Southwest Division (NBA)
| Conference | Western Conference |
|---|---|
| League | National Basketball Association |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Inaugural season | 2004–05 season |
| Teams | |
| No. of teams | 5 |
| Championships | |
| Most recent champion(s) | Dallas Mavericks (3rd title) |
| Most titles | San Antonio Spurs (9 titles) |
The Southwest Division is one of the three divisions in the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The division is located in the South Central United States and 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.
Consisting of some of the most historically competitive teams in the NBA's Western Conference, 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.[1] The Mavericks, the Rockets, the Grizzlies and the Spurs joined from the now-defunct Midwest Division, while the Pelicans joined from the Central Division.
The Spurs have been dominant since the division's inaugural season, having won the most Southwest Division titles with nine. The Rockets have won four, the Mavericks have won three, and the Pelicans have won one title. The Grizzlies have never won the Southwest Division title. Four NBA champions came from the Southwest Division. The Spurs won the NBA championship in 2005, 2007 and 2014, 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 and the 2014–15 season, all teams in the division had winning percentages above 0.500 (50%). In the 2014–15 season, the Southwest Division saw every one of its teams making the playoffs, a feat achieved only twice in the last 30 years.[2] The most recent division champions are the Dallas Mavericks.
2020–21 standings[]
| Southwest Division | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div | GP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| y – Dallas Mavericks | 42 | 30 | .583 | 10.0 | 21–15 | 21–15 | 7–5 | 72 |
| x – Memphis Grizzlies | 38 | 34 | .528 | 14.0 | 18–18 | 20–16 | 6–6 | 72 |
| San Antonio Spurs | 33 | 39 | .458 | 19.0 | 14–22 | 19–17 | 6–6 | 72 |
| New Orleans Pelicans | 31 | 41 | .431 | 21.0 | 18–18 | 13–23 | 6–6 | 72 |
| Houston Rockets | 17 | 55 | .236 | 35.0 | 9–27 | 8–28 | 5–7 | 72 |
Notes
- z – Clinched home court advantage for the entire playoffs
- x – Clinched playoff spot
- x – Clinched playoff spot
- pb – Clinched play-in spot
- o – Eliminated from playoff contention
Teams[]
| Team | City | Year | From |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joined | |||
| Dallas Mavericks | Dallas | 2004 | Midwest Division |
| Houston Rockets | Houston | 2004 | Midwest Division |
| Memphis Grizzlies (2001–present) Vancouver Grizzlies (1995–2001) |
Memphis, Tennessee Vancouver, British Columbia |
2004 | Midwest Division |
| New Orleans Pelicans (2013–present) New Orleans Hornets (2002–2005, 2007–2013) New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets (2005–2007)[a] |
New Orleans New Orleans and Oklahoma City[a] |
2004 | Central Division |
| San Antonio Spurs | San Antonio, Texas | 2004 | Midwest Division |
Division champions[]
| ^ | Had or tied for the best regular season record for that season |
| Season | Team | Record | Playoffs result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004–05 | San Antonio Spurs | 59–23 (.720) | Won NBA Finals |
| 2005–06 | San Antonio Spurs | 63–19 (.768) | Lost Conference Semifinals |
| 2006–07 | Dallas Mavericks^ | 67–15 (.817) | Lost First Round |
| 2007–08 | New Orleans Hornets | 56–26 (.683) | Lost Conference Semifinals |
| 2008–09 | San Antonio Spurs | 54–28 (.659) | Lost First Round |
| 2009–10 | Dallas Mavericks | 55–27 (.671) | Lost First Round |
| 2010–11 | San Antonio Spurs | 61–21 (.744) | Lost First Round |
| 2011–12[b] | San Antonio Spurs^ | 50–16 (.758) | Lost Conference Finals |
| 2012–13 | San Antonio Spurs | 58–24 (.707) | Lost NBA Finals |
| 2013–14 | San Antonio Spurs^ | 62–20 (.756) | Won NBA Finals |
| 2014–15 | Houston Rockets | 56–26 (.683) | Lost Conference Finals |
| 2015–16 | San Antonio Spurs | 67–15 (.817) | Lost Conference Semifinals |
| 2016–17 | San Antonio Spurs | 61–21 (.744) | Lost Conference Finals |
| 2017–18 | Houston Rockets^ | 65–17 (.793) | Lost Conference Finals |
| 2018–19 | Houston Rockets | 53–29 (.793) | Lost Conference Semifinals |
| 2019–20[c] | Houston Rockets | 44–28 (.611) | Lost Conference Semifinals |
