Southwest Division (NBA)

Southwest Division (NBA)

The Southwest Division is one of the three divisions in the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The division consists of five teams, the Dallas Mavericks, the Houston Rockets, the Memphis Grizzlies, the New Orleans Pelicans and the San Antonio Spurs. Three of the teams, the Mavericks, Rockets, and Spurs, are based in Texas.

The division was created at the start of the 2004–05 season, when the league expanded from 29 to 30 teams with the addition of the Charlotte Bobcats. The league realigned itself into three divisions in each conference. The Southwest Division began with five inaugural members, the Mavericks, the Rockets, the Grizzlies, the Hornets (now Pelicans) and the Spurs. The Mavericks, the Rockets, the Grizzlies and the Spurs joined from the now-defunct Midwest Division, while the Hornets joined from the Central Division. All five teams, including the Hornets who spent one season in the Midwest Division as the Charlotte Hornets, are former Midwest Division teams.

The Spurs have won the most Southwest Division titles with six. The Mavericks have won two titles and the Hornets have won one title. The Rockets and the Grizzlies have never won the Southwest Division title. Three NBA champions came from the Southwest Division. The Spurs won the NBA championship in 2005 and 2007, while the Mavericks won in 2011. In the 2007–08 season, all four teams that qualified for the playoffs each had more than 50 wins. In the 2010–11 season, all teams in the division had winning percentages above 0.500 (50%). The division has sent four of its five teams to the playoffs on four occasions, most recently in 2010–11. The most recent division champions are the San Antonio Spurs.