Pacific Division (NBA)
The Pacific Division is one of the three divisions in the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The division consists of five teams: the Golden State Warriors, the Los Angeles Clippers, the Los Angeles Lakers, the Phoenix Suns and the Sacramento Kings. All teams, except the Suns, are based in California. Along with the American League West of Major League Baseball, they are one of two North American major league divisions with no animal themed nicknames.
Conference | Western Conference |
---|---|
League | National Basketball Association |
Sport | Basketball |
First season | 1970β71 season |
No. of teams | 5 |
Most recent champion(s) | Los Angeles Clippers (3rd title) |
Most titles | Los Angeles Lakers (24 titles) |
The division was created at the start of the 1970β71 season, when the league expanded from 14 to 17 teams with the addition of the Buffalo Braves, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Portland Trail Blazers. The league realigned itself into two conferences: the Western Conference and the Eastern Conference, with two divisions each in each conference. The Pacific Division began with five inaugural members: the Lakers, the Blazers, the San Diego Rockets, the San Francisco Warriors and the Seattle SuperSonics.[1] The Lakers, the Rockets, the Warriors and the SuperSonics all joined from the Western Division.
The Lakers have won the most Pacific Division titles with 24. The Phoenix Suns have the second most titles with eight. 19 NBA champions have come from the Pacific Division. The Lakers have won 12 championships, the Warriors won 5, and the Blazers and Sonics won one championship each. All of them, except the 1976β77 Blazers, the 2001β02 Lakers and the 2021β22 Warriors, were division champions. In the 1991β92 season, six teams from the division qualified for the playoffs. In the 1977β78 season, all teams in the division had winning percentages above 0.500 (50%). The most recent division champions are the Los Angeles Clippers.
Since the 2021β22 season, the Pacific Division champion has received the Chuck Cooper Trophy, named after Hall of Famer Chuck Cooper.[2]
2023β24 standings
Pacific Division | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div | GP |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
y β Los Angeles Clippers | 51 | 31 | .622 | β | 25βββ16 | 26βββ15 | 9βββ7 | 82 |
x β Phoenix Suns | 49 | 33 | .598 | 2.0 | 25βββ16 | 24βββ17 | 9βββ9 | 82 |
x β Los Angeles Lakers | 47 | 35 | .573 | 4.0 | 28βββ14 | 19βββ21 | 7βββ10 | 82 |
pi β Sacramento Kings | 46 | 36 | .561 | 5.0 | 24βββ17 | 22βββ19 | 10βββ7 | 82 |
pi β Golden State Warriors | 46 | 36 | .561 | 5.0 | 21βββ20 | 25βββ16 | 7βββ9 | 82 |
Notes
- y β Clinched division title
- x β Clinched playoff spot
- pi β Clinched play-in tournament spot
Teams
Team | City | Joined | |
---|---|---|---|
Year | From | ||
Golden State Warriors (1971βpresent) San Francisco Warriors (1962β1971) |
San Francisco, California Oakland, California |
1970 | Western Division |
Los Angeles Clippers (1984βpresent) San Diego Clippers (1978β1984) |
Inglewood, California Los Angeles, California San Diego, California |
1978 | Atlantic Division (as Buffalo Braves) |
Los Angeles Lakers | Los Angeles, California | 1970 | Western Division |
Phoenix Suns | Phoenix, Arizona | 1972 | Midwest Division |
Sacramento Kings | Sacramento, California | 1988 | Midwest Division |
Former teams
Team | City | Joined | Left | Current division | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | From | Year | To | |||
Houston Rockets (1971βpresent) San Diego Rockets (1967-1971) |
Houston, Texas San Diego, California |
1970 | Western Division | 1972 | Central Division | Southwest Division |
Portland Trail Blazers | Portland, Oregon | 1970 | ββ | 2004 | Northwest Division | Northwest Division |
Seattle SuperSonics (1967β2008, now Oklahoma City Thunder) | Seattle, Washington | 1970 | Western Division | 2004 | Northwest Division | Northwest Division |
- Notes
- β denotes an expansion team.
