OT: The Origin of Team Names. (WEST)

anique_24 · Aug 16, 2009

Dallas Mavericks – James Garner, a member of the ownership group for the new Dallas franchise in 1980, played a character named "Maverick" for a popular TV Western in the late '50s and early '60s that was called, appropriately, "Maverick." The University of Texas at Arlington also uses "Mavericks" for its team nickname, so there was a bit of hullabaloo about that particular selection at the time, but now any controversy surrounding the Mavs has more to do with Mark Cuban's blog than any team name they may have chosen.

Denver Nuggets – When the ABA's new Denver franchise was dotting the i's and crossing the t's on their inaugural season, "Rockets" was the final consensus for a team nickname. That was, however, the same year that San Diego put an expansion team in the NBA, and they too chose "Rockets" as their team name. In 1974 the need to change the team name surfaced with an inevitable ABA merging with the NBA. Since there was already a Rockets franchise in place (now moved to Houston), Denver chose "Nuggets" as a reference to Colorado's mining heyday in the 1800s. Someone hoping to make their fortune out West would do so by finding gold or silver nuggets. You'd have to get a little lucky, though—a lot like Detroit taking Darko Milicic second overall in the 2003 draft so that Denver could end up with Carmelo Anthony.

Golden State Warriors – Today, "Warriors" is one of the most common and generic nicknames that exists. It's right up there with "Wildcats" and "Tigers." But when Philadelphia was awarded a franchise for the inaugural season of the BAA (the forerunner to the NBA), "Warriors" was chosen for the simple fact that there had been an earlier professional basketball team in town that went by the same name. When the franchise first moved to the Bay Area, they called San Francisco home. Eventually, however, they moved to Oakland and hoped to get the entire state of California behind the team, and so decided to go with Golden State Warriors instead of Oakland Warriors (or even just sticking with San Francisco Warriors). California is called the Golden State because 1849's gold rush.

Houston Rockets – One would assume that a Houston-based team named the Rockets had always been that way considering NASA's home base is located there. Ironically enough, the name "Rockets" was applied to the team during their time in San Diego. Like many other teams, this name was chosen as part of a contest, with "Rockets" winning out because it fit into San Diego's theme as "A City in Motion." Unlike some other teams that relocated and kept their nickname, this one still works. The Utah Jazz and Memphis Grizzlies weren't quite so lucky.

Los Angeles Clippers – The team name "Braves" may have worked for this franchise when they were based in Buffalo, but when the team moved to San Diego in 1978 the new ownership group didn't think that moniker worked for their new city. The name "Clippers" was chosen as the result of a contest because San Diego was known for their beautiful and large sailing ships known by that name. In 1984 the team moved again to L.A., and this time decided to keep the old name.

Los Angeles Lakers – Admittedly, there aren't a lot of lakes in L.A., but that name wasn't brandished in the City of Angels. It came from when the team was based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, a state in which there are lakes all over the place. When the team relocated in 1960 they kept the name because it was so popular, thanks in large part to the great success of NBA legend George Mikan.

Memphis Grizzlies – As an expansion team in 1995, the new Vancouver franchise decided to go with "Grizzlies" as their team name because grizzly bears are a powerful animal indigenous to British Columbia. When Memphis took over the team in 2001 they kept the name, even though Tennessee is not an area particularly known for its grizzly bear population. The current ownership group was rumored to have explored changing the name to the "Express" as part of a naming rights deal with Memphis based FedEx, however the NBA denied the move.

Minnesota Timberwolves – A contest to name Minnesota's new franchise in 1986 resulted in two finalists: the Timberwolves and the Polars. The final decision was a result of all 842 city councils in the state choosing which name they preferred. Since Minnesota has the largest population of timberwolves in the continental U.S. states and the wolf is a highly revered and featured animal at state zoos, it seemed to make more sense than "Polars" anyway. While it's certainly plenty cold in the Twin Cities during basketball season, the inevitable polar bear mascot would've been untrue to the region. From pretty much every standpoint, Timberwolves was the smartest choice. Coincidentally, the team's first logo was the result of a fan contest as well.

