BOISE, Idaho — THIS DAY IN SPORTS…April 12, 1954:
The Minneapolis Lakers defeat the Syracuse Nationals (the what?) 87-80 in Game 7 of the NBA Finals. And April 12, 1958: The St. Louis Hawks beat the Boston Celtics to win the NBA championship in six games. It was nice when basketball season ended when basketball season should end. Game 7 of the NBA Finals this year is scheduled for June 19. About the time summer begins. Better than the last two COVID-affected seasons, though. The Finals ended on July 20 in 2021 and on October 11 in 2020.
The Syracuse Nationals are now the Philadelphia 76ers, having moved to Philly in 1963 to replace the Warriors when they left for San Francisco (and the Golden State). The other franchises above are easy to track. The Boston Celtics, of course, have never changed, the Minneapolis Lakers are now in Los Angeles, and the St. Louis Hawks are now in Atlanta.
But here are some of the more complicated NBA ancestries. The L.A. Clippers were born as the Buffalo Braves in 1970 (the team had a six-year stopover as the San Diego Clippers from 1978-84). And we can’t forget the San Diego Rockets, who spent all of four seasons in California before moving to Houston in 1971. The Sacramento Kings were originally the Rochester Royals in 1948. They spent their formative years as the Cincinnati Royals before becoming the Kansas City-Omaha Kings in 1972.
Finally, there are the mascot/nickname curiosities. Almost as soon as my sons were aware of the NBA, they asked, “Why are they the Memphis Grizzlies if there are no grizzly bears there?” That team moved in 2001 from Vancouver, where there at least used to be grizzlies. And, “Why are they the Utah Jazz if there’s no jazz there?” (Of course, there is jazz in Salt Lake City, but you know what I mean.) It’s been almost 43 years since the Jazz moved from New Orleans and Bourbon Street, and the nickname has never changed. Hard to believe, but the Jazz were in the Big Easy for only four seasons.
(Tom Scott hosts the Scott Slant segment during the football season on KTVB’s Sunday Sports Extra. He also anchors four sports segments each weekday on 95.3 FM KTIK and one on News/Talk KBOI. His Scott Slant column runs every Wednesday.)
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