Team timeline
Denotes team currently in the division | |
Denotes team that has left the division |

Chuck Cooper Trophy
Beginning with the 2021β22 season, the Pacific Division champion has received the Chuck Cooper Trophy. As with the other division championship trophies, it is named after one of the many African American pioneers from NBA history. Chuck Cooper became the first African-American to be drafted by an NBA team when the Boston Celtics selected him with the first pick in the second round of the 1950 draft. The Cooper Trophy consists of a 200-millimetre (7.9 in) crystal ball.[3]
Division champions
^ | Had or tied for the best regular season record for that season |
Titles by team
^ | Denotes team that has left the division |
Team | Titles | Season(s) won |
---|---|---|
Los Angeles Lakers | 24 | 1970β71, 1971β72, 1972β73, 1973β74, 1976β77, 1979β80, 1981β82, 1982β83, 1983β84, 1984β85, 1985β86, 1986β87, 1987β88, 1988β89, 1989β90, 1999β00, 2000β01, 2003β04, 2007β08, 2008β09, 2009β10, 2010β11, 2011β12, 2019β20 |
Phoenix Suns | 8 | 1980β81, 1992β93, 1994β95, 2004β05, 2005β06, 2006β07, 2020β21, 2021β22 |
Golden State Warriors | 7 | 1974β75, 1975β76, 2014β15, 2015β16, 2016β17, 2017β18, 2018β19 |
Seattle SuperSonics^ (now Oklahoma City Thunder) | 5 | 1978β79, 1993β94, 1995β96, 1996β97, 1997β98 |
Portland Trail Blazers^ | 4 | 1977β78, 1990β91, 1991β92, 1998β99 |
Sacramento Kings | 3 | 2001β02, 2002β03, 2022β23 |
Los Angeles Clippers | 3 | 2012β13, 2013β14, 2023β24 |
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 |
Γ | Denotes team that qualified for the NBA play-in tournament |
β | Denotes team that did not qualify for the 2020 NBA Bubble season restart (Bubble happened due to COVID-19) |
Season | Team (record) | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | |
| |||||||
1970β71 | Los Angeles* (48β34) | San Francisco* (41β41) | San Diego (40β42) | Seattle (38β44) | Portland (29β53) | ||
| |||||||
1971β72 | Los Angeles^ (69β13) | Golden State* (51β31) | Seattle (47β35) | Houston (34β48) | Portland (18β64) | ||
| |||||||
1972β73 | Los Angeles+ (60β22) | Golden State* (47β35) | Phoenix (38β44) | Seattle (26β56) | Portland (21β61) | ||
1973β74 | Los Angeles* (47β35) | Golden State (44β38) | Seattle (36β46) | Phoenix (30β52) | Portland (27β55) | ||
1974β75 | Golden State^ (48β34) | Seattle* (43β39) | Portland (38β44) | Phoenix (32β50) | Los Angeles (30β52) | ||
1975β76 | Golden State* (59β23) | Seattle* (43β39) | Phoenix+ (42β40) | Los Angeles (40β42) | Portland (37β45) | ||
1976β77 | Los Angeles* (53β29) | Portland^ (49β33) | Golden State* (46β36) | Seattle (40β42) | Phoenix (34β48) | ||
1977β78 | Portland* (58β24) | Phoenix* (49β33) | Seattle+ (47β35) | Los Angeles* (45β37) | Golden State (43β39) | ||
| |||||||
1978β79 | Seattle^ (52β30) | Phoenix* (50β32) | Los Angeles* (47β35) | Portland* (45β37) | San Diego (43β39) | Golden State (38β44) | |
1979β80 | Los Angeles^ (60β22) | Seattle* (56β26) | Phoenix* (55β27) | Portland* (38β44) | San Diego (35β47) | Golden State (24β58) | |
1980β81 | Phoenix* (57β25) | Los Angeles* (54β28) | Portland* (45β37) | Golden State (39β43) | San Diego (36β46) | Seattle (34β48) | |
1981β82 | Los Angeles^ (57β25) | Seattle* (52β30) | Phoenix* (46β36) | Golden State (45β37) | Portland (42β40) | San Diego (17β65) | |
1982β83 | Los Angeles+ (58β24) | Phoenix* (53β29) | Seattle* (48β34) | Portland* (46β36) | Golden State (30β52) | San Diego (25β57) | |
