From 65438 to 0948, Moline in Shidao, Illinois and Davenport, Iowa, then known as the "Three Cities", were approved by the National Basketball Association (NBL) to form a team. The name of this team "Black Hawk" sounds like the name of the Chicago hockey team, but it is actually taken from the chief of the Indian Sook tribe "Black Hawk".

195 1, the team moved to milwaukee, and the team name was removed, leaving only "eagle". Later, the team moved to St. Louis and finally settled in Atlanta at 1968, but the name of the team remained unchanged.

2. Boston Celtics

From 65438 to 0946, walter brown, the owner of a Boston team, personally chose "Celtic" as the team name for his team belonging to the National Basketball Association (BAA). At that time, other alternative names were Cyclone, Olympus and Unicorn-you read it right, it was "Unicorn". Although the team's marketing staff reminded him that "no Irish-style team in Boston has won his X championship", Brown himself likes this name with a tradition of winning-in the previous twenties, new york "new york Celtics" was a successful professional team.

3. Charlotte bobcats

In 2004, Charlotte's new NBA team held a nomination contest. The three finalists were Bobcats, Dragons and Flying. Bob Johnson, the owner of the team at that time, admitted that he liked the winning team name "Bobcats"-if his own name was "Dragon", he might not be so happy. But some players in the league don't take this name seriously. Steve kerr said, "I think this name sounds like a women's softball team. I think it may be because there was no good name to choose later, so I chose this team name for the general in the scorpion. " Ed Tap Tapscott, CEO of Bobcats, argued, "I think the athletic ability of cats conforms to the concept of NBA. Bobcats are native to western North Carolina. Its name has never been used in professional sports. In addition, I think this name can also be a topic of gossip. " Charlotte also considered using "Puma" as the team name-a team belonging to the American Basketball Association (ABA) in North Carolina used this name in the 1970s.

(Note: The current owner of the Bobcats is Jordan. Steve kerr is the third scorer of the Bulls' second consecutive championship. Later in his career, he went to the Spurs and retired as the general manager of the Suns. TNT's current NBA commentator is very popular-it is conceivable. He can be said to lack the experience of the head coach. There should be an NBA team asking him to be the head coach in the future. Besides, he is Jewish. )

4.chicago bulls

According to Chicago Bulls Encyclopedia, Richard Klein, the owner of the team, held a brainstorm at 1966 to discuss the name of the new team. He hopes that the team name he chooses can describe the fact that Chicago is the meat capital of the world. Klein is thinking about matador and Spanish matador. Suddenly, his little son shouted, "Dad, that's a group of bulls!" " The following famous story is somewhat suspicious.

5. Cleveland Cavaliers

On 1970, in a survey conducted by Cleveland Truth Dealers, fans voted "Cavaliers" as the team name. The final shortlist also includes Jay, Woodman, Tower and President. The name "President" may be a reminder that all seven former American presidents were born in Ohio-second only to Virginia. Jerry Tomko, who suggested "Cavaliers" as the name of the team in the nomination contest, wrote: "Cavaliers represent a group of fearless people who abide by the creed of' No matter what happens, never surrender'." By the way, Jerry Tomcoe's son Brett has been a pitcher in Major League Baseball since 1997.

6. Dallas Mavericks

A radio station in Dallas held a competition to name the team and recommended the final shortlist to the team owner Donald Carter. Donald Carter finally chose "calf" among cowboys, couriers and calves. In this way, 4 1 fans who proposed "Mavericks" as the team name each got two tickets for the first game of the season. One of the fans, Carla Springer, also won season tickets for that season. Springer is a freelance writer. He said that the name "calf" represented "the independent and confident style of Dallas people". For mark cuban, the current owner of the team, this style is naturally more appropriate.

Mark cuban made a fortune in the wave of Internet technology at the beginning of this century. He has a great personality. No matter what the team's situation is, his confidence is always bursting. Nowitzki is hardly the most famous figure in the Mavericks, but he. I think he is a typical American rather than a typical one. To some extent, he is a representative figure of American modern western dream. In addition, although Dallas is not as good as Boston, it is also one of the science and technology centers in the United States. )

7. Denver Nuggets

Denver has a team belonging to the American Basketball Association (ABA), originally named "Rockets". 1974 when this team is going to invest in the NBA, they need a new team name, but because the NBA team in Houston has already used "Rocket" as the team name. As a result, the name "Nugget", which symbolizes Denver's mining tradition and the Colorado Gold Rush in the late 1950s of 19, stood out from the competition and became the new name of the team.

