# Western Division (NBA)

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. 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 division |
| Team | City | Joined | Joined | Left | Left | | Current division |
| Anderson Packers | Anderson, Indiana | 1949 | —* | 1950 | NPBL | — |
| Tri-Cities Blackhawks (1949–1951) Milwaukee Hawks (1951–1955) St. Louis Hawks (1955–1968) Atlanta Hawks (1968–present) | Moline, Illinois Milwaukee, Wisconsin St. Louis, Missouri Atlanta, Georgia | 1949 | —* | 1970 | Central Division | Southeast Division |
| Baltimore Bullets (original) | Baltimore, Maryland | 1947 | ABL | 1948 | Eastern Division | — |
| Chicago Packers (1961–1962) Chicago Zephyrs (1962–1963) Baltimore Bullets (1963–1966) (now the Washington Wizards) | Chicago, Illinois Chicago, Illinois Baltimore, Maryland | 1961 | —† | 1966 | Eastern Division | Southeast Division |
| Chicago Bulls | Chicago, Illinois | 1966 | —† | 1970 | Midwest Division | Central Division |
| Chicago Stags | Chicago, Illinois | 1946 | § | 1949 | Central Division | — |
| Rochester Royals (1948–1949, 1950–1957) Cincinnati Royals (1957–1962) (now the Sacramento Kings) | Rochester, New York Cincinnati, Ohio | 1948 1950 | NBL Central Division | 1949 1962 | Central Division Eastern Division | Pacific Division |
| Cleveland Rebels | Cleveland, Ohio | 1946 | § | 1947 | Folded | — |
| Denver Nuggets | Denver, Colorado | 1949 | —* | 1950 | Folded | — |
| Detroit Falcons | Detroit, Michigan | 1946 | § | 1947 | Folded | — |
| Fort Wayne Pistons (1948–1949, 1950–1957) Detroit Pistons (1957–present) | Fort Wayne, Indiana Detroit, Michigan | 1948 1950 | NBL Central Division | 1949 1967 | Central Division Eastern Division | Central Division |
| Indianapolis Jets | Indianapolis, Indiana | 1948 | NBL | 1949 | Folded | — |
| Indianapolis Olympians | Indianapolis, Indiana | 1949 | —† | 1953 | Folded | — |
| Minneapolis Lakers (1948–1949, 1950–1960) Los Angeles Lakers (1960–present) | Minneapolis, Minnesota Los Angeles, California | 1948 1950 | NBL Central Division | 1949 1970 | Central Division Pacific Division | Pacific Division |
| Phoenix Suns | Phoenix, Arizona | 1968 | —† | 1970 | Midwest Division | Pacific Division |
| Pittsburgh Ironmen | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | 1946 | § | 1947 | Folded | — |
| San Diego Rockets (now the Houston Rockets) | San Diego, California | 1967 | —† | 1970 | Pacific Division | Southwest Division |
| San Francisco Warriors (now the Golden State Warriors) | San Francisco, California | 1962 | Eastern Division | 1970 | Pacific Division | Pacific Division |
| Seattle SuperSonics (now the Oklahoma City Thunder) | Seattle, Washington | 1967 | —† | 1970 | Pacific Division | Northwest Division |
| Sheboygan Red Skins | Sheboygan, Wisconsin | 1949 | —* | 1950 | NPBL | — |
| St. Louis Bombers | St. Louis, Missouri | 1946 | § | 1949 | Central Division | — |
| Washington Capitols | Washington, D.C. | 1947 | Eastern Division | 1948 | Eastern Division | — |
| Waterloo Hawks | Waterloo, Iowa | 1949 | —* | 1950 | NPBL | — |

### Notes

* § founding BAA team
* † 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 |
| 1946–47 | Chicago Stags | 39–22 (.639) | Lost BAA Finals |
| 1947–48 | St. Louis Bombers^ | 29–19 (.604) | Lost Semifinals |
| 1948–49 | Rochester Royals^ | 45–15 (.750) | Lost Division finals |
| 1949–50 | Indianapolis Olympians | 39–25 (.609) | Lost Division finals |
| 1950–51 | Minneapolis Lakers^ | 44–24 (.647) | Lost Division semifinals |
| 1951–52 | Rochester Royals^ | 41–25 (.621) | Lost Division finals |
| 1952–53 | Minneapolis Lakers^ | 48–22 (.686) | Won NBA Finals |
| 1953–54 | Minneapolis Lakers^ | 46–26 (.639) | Won NBA Finals |
| 1954–55 | Fort Wayne Pistons^ | 43–29 (.597) | Lost NBA Finals |
| 1955–56 | Fort Wayne Pistons | 37–35 (.521) | Lost NBA Finals |
| 1956–57 | St. Louis Hawks | 34–38 (.472) | Lost NBA Finals |
| 1957–58 | St. Louis Hawks | 41–31 (.569) | Won NBA Finals |
| 1958–59 | St. Louis Hawks | 49–23 (.681) | Lost Division finals |
| 1959–60 | St. Louis Hawks | 46–29 (.613) | Lost NBA Finals |
| 1960–61 | St. Louis Hawks | 51–28 (.646) | Lost NBA Finals |
| 1961–62 | Los Angeles Lakers | 54–26 (.675) | Lost NBA Finals |
| 1962–63 | Los Angeles Lakers | 53–27 (.663) | Lost NBA Finals |
| 1963–64 | San Francisco Warriors | 48–32 (.600) | Lost NBA Finals |
| 1964–65 | Los Angeles Lakers | 49–31 (.613) | Lost NBA Finals |
| 1965–66 | Los Angeles Lakers | 45–35 (.563) | Lost NBA Finals |
| 1966–67 | San Francisco Warriors | 44–37 (.543) | Lost NBA Finals |
| 1967–68 | St. Louis Hawks | 56–26 (.683) | Lost Division semifinals |
| 1968–69 | Los Angeles Lakers | 55–27 (.671) | Lost NBA Finals |
| 1969–70 | Atlanta Hawks | 48–34 (.585) | Lost Division finals |