1983β84 | Los Angeles+ (54β28) | Portland* (48β34) | Seattle* (42β40) | Phoenix* (41β41) | Golden State (37β45) | San Diego (30β52) | |
| |||||||
1984β85 | L.A. Lakers^ (62β20) | Portland* (42β40) | Phoenix* (36β46) | Seattle (31β51) | L.A. Clippers (31β51) | Golden State (22β60) | |
1985β86 | L.A. Lakers* (62β20) | Portland* (40β42) | Phoenix (32β50) | L.A. Clippers (32β50) | Seattle (31β51) | Golden State (30β52) | |
1986β87 | L.A. Lakers^ (65β17) | Portland* (49β33) | Golden State* (42β40) | Seattle* (39β43) | Phoenix (36β46) | L.A. Clippers (12β70) | |
1987β88 | L.A. Lakers^ (62β20) | Portland* (53β29) | Seattle* (44β38) | Phoenix (28β54) | Golden State (20β62) | L.A. Clippers (17β65) | |
| |||||||
1988β89 | L.A. Lakers+ (57β25) | Phoenix* (55β27) | Seattle* (47β35) | Golden State* (43β39) | Portland* (39β43) | Sacramento (27β55) | L.A. Clippers (21β61) |
1989β90 | L.A. Lakers* (63β19) | Portland+ (59β23) | Phoenix* (54β28) | Seattle (41β41) | Golden State (37β45) | L.A. Clippers (30β52) | Sacramento (23β59) |
1990β91 | Portland* (63β19) | L.A. Lakers+ (58β24) | Phoenix* (55β27) | Golden State* (44β38) | Seattle* (41β41) | L.A. Clippers (31β51) | Sacramento (25β57) |
1991β92 | Portland+ (57β25) | Golden State* (55β27) | Phoenix* (53β29) | Seattle* (47β35) | L.A. Clippers* (45β37) | L.A. Lakers* (43β39) | Sacramento (29β53) |
1992β93 | Phoenix+ (62β20) | Seattle* (55β27) | Portland* (51β31) | L.A. Clippers* (41β41) | L.A. Lakers* (39β43) | Golden State (34β48) | Sacramento (25β57) |
1993β94 | Seattle* (63β19) | Phoenix* (56β26) | Golden State* (50β32) | Portland* (47β35) | L.A. Lakers (33β49) | Sacramento (28β54) | L.A. Clippers (27β55) |
1994β95 | Phoenix* (59β23) | Seattle* (57β25) | L.A. Lakers* (48β34) | Portland* (44β38) | Sacramento (39β43) | Golden State (26β56) | L.A. Clippers (17β65) |
1995β96 | Seattle+ (64β18) | L.A. Lakers* (53β29) | Portland* (44β38) | Phoenix* (41β41) | Sacramento* (39β43) | Golden State (36β46) | L.A. Clippers (29β53) |
1996β97 | Seattle* (57β25) | L.A. Lakers* (56β26) | Portland* (49β33) | Phoenix* (40β42) | L.A. Clippers* (36β46) | Sacramento (34β48) | Golden State (30β52) |
1997β98 | Seattle* (61β21) | L.A. Lakers* (61β21) | Phoenix* (56β26) | Portland* (46β36) | Sacramento (27β55) | Golden State (19β63) | L.A. Clippers (17β65) |
1998β99[a] | Portland* (35β15) | L.A. Lakers* (31β19) | Phoenix* (27β23) | Sacramento* (27β23) | Seattle (25β25) | Golden State (21β29) | L.A. Clippers (9β41) |
1999β00 | L.A. Lakers^ (67β15) | Portland* (59β23) | Phoenix* (53β29) | Seattle* (45β37) | Sacramento* (44β38) | Golden State (19β63) | L.A. Clippers (15β67) |
2000β01 | L.A. Lakers^ (56β26) | Sacramento* (55β27) | Phoenix* (51β31) | Portland* (50β32) | Seattle (44β38) | L.A. Clippers (31β51) | Golden State (17β65) |
2001β02 | Sacramento* (61β21) | L.A. Lakers^ (58β24) | Portland* (49β33) | Seattle* (45β37) | L.A. Clippers (39β43) | Phoenix (36β46) | Golden State (21β61) |
2002β03 | Sacramento* (59β23) | L.A. Lakers* (50β32) | Portland* (50β32) | Phoenix* (44β38) | Seattle (40β42) | Golden State (38β44) | L.A. Clippers (27β55) |
2003β04 | L.A. Lakers+ (56β26) | Sacramento* (55β27) | Portland (41β41) | Golden State (37β45) | Seattle (37β45) | Phoenix (29β53) | L.A. Clippers (28β54) |
| |||||||
2004β05 | Phoenix* (62β20) | Sacramento* (50β32) | L.A. Clippers (37β45) | L.A. Lakers (34β48) | Golden State (34β48) | ||