8. Detroit Piston

The history of the piston can be traced back to fort wayne, Indiana, when its name was "Czollner Piston". What is a Czollner piston? This is a kind of piston produced by Fred Czollner, who was the boss of the team at that time. Fred Czollner named the team after his own company. 1957, when the team moved to Detroit, Fred Zollner removed his name from the team name, but still kept the word "piston". Considering that Detroit, where the team is located, has the nickname "Motor City", the name "Piston" is really appropriate.

9. Golden State Warriors

The American Basketball Association (BAA) played its first season in 1946 ~ 47. The Philadelphia Warriors won the championship this season. 196 1 ~ 62 season, the Warriors moved from Philadelphia to San Francisco, and the team name remained unchanged. 197 1 year, the Warriors moved to Auckland at the other end of the Bay Area, and the team name became "Golden State Warriors".

10. Houston rockets

The hometown of Houston Rockets was originally in San Diego, California, and its team name "Rocket" came from a nomination contest-this team name can be regarded as embodying the urban theme style of "a city in motion" in San Diego. Moreover, the Atlas rocket using liquid fuel is indeed made in San Diego. 197 1 year, the team moved to Houston, and the team name "Rocket" was retained because it has a more veritable name-Houston is the location of a space center under NASA.

(Note: Atlas rocket is an American Hercules rocket series. The space center established by NASA in Houston is Johnson Space Center, or JSC for short. )

1 1. Indiana Pacers

According to Michael Leo Donovan's book "Yankees vs. Fighting Irish: What's Behind Your Favorite Team's Name", the name of "Pacers" was decided by the team's initial investors including lawyer Richard Tinkham in 1967. The name also shows the rich and colorful history of carriage racing and racing in Indiana. "Pacing" describes a major footwork in horse-drawn carriage races, and pace cars are used in car races, such as Indianapolis 500.

(Note: For a detailed explanation of harness racing, you can search Wikipedia or the answer. )

12. Los Angeles Clippers

1978, the buffalo warriors under the NBA moved to San Diego, and the team owner wanted to give the team a new name. They decided to take "Clipper" as the team name-this is a kind of ship popular in19th century. In 1970s, San Diego was always the home of conquerors and sailing teams under the American Basketball Association (ABA). In the season of 198 1 ~ 82, donald sterling bought this team and moved it to Los Angeles in 1984. Donald sterling lost face in San Diego-only kept the team name "Clippers".

13. Los Angeles Lakers

How many natural lakes are there in Los Angeles? The answer is short: no more than 10000. Before the 1947 season, two investors moved the Detroit Gems team affiliated to the National Basketball Association (NBL) to Minneapolis. They want to give the team a new name to suit their new home. Considering that Minnesota is called "the land of thousands of lakes", they decided to use "Lakers"

(Lakers) "as the team name. Before the 1960 season, the team moved to Los Angeles, but the team name remained-in part to maintain the tradition established by the team in Minnesota.

14. Memphis grizzlies

1994, Vancouver was allowed to form a team to participate in this season's competition. The owner of the team intended to name the team Mounties, but both the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the fans opposed the name. As a result, the team management had to keep looking for the team name. The local newspaper in Vancouver hosted a naming contest, which was supervised by club officials. Finally, between the names of grizzly bear and crow, the local species "grizzly bear" was chosen as the team name. The team moved to Memphis before the 2002-03 season. FedEx was prepared to rename the team express at a price of $65,438+$200 million per year, but it was rejected by the NBA.

15. Miami Heat

1986 10, the owners of Miami New Army chose "Heat" submitted by Stephanie Fried as the team name from more than 20,000 names participating in the nomination contest. Other shortlisted names include sharks, tornadoes, beaches and barracuda.

16. Milwaukee Bucks

Considering Wisconsin's hunting tradition, it is not surprising that Bucks won the team nomination battle from 65438 to 0968. As far as the name of an animal is concerned, the choice of fans may be even worse-skunk is also one of the names to choose.