| 2020–21[d] | Dallas Mavericks | 42–30 (.583) | Lost First Round |
Titles by team[]
| Team | Titles | Season(s) won |
|---|---|---|
| San Antonio Spurs | 9 | 2004–05, 2005–06, 2008–09, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2015–16, 2016–17 |
| Houston Rockets | 4 | 2014–15, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20 |
| Dallas Mavericks | 3 | 2006–07, 2009–10, 2020–21 |
| New Orleans Hornets/Pelicans | 1 | 2007–08 |
| Memphis Grizzlies | 0 |
Season results[]
| ^ | Denotes team that won the NBA championships |
| + | Denotes team that won the Conference Finals, but lost the NBA Finals |
| * | Denotes team that qualified for the NBA Playoffs |
| Season | Team (record) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | |||
| |||||||
| 2004–05 | San Antonio^ (59–23) | Dallas* (58–24) | Houston* (51–31) | Memphis* (45–37) | New Orleans (18–64) | ||
| 2005–06 | San Antonio* (63–19) | Dallas+ (60–22) | Memphis* (49–33) | New Orleans/OKC[a] (38–44) | Houston (34–48) | ||
| 2006–07 | Dallas* (67–15) | San Antonio^ (58–24) | Houston* (52–30) | New Orleans/OKC[a] (39–43) | Memphis (22–60) | ||
| 2007–08 | New Orleans* (56–26) | San Antonio* (56–26) | Houston* (55–27) | Dallas* (51–31) | Memphis (22–60) | ||
| 2008–09 | San Antonio* (54–28) | Houston* (53–29) | Dallas* (50–32) | New Orleans* (49–33) | Memphis (24–58) | ||
| 2009–10 | Dallas* (55–27) | San Antonio* (50–32) | Houston (42–40) | Memphis (40–42) | New Orleans (37–45) | ||
| 2010–11 | San Antonio* (61–21) | Dallas^ (57–25) | New Orleans* (46–36) | Memphis* (46–36) | Houston (43–39) | ||
| 2011–12[b] | San Antonio* (50–16) | Memphis* (41–25) | Dallas* (36–30) | Houston (34–32) | New Orleans (21–45) | ||
| 2012–13 | San Antonio+ (58–24) | Memphis* (56–26) | Houston* (45–37) | Dallas (41–41) | New Orleans (27–55) | ||
| |||||||
| 2013–14 | San Antonio^ (62–20) | Houston* (54–28) | Memphis* (50–32) | Dallas* (49–33) | New Orleans (34–48) | ||
| 2014–15 | Houston* (56–26) | Memphis* (55–27) | San Antonio* (55–27) | Dallas* (50–32) | New Orleans* (45–37) | ||
| 2015–16 | San Antonio* (67–15) | Dallas* (42–40) | Memphis* (42–40) | Houston* (41–41) | New Orleans (30–52) | ||
| 2016–17 | San Antonio* (61–21) | Houston* (55–27) | Memphis* (43–39) | New Orleans (34–48) | Dallas (33–49) | ||
| 2017–18 | Houston* (65–17) | New Orleans* (48–34) | San Antonio* (47–35) | Dallas (24–58) | Memphis (22–60) | ||
| 2018–19 | Houston* (53–29) | San Antonio* (48–34) | Memphis (33–49) | New Orleans (33–49) | Dallas (33–49) | ||
| 2019–20[c] | Houston* (44–28) | Dallas* (43–32) | Memphis (34–39) | San Antonio (32–39) | New Orleans (30–42) | ||
| 2020–21[d] | Dallas* (42–30) | Memphis* (38–34) | San Antonio (33–39) | New Orleans (31–41) | Houston (17–55) | ||
Rivalries[]
Houston Rockets vs. San Antonio Spurs[]
Dallas Mavericks vs. Houston Rockets[]
Notes[]
- a 1 2 3 The New Orleans Hornets temporarily relocated to Oklahoma City due to the effect of Hurricane Katrina. The majority of home games were played in Oklahoma City, while a few remained in New Orleans.
- b 1 2 Because of a lockout, the season did not start until December 25, 2011, and all 30 teams played a shortened 66-game regular season schedule.[3]
- c 1 2 Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 82-game regular season schedule was cancelled on March 11, 2020. The season was restarted on July 30 under an eight-game seeding format in the 2020 NBA Bubble to conclude the regular season and determine playoff berths. Games were played inside the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida.
- d 1 2 Season shortened to 72 games due to COVID-19 pandemic.
References[]
- General
- "NBA & ABA League Index". Basketball-Reference.com.
- Specific
- ^ "Expansion Bobcats prompt change". ESPN.com. November 17, 2003. Retrieved May 29, 2011.
- ^ "Southwest Division's historical dominance". ESPN.com. April 15, 2015. Retrieved April 16, 2015.
- ^ Jenkins, Lee (December 5, 2011). "'tis The Season". CNN Sports Illustrated. Time Warner Company. Retrieved April 30, 2012.
External links[]
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Categories:
- Western Conference (NBA)
- National Basketball Association divisions
- Dallas Mavericks
- Houston Rockets
- Memphis Grizzlies
- New Orleans Pelicans
- San Antonio Spurs
- Sports in the Western United States
- Sports in the Southern United States