Thirty teams and one pointer: spin for a single team, shrink the wheel to a conference or a division of five, or use Elimination until all 30 are gone.
Spin the Wheel NBA Teams: Random Team Generator: how it works
Spin the wheel of NBA teams and one of the 30 stops under the pointer. The list is the 2026-27 league: 15 teams per conference, five in each of six divisions. Each team gets the same slice, 1 in 30. Chips shrink the wheel to one conference or one division.
A random NBA team generator for franchise mode and draft night
For one person this is an NBA team spinner or picker: for a franchise or career save in a basketball video game with a team you did not choose, or to pick a random NBA team to adopt for the season. On draft night Elimination makes it a randomizer: each drawn team comes off, so ten friends finish with ten different teams. The Sacramento Kings, the oldest franchise, founded in 1923, are as likely as the New Orleans Pelicans, counted as a 2002 expansion team.
Shrink the NBA team wheel to a conference or division
A conference chip leaves 15 teams. A division chip leaves five, for example the Southwest: Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets, Memphis Grizzlies, New Orleans Pelicans and San Antonio Spurs. Divisions decide little: playoff places go by conference record, six directly and two through a play-in among the teams placed seventh to tenth. Division rivals do meet four times a season, 16 of the 82 games.
Tips
Franchise twist: once the team lands, draw a name from the random NBA player generator and make him your first trade target.
East against West: tap Eastern Conference for your team, then Western Conference for your opponent's. In the real playoffs that pairing can only happen in the final round.
Want a result for that matchup as well? The score generator has a basketball mode.
Questions and answers
Why does the wheel say LA Clippers?
That is how the league's own team page prints the name, next to Los Angeles Lakers, so the wheel follows it. All 30 names were checked against nba.com/teams and the league's Wikipedia article on 18 September 2026.
Are any teams on the wheel outside the United States?
One. The Toronto Raptors, founded in 1995, are the league's only team in Canada. The Memphis Grizzlies began the same year in Vancouver and moved south in 2001. Names can still mislead: the Golden State Warriors play in San Francisco and the LA Clippers in Inglewood, California.
Can I build a wheel of all NBA teams from another era?
Yes. Tap My list and type one team per line: the Seattle SuperSonics, the Vancouver Grizzlies, the New Jersey Nets or the Buffalo Braves. All four franchises are still on the main wheel, as the Thunder, Grizzlies, Nets and Clippers. For past players, use the all-time NBA player generator.
Boston CelticsAtlantic Division. Plays in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded with the league in 1946 and has never moved.
Brooklyn NetsAtlantic Division. Plays in Brooklyn, New York. Founded in 1967 as the New Jersey Americans, joined from the ABA in the 1976 merger and moved to Brooklyn in 2012.
New York KnicksAtlantic Division. Plays in New York, New York. Founded with the league in 1946 and still in its first city.
Philadelphia 76ersAtlantic Division. Plays in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Joined in 1949 as the Syracuse Nationals and moved to Philadelphia in 1963.
Toronto RaptorsAtlantic Division. Plays in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in 1995. The league's only team in Canada.
Central Division 5
Chicago BullsCentral Division. Plays in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1966 and has played in Chicago ever since.
Cleveland CavaliersCentral Division. Plays in Cleveland, Ohio. Founded in 1970, the same year as Portland.
Detroit PistonsCentral Division. Plays in Detroit, Michigan. Founded in 1937, joined in 1948 as the Fort Wayne Pistons and moved to Detroit in 1957.
Indiana PacersCentral Division. Plays in Indianapolis, Indiana. Founded in 1967 in the ABA and joined in the 1976 merger.
Milwaukee BucksCentral Division. Plays in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Founded in 1968, the same year as Phoenix.
Southeast Division 5
Atlanta HawksSoutheast Division. Plays in Atlanta, Georgia. Joined in 1949 as the Tri-Cities Blackhawks, then played in Milwaukee and St. Louis before moving to Atlanta in 1968.