17. Minnesota Timberwolves

1986, the parent company of the Minnesota New Army chose the Timberwolves as the team name through a naming competition. Of the 842 city councils in Minnesota, 333 participated in the final vote. As a result, the name "Timberwolves" beat Polars 2-0. Fan Tim Pope was the first person to nominate "Timberwolves" as the team name. He won the opportunity to visit the NBA All-Star Game. In fact, Pope submitted a total of 65,438+00 team names-including flint guns. He told reporters, "I think a name consisting of two words will win." The most popular name in the nomination contest is actually Blizzard, but the team hopes that the team name can show the uniqueness of Minnesota. An official of the team said: "Minnesota is the only state among the 48 States in the United States where timberwolves roam freely in groups."

(Note: The original 48 states refer to other states in the United States except Alaska and Hawaii, the so-called "lower 48 states". )

18. New Jersey Nets

From 65438 to 0967, New Jersey Americans joined the American Basketball Association (ABA). In the following season, 1968, the team moved to new york and its name was changed to new york Nets, which easily rhymed with the names of Jets and Mets, two other professional teams in new york. 1977 ~ 78 Before the season, the team moved back to New Jersey, but the team name remained unchanged. It is said that in 1994, the Nets once considered changing the team name to swamp dragon or fire dragon in order to stimulate the ball market.

The New Jersey Nets are now the Brooklyn Nets. )

19. New Orleans Hornets

As most NBA fans know, the New Orleans Hornets were originally in Charlotte and stayed in Oklahoma City for a while. But few people know that this team was almost named "Spirit" at first. 1987, George Shinn and his team announced that they would use "soul" as the team name of Charlotte's new army. As a result, fans are not happy. Because some fans associate this name with

PTL club is connected. PTL Club is an evangelical Christian TV program in Charlotte. Because of its fraudulent fund-raising activities, this program became the main character in the investigation report made by Charlotte Observer. Shane decided to sponsor another naming contest, allowing fans to vote among six names. Of the more than 9,000 votes, The Hornet

"Wasp" defeated the other five by an absolute advantage: knight, puma, elf, crown and star. Later, Shane noticed that the name "wasp" had some important significance in history: it is said that during the American Revolutionary War, a British commander compared Charlotte and its surrounding areas to the nest of wasps.

The New Orleans Hornets changed to the New Orleans Pelicans this year. )

20. new york Knicks.

The word "knickerbockers" was specially designed for a pair of trousers worn by Dutch colonists in the New World during the17th century, which rolled below the knee. Many of these colonists settled in new york and its surrounding areas. Accompanied by this, a cartoon pattern with the image of daddy bloomers has become a famous symbol of new york. From 65438 to 0845, the first baseball team was organized, and its name was "knickerbocker Nine ers". 1946, when new york was approved to form a team affiliated to the National Basketball Association (BAA), people remembered the name again. It is reported that Ned Irish, the founder of the team, decided to name the team Knickerbockers.

2 1. Oklahoma City Thunder

After the 2007-08 season, the seattle supersonics team moved to Oklahoma City. The fans voted for the finalists from 64 possible team names. Finally, Thunder defeated traitors, distorters and barons, and gained almost unanimous recognition. After the team name was announced, the Thunder set a record for the first day of ticket sales. Team President Clay Bennett told reporters: "All kinds of good lightning patterns and slogans symbolizing thunder (designed by fans), they have used thunder in basketball games." The original team name "Supersonic" has been used for an airplane, which is called "Supersonic Transport". This plane is made by Boeing-Boeing has a very big factory in Seattle.

Seattle, the hometown of Boeing, Microsoft and Starbucks, should be a very rich city. In recent years, some investors have tried to rebuild an NBA team in Seattle. )

22. Orlando Magic

Because it is possible to establish a professional team in Oakland, the Orlando Sentinel sponsored a nomination match. Therefore, the name Challenger is the most popular-it also symbolizes the space shuttle Challenger that exploded in 1986. Other names are Florida man, Juice, Orbit, Astronaut, Diver and Sentinel. However, the Nomination Competition Committee (including the management of Orlando) discussed these team names again and finally decided to use Magic as the team name. The name is obviously a tribute to Disneyland, which is the main attraction of Orlando, a city rich in tourism resources.