### Titles by team

| Team | Titles | Season(s) won |
| Minneapolis Lakers/Los Angeles Lakers | 8 | 1950–51, 1952–53, 1953–54, 1961–62, 1962–63, 1964–65, 1965–66, 1968–69 |
| St. Louis Hawks/Atlanta Hawks | 7 | 1956–57, 1957–58, 1958–59, 1959–60, 1960–61, 1967–68, 1969–70 |
| Rochester Royals (now the Sacramento Kings) | 2 | 1948–49, 1951–52 |
| Fort Wayne Pistons (now the Detroit Pistons) | 2 | 1954–55, 1955–56 |
| San Francisco Warriors (now the Golden State Warriors) | 2 | 1963–64, 1966–67 |
| Chicago Stags | 1 | 1946–47 |
| St. Louis Bombers | 1 | 1947–48 |
| Indianapolis Olympians | 1 | 1949–50 |

## 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) | Team (record) | Team (record) | Team (record) | Team (record) | Team (record) | Team (record) |
| Season | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th |
| 1946: the Western Division was formed with five inaugural members. ||||||||
| 1946–47 | 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). ||||||||
| 1947–48 | 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). ||||||||
| 1948–49 | 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). ||||||||
| 1949–50 | 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. ||||||||
| 1950–51 | 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. ||||||||
| 1951–52 | Rochester* (41–25) | Minneapolis^ (40–26) | Indianapolis* (34–32) | Fort Wayne* (29–37) | Milwaukee (17–49) | | |
| 1952–53 | 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. ||||||||
| 1953–54 | Minneapolis^ (46–26) | Rochester* (44–28) | Fort Wayne* (40–32) | Milwaukee (21–51) | | | |
| 1954–55 | Fort Wayne$^+$ (43–29) | Minneapolis* (40–32) | Rochester* (29–43) | Milwaukee (26–46) | | | |
| 1955: the Milwaukee Hawks relocated and became the St. Louis Hawks. ||||||||
| 1955–56 | Fort Wayne$^+$ (37–35) | Minneapolis* (33–39) | St. Louis* (33–39) | Rochester (31–41) | | | |
| 1956–57 | 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. ||||||||
| 1957–58 | St. Louis^ (41–31) | Detroit* (33–39) | Cincinnati* (33–39) | Minneapolis (19–53) | | | |
| 1958–59 | St. Louis* (49–23) | Minneapolis$^+$ (33–39) | Detroit* (28–44) | Cincinnati (19–53) | | | |
| 1959–60 | St. Louis$^+$ (46–29) | Detroit* (30–45) | Minneapolis* (25–50) | Cincinnati (19–56) | | | |
| 1960: the Minneapolis Lakers relocated and became the Los Angeles Lakers. ||||||||
| 1960–61 | St. Louis$^+$ (51–28) | Los Angeles* (36–43) | Detroit* (34–45) | Cincinnati (33–46) | | | |
| 1961: an expansion team, the Chicago Packers, joined the division. ||||||||
| 1961–62 | 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. ||||||||
| 1962–63 | 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. ||||||||
| 1963–64 | San Francisco$^+$ (48–32) | St. Louis* (46–34) | Los Angeles* (42–38) | Baltimore (31–49) | Detroit (23–57) | | |
| 1964–65 | Los Angeles$^+$ (49–31) | St. Louis* (45–35) | Baltimore* (37–43) | Detroit (31–49) | San Francisco (17–63) | | |
| 1965–66 | 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. ||||||||
| 1966–67 | 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. ||||||||
| 1967–68 | 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. ||||||||
| 1968–69 | Los Angeles$^+$ (55–27) | Atlanta* (48–34) | San Francisco* (41–41) | San Diego* (37–45) | Chicago (33–49) | Seattle (30–52) | Phoenix (16–66) |
| 1969–70 | 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. ||||||||