable California basketball teams. Now, this team doesn’t get any NBA titles so far. The main highlight of the Los Angeles Clippers is, this team has reached the semi-finals in three western conferences in the year 2012,2014, and 2015. Bob McAdoo, Elton Brand, Blake Griffin, and Chris Paul are the notable players of the Los Angeles Clippers. This NBA team has outstanding coaches like Larry Brown, Bill Fitch, and Doc River.
The Lakers and Clippers enter their deepest stretch of dominance in recent history. Magic Johnson was chosen first in the 1979 NBA draft. Johnson joined Kareem and James Worthy to form the dynamic trio that took the team to playoffs eight times over the next ten years, resulting in five Championships from 1980 to 1988. While entertaining way too much with flashy hardwood snow shows, this era also saw a resurgence in “Showtime” models such as Jack Nicholson and Pat Riley’s Lakers.
Golden State Warriors
Golden State Warriors are one of the prominent California basketball teams. This team entered into NBA in the year 1962. Major achievements of the Golden State Warriors are getting 6 NBA titles in 2016 and breaking the NBA regular-season win total. Notable Golden State Warriors players are Nate Thurmond, Rick Barry, Tim Hardaway, Chris Mullin, Draymond Green, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, “Tiny” Archibald, etc. Don Nelson and Steve Kerr are the notable coaches of the Golden State Warriors.
Top 10 Scorers In Golden State Warriors History
- Wilt Chamberlain – 41.5 PPG – (6 Seasons, 1960-1965)
- Kevin Durant – 25.8 PPG – (3 Seasons, 2017-2019)
- Rick Barry – 25.6 PPG – (8 Seasons, 1966-1967, 1973-1978)
- Stephen Curry – 24.2 PPG – (12 Seasons, 2010-2021)
- World B. Free – 23.4 PPG – (3 Seasons, 1981-1983)
- Paul Arizin – 22.8 PPG – (10 Seasons, 1951-1962)
- Mitch Richmond – 22.7 PPG – (3 Seasons, 1989-1991)
- Bernard King – 22.5 PPG – (2 Seasons, 1981-1982)
- Rudy LaRusso – 21.3 PPG – (2 Seasons, 1968-1969)
- Joe Barry Carroll – 20.4 PPG – (7 Seasons, 1981-1988)
Warriors Icon: Ten Golden Point Scorers
- Stephen Curry – 18,434
- Wilt Chamberlain – 17,783
- Rick Barry – 16,447
- Paul Arizin 16,266
- Chris Mullin – 16,235
- Nate Thurmond – 13,191
- Jeff Mullins – 12,547
- Klay Thompson – 11,995
- Purvis Short – 11,894
- Neil Johnston – 10,023
Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers entered into NBA in the year 1958. There is hope that the Los Angeles Lakers will play a significant role in California basketball teams during this time. The years 1949, 1950, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1972, 1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988, 2000, 2002, 2009, and 2010 are the most prominent years of the Los Angeles Lakers. This team has won 16 NBA titles and won 2nd place. The key players of the Los Angeles Lakers are 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 for the team, Los Angeles Lakers, are John Kundla, Bill Sharman, Pat Riley, and Phil Jackson.
Los Angeles Lakers Oldest Teams in NBA History?
Yes, The Lakers began playing basketball on October 27, 1946. They won their first championship with Hall of Famer George Mikan in 1947 and have won 5 NBA Championships since then. The Los Angeles Laker’s oldest teams in the NBA have won the most number championships in NBA history. They were founded in 1946 by former entrepreneur and owner of Los Angeles Sports Arena, Dr. Jerry Buss. The team has won 16 championships since then, winning their first in the year 1947-48 and The Phoenix Suns are currently the second oldest NBA team with a start date in 1948.