23. Philadelphia 76ers.

1963, the Syracuse national team moved to Brothers' Love, and the team was renamed as "76ers" to symbolize the signing of 1776 Philadelphia Declaration of Independence.

24. Phoenix Suns

1968, Jerry Colangelo, the then 28-year-old team manager, decided to name his team through a nomination contest. Among the 28,000 contestants, colangelo first chose Scorpio, Rattlesnake, Sun and Thunderbird as finalists, and finally chose Sun. A lucky fan who participated in the competition won 1000 dollars and season tickets. The competition also includes some puzzling names, such as white-winged pigeon, sun lover, Poobahs, dude and cactus giant.

Jerry Colangelo is a famous Jerry Colangelo. Now he is the general manager of the American national team. At that time, the team's translation name was Phoenix Suns-not Phoenix. Time is limited, and those "inexplicable" names will not be explained. )

25. Portland Trailblazers

1970, the NBA approved the construction of a team in Portland. The management of the team then announced the nomination competition. Among the more than 10 thousand names participating in the competition, it is suggested to use "pioneer" the most, but because of the nearby Lewis &; Clark University (Lewis &; Clark College is already using this name, so it is excluded. another

A popular name is also "Pioneer", and its pattern is considered to symbolize that five players from the same team compete with five players from another team.

26. Sacramento Kings

The Kings' "Long Mai" can be traced back to the establishment of the National Basketball League (NBL) and the Rochester Royal Team in 1945. 1957, after the team moved to Cincinnati, it still retained the team name "Royal". 1972, the team became the Kansas City-Omaha Kings through the nomination. 1985, the team moved to Sacramento, California again, but the team name remained.

27. San Antonio Spurs

1973, a group of investors in San Antonio bought the Dallas Chaparrals team from the American Basketball Association (ABA). They want to change the team name to San Antonio Gunners immediately. However, before the Gunners played their first game in their new home in San Antonio, the team's group renamed the team "Spurs". It is reported that the name was obtained through a nomination contest. This may just be a coincidence: Red mccombs, one of the team's major investors, was born in the Spurs, Texas.

28. Toronto Raptors

Before preparing to form the team, the parent company of this team in Toronto conducted intensive market research in Canada on 1994, and also held a national voting activity, so that the team management could have some team names to choose from. Due to the influence of the movie Jurassic Park, the Raptors, which was deeply loved by the public, finally defeated Bobcats and Dragons to become the team name.

29. Utah jazz

Don't get me wrong, Utah is not famous for jazz. Jazz was founded in New Orleans on 1974. /kloc-0 moved to salt lake city, Utah in 1979, and the team management decided to continue to use the original team name. The name "Jazz" originally came from the team's nomination. Other names were shortlisted at that time: Duke, Crescent Moon, Pilot, Cajun, Blues, Delta and Knight. Although the name "Cazin" may be worse than "Jazz", the name "Delta" is likely to become the name of the team after the team moves to Salt Lake City (Delta Airlines of the same name has a regional hub in Salt Lake City).

(Note: The original home of Jazz was Delta Center Arena sponsored by Delta Air Lines. After the sponsorship expired, the arena was renamed Energy Solutions. )

30. Washington Wizards

In the early 1990s, Abe Pollin, the owner of the Washington Bullets, was nervous about the connection between the team name and gun violence. When his friend and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated, Pauline decided to do something. He announced that he would rename the team. (Dan Steinberg of D.C. Sportbog magazine once wrote a very detailed history about the team's name change, and questioned the influence of Rabin's death on the team's name change. )

In the next nomination contest, fans began to vote on the final name. These names include wizard, dragon, courier, stallion and seal. 1997 ~ 98 Before the season, "Wizards" became the final team name. But not long after, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)

The chairman of the Washington branch suggested that the name of the team "Wizards" would remind people of the notorious Klan. The team's previous team names were Packers and Zephyr.

(Note: The English word "Wizards" for "Wizards" also means Wizards. Maybe the image of the wizard in white is close to the Klan. )