2005β06 | Phoenix* (54β28) | L.A. Clippers* (47β35) | L.A. Lakers* (45β37) | Sacramento* (44β38) | Golden State (34β48) | ||
2006β07 | Phoenix* (61β21) | L.A. Lakers* (42β40) | Golden State* (42β40) | L.A. Clippers (40β42) | Sacramento (33β49) | ||
2007β08 | L.A. Lakers+ (57β25) | Phoenix* (55β27) | Golden State (48β34) | Sacramento (38β44) | L.A. Clippers (23β59) | ||
2008β09 | L.A. Lakers^ (65β17) | Phoenix (46β36) | Golden State (29β53) | L.A. Clippers (19β63) | Sacramento (17β65) | ||
2009β10 | L.A. Lakers^ (57β25) | Phoenix* (54β28) | L.A. Clippers (29β53) | Golden State (26β56) | Sacramento (25β57) | ||
2010β11 | L.A. Lakers* (57β25) | Phoenix (40β42) | Golden State (36β46) | L.A. Clippers (32β50) | Sacramento (24β58) | ||
2011β12[b] | L.A. Lakers* (41β25) | L.A. Clippers* (40β26) | Phoenix (33β33) | Golden State (23β43) | Sacramento (22β44) | ||
2012β13 | L.A. Clippers* (56β26) | Golden State* (47β35) | L.A. Lakers* (45β37) | Sacramento (28β54) | Phoenix (25β57) | ||
2013β14 | L.A. Clippers* (57β25) | Golden State* (51β31) | Phoenix (48β34) | Sacramento (28β54) | L.A. Lakers (27β57) | ||
2014β15 | Golden State^ (67β15) | L.A. Clippers* (56β26) | Phoenix (39β43) | Sacramento (29β53) | L.A. Lakers (21β61) | ||
2015β16 | Golden State+ (73β9) | L.A. Clippers* (53β29) | Sacramento (33β49) | Phoenix (23β59) | L.A. Lakers (17β65) | ||
2016β17 | Golden State^ (67β15) | L.A. Clippers* (51β31) | Sacramento (32β50) | L.A. Lakers (26β56) | Phoenix (24β58) | ||
2017β18 | Golden State^ (58β24) | L.A. Clippers (42β40) | L.A. Lakers (35β47) | Sacramento (27β55) | Phoenix (21β61) | ||
2018β19 | Golden State+ (57β25) | L.A. Clippers* (48β34) | Sacramento (39β43) | L.A. Lakers (37β45) | Phoenix (19β63) | ||
2019β20 | L.A. Lakers^ (52β19) | L.A. Clippers* (49β23) | Phoenix (34β39) | Sacramento (31β41) | Golden Stateβ (15β50) | ||
2020β21 | Phoenix+ (51β21) | L.A. Clippers* (47β25) | L.A. Lakers* (42β30) | Golden StateΓ (39β33) | Sacramento (31β41) | ||
2021β22 | Phoenix* (64β18) | Golden State^ (53β29) | L.A. ClippersΓ (42β40) | L.A. Lakers (33β49) | Sacramento (30β52) | ||
2022β23 | Sacramento* (48β34) | Phoenix* (45β37) | L.A. Clippers* (44β38) | Golden State* (44β38) | L.A. Lakers* (43β39) | ||
2023β24 | L.A. Clippers* (51β31) | Phoenix* (49β33) | L.A. Lakers* (47β35) | SacramentoΓ (46β36) | Golden StateΓ (46β36) |
Rivalries
Los Angeles Lakers vs. Los Angeles Clippers
Phoenix Suns vs. Los Angeles Lakers
Los Angeles Lakers vs. Golden State Warriors
Sacramento Kings vs. Los Angeles Lakers
Sacramento Kings vs. Golden State Warriors
Notes
See also
References
- General
- "NBA & ABA League Index". Basketball-Reference.com.
- Specific
- "1970β71 Season Overview: Kareem Rules the League". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on November 19, 2010. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
- "NBA unveils new trophies for division winners named after 6 NBA legends". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. April 11, 2022. Retrieved January 28, 2023.
- "NBA Unveils Division Winner Trophies Named After Black Pioneers from League History". Bleacher Report. April 11, 2022. Retrieved January 28, 2023.
- Donovan, John (February 4, 1999). "Let the semi-season begin: Expect injuries, intensity and a new champion in '99". CNN Sports Illustrated. Time Warner Company. Retrieved May 31, 2011.
- Jenkins, Lee (December 5, 2011). "'tis The Season". CNN Sports Illustrated. Time Warner Company. Retrieved April 30, 2012.