At present, there are 30 NBA 🏀 teams in total. New teams don't pop up often so this means many cities will be left without their own team forever.
All 30 basketball teams can be found in my random team generator below along with their home cities, and their mascots. Click the generate button to pull up to 3 random teams.
Here are some cool things to do with your new random NBA team.
Challenge your virtual team to an NBA 2K tournament. Loser has to virtually mop the court!
Combine players from different eras and see how they stack up against modern teams. Bonus points for bringing back the short shorts.
Create the wildest or coolest jerseys ever seen on a basketball court. Unicorns and rainbows are fair game!
Stage a virtual dance-off between team mascots. Who knew mascots could breakdance?
Pit your virtual team against legendary teams from the past. Now's your chance to school Jordan's Bulls!
Design a virtual stadium with all the bells and whistles - from luxury boxes to a hot dog cannon!
Create a virtual trick shot challenge, including bouncing balls off elephants and double backflips. The crazier, the better!
Interview virtual players and ask the hard-hitting questions like, "How does it feel to be a collection of pixels?"
Take on the role of the ultimate underdog team and lead them to virtual victory. Cue the inspirational sports movie montage!
Compose epic tales of victory, defeat, and virtual locker room drama. Who knew a virtual team could have so much heart?
Speaking of of NBA fan fiction, here is a cool little story about the Titans!
The Titans were no ordinary virtual basketball team. They were a random collection of misfits, underdogs, and forgotten pixels, randomly generated into existence. Their stats were mediocre at best, their graphics outdated, and their fandom virtually nonexistent. But behind the lackluster facade was an unbreakable spirit, waiting to emerge.
But there was something special about the Titans. Perhaps it was the way "Big Pixel" Johnson's character model always glitched at the perfect moment, or how "Retro" Ricky's low-res face seemed to smile after every successful play. These virtual athletes had heart, determination, and a strange habit of crashing the game at the most inconvenient times.
The season started with little fanfare, the Titans barely a footnote in the virtual sports world. They lost games they should have won and won games they had no business playing. They faced glitches, lags, and even a particularly nasty virus that sidelined their starting point guard for a week.
Yet, they stuck together, their binary code bonding in a way no algorithm could predict. Their coach, a wise and weathered AI with outdated firmware, guided them with cryptic wisdom and an uncanny ability to predict opponents' plays (sometimes).
As the playoffs approached, the Titans found themselves in the unlikely position of contention. Nobody gave them a chance, not even the virtual commentators, who often confused them with other, more prominent teams. But the Titans didn't care. They played on, fueling themselves with virtual snacks and pixelated Gatorade.
Game after game, they defied the odds. They won in overtime, they triumphed in shootouts, and they danced through the pixels of their rivals. The virtual crowd, once sparse and silent, began to buzz with excitement. The Titans were the talk of the virtual town, making headlines in pop-up ads and unsolicited emails.
Finally, the championship game arrived. They were facing the Invincibles, a team that lived up to their name with top-tier graphics, fluid animations, and a soundtrack that was actually quite catchy. The Titans were outmatched in every virtual way, but they had something the Invincibles didn't: they had a story, a legend in the making.
The game was intense, filled with spectacular dunks, improbable steals, and moments that would be replayed in highlight reels for virtual generations to come. With each passing quarter, the Titans held their ground, the scoreboard a constant tug of war. They were playing for something greater than a championship; they were playing for every forgotten pixel in the virtual universe.
Then came the final seconds. Down by two, the Titans were on the verge of losing. The virtual fans held their collective breath as the ball found its way into the hands of Big Pixel Johnson, known more for his glitches than his clutch shooting. The arena was filled with virtual tension, each pixel pulsating with anticipation.
With the clock ticking down, Big Pixel dribbled past his defender, his frame rate dropping but his determination rising. He launched a desperate three-pointer, the ball tracing a perfect arc in the virtual air. It was a shot worthy of legends, a moment frozen in time.
The buzzer sounded, and the arena fell into silence as the ball swished through the net. Victory! The Titans were champions, and Big Pixel went from virtual unknown to legend. His teammates rushed the court, their pixels blurring in joyous celebration, their digital dreams fulfilled.
The Titans' story spread through the virtual world, inspiring other randomly generated teams to believe in the impossible. They became a symbol of hope and a testament to the magic of virtual sports, where even a bunch of undercoded players could achieve greatness. Their legend was shared in chat rooms, forums, and questionable download sites.
And so, the legend of the Titans lives on, a heartwarming reminder that in the world of virtual basketball, anything is possible. All it takes is a randomly generated team, a dash of digital determination, a sprinkle of pixelated magic, and, of course, a decent graphics card. The Titans were more than a team; they were a virtual miracle, forever etched in the annals of digital sports history.
At the time of writing, the following states do not have an NBA basketball team.
The reasons for a state not getting a professional sports team vary but in most cases, it can be traced to an economical reason. For example, many states on the list above have smaller populations and thus generate less money that larger states.
In addition, some states just really don't like basketball that much. Other sports such as baseball, hockey, or football are much more popular in states like Alabama.
Posted by: Matt Irving on 4/23/2023