New Orleans Hornets – When club officials formed a committee to select the team name for the new Charlotte franchise in 1987, they came to a definitive conclusion; the team would be called the Charlotte Spirit. The good people of North Carolina hated the name (can you blame them?), so "Spirit" was dumped and, of course, a contest was held to rename the team. While "Knights" and "Gold" were popular suggestions, "Hornets" eventually won out, not only because it sounded unique and catchy, but also because the name has some history in that area of the country. According to Hoopedia.nba.com, when British general George Cornwallis wrote back to King George about fighting American soldiers in the Carolinas during the Revolutionary War, he said, "This place is like fighting in a hornet's nest." Once upon a time there also had been a Minnesota Twins farm league team and World Football League team also called the Charlotte Hornets, so the name had some history as well. Now in New Orleans, the team is still called the Hornets, significantly less silly than the Memphis Grizzlies because there are hornets everywhere—Charlotte, New Orleans, Oklahoma City, and the rest of the country, too.

Oklahoma City Thunder – The most recently-renamed team in the league, the name "Thunder" was chosen among four finalists when the franchise moved from Seattle to OKC just a little over a year ago. The other possibilities were "Thunderbirds," "Barons," and "Outlaws," all of which seem to be more interesting than "Thunder," which technically isn't even something human beings can see or touch. Back in the 1960s, when the team was preparing for its inaugural season, "SuperSonics" won a fan-driven contest pretty easily; over 200 different entries listed that as the name. During that decade the Boeing Company announced plans to build a "SuperSonic Transport" that would be similar to a Concorde jet. The SuperSonic never got built, but the name certainly stuck. If basketball ever comes back to Seattle, one has to think they'll revive the name. Let's hope both happen someday relatively soon.

Phoenix Suns – The Arizona Republic sponsored a contest to name the team way, way back in 1968 because co-owner Karl Eller couldn't think of anything. A woman named Selinda King won $1,000 and season tickets for the team's first season for suggesting the eventual winner. Why "Suns"? Because Arizona is a state known for it's beautiful and colorful sunsets—hence purple and orange being the dominant team colors.

Portland Trail Blazers – Usually when an organization holds a contest to choose a nickname for an area's new team, it goes with the winner which, in this particular case, was "Pioneers." There's no ignoring the lovely alliterative qualities of Portland Pioneers, but that name was already being used by Lewis & Clark College located in, you guessed it, Portland, Oregon. The name "Trail Blazers" means essentially the same thing as "Pioneers"—both are shout-outs to the Oregon Trail and all the settlers that used it to move out West—and had the second-most votes among fans. Everybody wins.

Sacramento Kings – Originally the Rochester Royals of the NBL and later the Cincinnati Royals, the franchise moved to Kansas City in 1972. As any baseball fan knows, there already would've been a Kansas City Royals team in place there, so the new pro franchise in town decided to go with "Kings."

San Antonio Spurs – When this Texas franchise was introduced to the ABA in 1967 they were known as the Dallas Chaparrals—a chaparral being a shrub-land habitat populated by several different species of birds—but when the team moved to San Antonio in 1973 they changed. To the San Antonio Gunslingers. That name apparently came off as violent or inappropriate, so "Spurs" was chosen instead. The reason is pretty simple—Texas is the land of cowboys, and what cowboy getup is complete without boots and spurs?

Utah Jazz – This is perhaps the oddest city name and team name combination in the modern NBA, jazz music having very, very little do with Salt Lake City. In fact the name "Jazz" was chosen when the team was based in New Orleans because that particular city has been known to be the "Jazz Capitol of the World." That name, as well as the team's colors and logos, were kept in place when the organization relocated to Utah in 1979.
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http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=13604

Lost One · Aug 16, 2009

Cool articles.

These are always interesting to read.

Shapecity · Aug 17, 2009

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