Charlotte HornetsSoutheast Division. Plays in Charlotte, North Carolina. Founded in 1988. Charlotte had no team from 2002 to 2004, came back as the Bobcats and took the Hornets name again in 2014.
Miami HeatSoutheast Division. Plays in Miami, Florida. Founded in 1988 and has played in Miami ever since.
Orlando MagicSoutheast Division. Plays in Orlando, Florida. Founded in 1989, the same year as Minnesota.
Washington WizardsSoutheast Division. Plays in Washington, D.C. Founded in Chicago in 1961, moved to Baltimore in 1963 and to the Washington area in 1973. Called the Wizards since 1997.
Northwest Division 5
Denver NuggetsNorthwest Division. Plays in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1967 in the ABA and joined in the 1976 merger.
Minnesota TimberwolvesNorthwest Division. Plays in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Founded in 1989, the same year as Orlando.
Oklahoma City ThunderNorthwest Division. Plays in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Founded in 1967 as the Seattle SuperSonics and moved to Oklahoma City in 2008.
Portland Trail BlazersNorthwest Division. Plays in Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1970 and has played in Portland ever since.
Utah JazzNorthwest Division. Plays in Salt Lake City, Utah. Founded in 1974 as the New Orleans Jazz and moved to Utah in 1979.
Pacific Division 5
Golden State WarriorsPacific Division. Plays in San Francisco, California. Founded with the league in 1946 as the Philadelphia Warriors and moved to San Francisco in 1962.
LA ClippersPacific Division. Plays in Inglewood, California. Founded in 1970 as the Buffalo Braves, moved to San Diego in 1978 and to Los Angeles in 1984.
Los Angeles LakersPacific Division. Plays in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1947, joined in 1948 as the Minneapolis Lakers and moved to Los Angeles in 1960.
Phoenix SunsPacific Division. Plays in Phoenix, Arizona. Founded in 1968 and has played in Phoenix ever since.
Sacramento KingsPacific Division. Plays in Sacramento, California. The oldest franchise in the league, founded in 1923. Joined in 1948 as the Rochester Royals and reached Sacramento in 1985 by way of Cincinnati and Kansas City.
Southwest Division 5
Dallas MavericksSouthwest Division. Plays in Dallas, Texas. Founded in 1980 and has played in Dallas ever since.
Houston RocketsSouthwest Division. Plays in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1967 as the San Diego Rockets and moved to Houston in 1971.
Memphis GrizzliesSouthwest Division. Plays in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1995 as the Vancouver Grizzlies and moved to Memphis in 2001.
New Orleans PelicansSouthwest Division. Plays in New Orleans, Louisiana. Counted as a 2002 expansion team. Played as the New Orleans Hornets until 2013.
San Antonio SpursSouthwest Division. Plays in San Antonio, Texas. Founded in 1967 in the ABA and joined in the 1976 merger.
How this list was compiled: All 30 teams of the 2026-27 season in two conferences and six divisions of five. Team names, conferences and divisions were checked on 2026-09-18 against the league's own list at nba.com/teams, and against the 'Overview of NBA teams' table at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Basketball_Association (raw wikitext) read the same day; the two lists agree on all 30 teams and all six divisions. Names follow the league's page, which prints LA Clippers where Wikipedia prints Los Angeles Clippers. Home cities, founding years and the year each franchise joined the league come from the Wikipedia table and its notes (the 1948 and 1949 arrivals from the NBL, the 1976 ABA merger, and the Charlotte and New Orleans history). Move years come from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_relocated_NBA_teams, read the same day. 'Plays in' is the location column of the Wikipedia table, so the Clippers are listed in Inglewood. No arena names, records, colors or artwork are used. Names are plain text used to describe the wheel. Re-checked every September, and sooner if the league announces expansion or a move. Licence: Facts compiled from the sources named above; the selection and wording are ours.