Big Z Man 1990
Registered User
In 1995, the NBA expanded to two Canadian cities, Toronto and Vancouver. The latter nominally should have gone in the Pacific Division, but Phoenix did not want to move to the Midwest Division, despite the fact they were there before and that they would have two other teams in the Four Corners states, Denver and Utah, as division rivals.
This forced Vancouver to be put in the Midwest, which helped doom the franchise because they were not in the same division as regional rivals Portland and Seattle.
But of course, the NBA could have solved this by going to a 6-division alignment in the 1990s soon after the expansion into Canada.
The Eastern Conference and the Pacific Division would essentially be the current alignment, while the Northwest Division would have consisted of Denver, Portland, Seattle, Utah and Vancouver, and the Midwest Division consisting of Minnesota and the Texas teams, with a spot open for a 30th team - a revival of the Spirits of St. Louis (under the same ownership) perhaps?
This realignment could have very much changed the course of NBA history. The Grizzlies might never have left Vancouver, and Charlotte might never have gone away for 2 seasons, which of course would mean no Memphis or New Orleans, and if things worked out, no Oklahoma City either.
And possibly, the Midwest and Central Divisions could have swapped names too.
This forced Vancouver to be put in the Midwest, which helped doom the franchise because they were not in the same division as regional rivals Portland and Seattle.
But of course, the NBA could have solved this by going to a 6-division alignment in the 1990s soon after the expansion into Canada.
The Eastern Conference and the Pacific Division would essentially be the current alignment, while the Northwest Division would have consisted of Denver, Portland, Seattle, Utah and Vancouver, and the Midwest Division consisting of Minnesota and the Texas teams, with a spot open for a 30th team - a revival of the Spirits of St. Louis (under the same ownership) perhaps?
This realignment could have very much changed the course of NBA history. The Grizzlies might never have left Vancouver, and Charlotte might never have gone away for 2 seasons, which of course would mean no Memphis or New Orleans, and if things worked out, no Oklahoma City either.
And possibly, the Midwest and Central Divisions could have swapped names too.
