Defunct franchises

Historical NBA franchises

Every BAA, NBA and ABA franchise that no longer exists, split by league.

ABA-only franchises

American Basketball Association franchises (1968-76) whose lineages did not merge into the NBA. The 1976 merger absorbed only the Pacers, Nets, Spurs, and Nuggets; everything below either folded, was bought out, or operated entirely outside the merger.

1
San Diego ConquistadorsABA
1972-73 – 1975-76
0 titles
101-162
2
Kentucky ColonelsABA
1967-68 – 1975-76
0 titles
448-296
3
New Orleans BuccaneersABA
1967-68 – 1974-75
0 titles
275-385
4
Pittsburgh PipersABA
1967-68 – 1971-72
0 titles
180-228
5
Spirits of St. LouisABA
1967-68 – 1975-76
0 titles
334-410
6
The FloridiansABA
1967-68 – 1971-72
0 titles
189-219
7
Utah StarsABA
1967-68 – 1975-76
0 titles
366-310
8
Virginia SquiresABA
1967-68 – 1975-76
0 titles
326-417

BAA / NBA defunct franchises

Basketball Association of America (1947-49) and early NBA franchises that folded, mostly during the league's first decade of consolidation.

1
Anderson Packers
1949-50 – 1949-50
0 titles
37-27
2
Denver Nuggets (1949–50)
1949-50 – 1949-50
0 titles
11-51
3
Indianapolis Olympians
1949-50 – 1952-53
0 titles
132-137
4
Sheboygan Red Skins
1949-50 – 1949-50
0 titles
22-40
5
Waterloo Hawks
1949-50 – 1949-50
0 titles
19-43
6
Indianapolis Jets
1948-49 – 1948-49
0 titles
18-42
7
Baltimore Bullets (1947–54)
1947-48 – 1953-54
1 titles
158-292
8
Chicago Stags
1946-47 – 1949-50
0 titles
145-92
9
Cleveland Rebels
1946-47 – 1946-47
0 titles
30-30
10
Detroit Falcons
1946-47 – 1946-47
0 titles
20-40
11
Pittsburgh Ironmen
1946-47 – 1946-47
0 titles
15-45
12
Providence Steamrollers
1946-47 – 1948-49
0 titles
46-122
About this page

Franchises that played at least one season in the Basketball Association of America (1947-49), National Basketball Association (1949+) or American Basketball Association (1968-76) but no longer exist as independent clubs. Includes the 8 ABA-only franchises whose lineages did not survive the 1976 NBA-ABA merger, the BAA charter members that folded before the 1949 merger, and one-season early NBA clubs.

The active 30 are at /teams/nba. Source: NBA workbook (Totals sheet, Defunct=Y rows). ABA championships are rendered in slate on the active-franchise pages for the four ABA-NBA merger survivors.