The New Orleans Pelicans are an American professional basketball team based in New Orleans. The Pelicans compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference. The team plays its home games at Smoothie King Center.
The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded in 1968 as an expansion team, and play home games at Fiserv Forum. Former U.S. Senator Herb Kohl was the long-time owner of the team, but on April 16, 2014, a group led by billionaire hedge fund managers Wes Edens and Marc Lasry agreed to purchase a majority interest in the team from Kohl, a sale which was approved by the owners of the NBA and its Board of Governors one month later on May 16. The team is managed by Jon Horst, the team's former director of basketball operations, who took over for John Hammond.
The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference. The team plays its home games at the Toyota Center, located in Downtown Houston. Throughout its history, Houston has won two NBA championships and four Western Conference titles. It was established in 1967 as the San Diego Rockets, an expansion team originally based in San Diego. In 1971, the Rockets relocated to Houston.
The Memphis Grizzlies are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference. The Grizzlies play their home games at FedExForum. The Grizzlies are currently the only team in the major professional North American sports leagues based in the city of Memphis, and the only professional basketball team in the state of Tennessee.
The Portland Trail Blazers are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference. The team played its home games in the Memorial Coliseum before moving to Moda Center in 1995. The franchise entered the league as an expansion team in 1970, and has enjoyed a strong following: from 1977 through 1995, the team sold out 814 consecutive home games, the longest such streak in American major professional sports at the time, and which has only since been surpassed by the Boston Red Sox and the Dallas Mavericks. The Trail Blazers are the only NBA team based in the Pacific Northwest, after the Vancouver Grizzlies relocated to Memphis and became the Memphis Grizzlies in 2001 and the Seattle SuperSonics relocated to Oklahoma City and became the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2008.
The Trenton Thunder are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Trenton, New Jersey, and play their home games at Trenton Thunder Ballpark.
Paycom Center is an arena located in Downtown Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States. It opened in 2002 and since 2008 has served as the home venue for the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s Oklahoma City Thunder. Previously, the arena was home to the Oklahoma City Blazers of the Central Hockey League (CHL) from 2002 until the team folded in July 2009, and the Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz of AF2 from 2004 to 2009 when the team moved to the Cox Convention Center. In addition to its use as a sports venue, Paycom Center hosts concerts, family and social events, conventions, ice shows, and civic events. The arena is owned by the city and operated by the SMG property management company and has 18,203 seats in the basketball configuration, 15,152 for hockey, and can seat up to 16,591 for concerts.
Squatch was the team mascot for the Seattle SuperSonics, a National Basketball Association (NBA) franchise formerly based in Seattle, Washington. Between his 1993 debut and the team's relocation to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, in 2008, Squatch appeared at more than 175 events annually, and was with the organization during their run to the 1996 NBA Finals.
Joseph Leynard Smith is an American former professional basketball player. A power forward, he played for 12 teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA) during his 16-year career.
The Seattle SuperSonics were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Division (1967–1970), and later as a member of the Western Conference's Pacific (1970–2004) and Northwest (2004–2008) divisions. After the 2007–08 season ended, the team relocated to Oklahoma City, where they now play as the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference. The team plays its home games at Paycom Center.
Professional Basketball Club LLC is an investment group headed by Clay Bennett that owns the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s Oklahoma City Thunder franchise and the Thunder's NBA G League affiliate Oklahoma City Blue. The group also owned the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)'s Seattle Storm franchise from 2006 to 2008. The PBC then sold the Storm to local Seattle owners, before relocating the SuperSonics to Oklahoma City.
Hurricane Katrina devastated the city of New Orleans on August 29, 2005, and caused extensive damage to the New Orleans Arena. As a result, the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s New Orleans Hornets were unable to play any home games at the Arena for both the entire 2005–06 and 2006–07 seasons, and temporarily relocated to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, to become the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets. After playing the majority of home games for both the 2005–06 and 2006–07 seasons at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City, the Hornets returned to New Orleans for the 2007–08 season.
The 2010–11 Oklahoma City Thunder season was the 3rd season of the franchise's existence in Oklahoma City as a member of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The franchise built on its prior success from the previous year, winning 55 regular-season games and reaching the Western Conference finals – in the process becoming the second-youngest team ever to do so.
Richard Cho is an American basketball executive who currently serves as the Vice President of Basketball Strategy of the Memphis Grizzlies of the National Basketball Association. Prior to the Grizzlies, Cho was the general manager of the Portland Trail Blazers and the Charlotte Hornets, and the assistant general manager of the Oklahoma City Thunder. Cho was the first Asian American general manager in NBA history.
Michael Peter Muscala is an American former professional basketball player. He played 11 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Atlanta Hawks, Philadelphia 76ers, Los Angeles Lakers, Oklahoma City Thunder, Boston Celtics, Washington Wizards, and Detroit Pistons. He played college basketball for the Bucknell Bison.
The Oklahoma City Thunder is an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It was established in 2008 when the Sonics left Seattle.
The Thunder Radio Network provides radio play-by-play and coverage of Oklahoma City Thunder games to stations mostly located in the state of Oklahoma. The primary station is WWLS-FM 98.1 "The Sports Animal" in Oklahoma City; many of the affiliate stations also carry other WWLS programs.
Lindy Waters III is a Kiowa-American professional basketball player for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Oklahoma State Cowboys. He was named a finalist for the NBA 2023–24 Social Justice Champion Award for the work his foundation does to support Native American youth through sports, health and wellness.
