Southwest Division
ConferenceWestern Conference
LeagueNational Basketball Association
SportBasketball
Inaugural season2004–05 season
No. of teams5
Most recent
champion(s)		Memphis Grizzlies
(2nd title)
Most titlesSan Antonio Spurs
(9 titles)

The Southwest Division is one of the three divisions in the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Despite its name, the division is actually located in the South Central United States. 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.

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, the Grizzlies have won two and the Pelicans have won one 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 Memphis Grizzlies.

Since the 2021–22 season, the Southwest Division champion has received the Willis Reed Trophy, named after Hall of Famer Willis Reed.[3]

2023–24 standings

Southwest DivisionWLPCTGBHomeRoadDivGP
New Orleans Pelicans2316.590–12–811–84–539
Dallas Mavericks2316.590–12–811–86–439
Houston Rockets1918.5143.015–64–127–237
Memphis Grizzlies1424.3688.53–1411–106–638
San Antonio Spurs730.18915.03–154–151–737

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

Willis Reed Trophy

Beginning with the 2021–22 season, the Southwest Division champion has received the Willis Reed Trophy. As with the other division championship trophies, it is named after one of the African American pioneers from NBA history. During his playing career from 1964 to 1974, Willis Reed became the first HBCU graduate to win both the NBA MVP Award and the Finals MVP Award. The Reed Trophy consists of a 200-millimetre (7.9 in) crystal ball.[4]

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
2021–22 Memphis Grizzlies 56–26 (.683) Lost conference semifinals
2022–23 Memphis Grizzlies 51–31 (.622) Lost First round

Division Titles by team

Team Titles Season(s) won
San Antonio Spurs92004–05, 2005–06, 2008–09, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2015–16, 2016–17
Houston Rockets42014–15, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20
Dallas Mavericks32006–07, 2009–10, 2020–21
Memphis Grizzlies22021–22, 2022–23
New Orleans Hornets/Pelicans12007–08

Season results

^ Denotes team that won the NBA Finals
+ Denotes team that won the Conference finals, but lost the NBA Finals
* Denotes team that qualified for the NBA Playoffs
× Denotes team that qualified for the NBA play-in tournament
SeasonTeam (record)
1st2nd3rd4th5th
2004–05San Antonio^ (59–23)Dallas* (58–24)Houston* (51–31)Memphis* (45–37)New Orleans (18–64)
2005–06San Antonio* (63–19)Dallas+ (60–22)Memphis* (49–33)New Orleans/OKC[a] (38–44)Houston (34–48)
2006–07Dallas* (67–15)San Antonio^ (58–24)Houston* (52–30)New Orleans/OKC[a] (39–43)Memphis (22–60)
2007–08New Orleans* (56–26)San Antonio* (56–26)Houston* (55–27)Dallas* (51–31)Memphis (22–60)
2008–09San Antonio* (54–28)Houston* (53–29)Dallas* (50–32)New Orleans* (49–33)Memphis (24–58)
2009–10Dallas* (55–27)San Antonio* (50–32)Houston (42–40)Memphis (40–42)New Orleans (37–45)
2010–11San 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)
2012–13San Antonio+ (58–24)Memphis* (56–26)Houston* (45–37)Dallas (41–41)New Orleans (27–55)
2013–14San Antonio^ (62–20)Houston* (54–28)Memphis* (50–32)Dallas* (49–33)New Orleans (34–48)
2014–15Houston* (56–26)Memphis* (55–27)San Antonio* (55–27)Dallas* (50–32)New Orleans* (45–37)
2015–16San Antonio* (67–15)Dallas* (42–40)Memphis* (42–40)Houston* (41–41)New Orleans (30–52)
2016–17San Antonio* (61–21)Houston* (55–27)Memphis* (43–39)New Orleans (34–48)Dallas (33–49)
2017–18Houston* (65–17)New Orleans* (48–34)San Antonio* (47–35)Dallas (24–58)Memphis (22–60)
2018–19Houston* (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)
2021–22Memphis* (56–26)Dallas* (52–30)New Orleans* (36–46)San Antonio× (34–48)Houston (20–62)
2022–23Memphis* (51–31)New Orleans× (42–40)Dallas (38–44)Houston (22–60)San Antonio (22–60)

Rivalries

Houston Rockets vs. San Antonio Spurs

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.[5]
  • 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.

See also

References

General
  • "NBA & ABA League Index". Basketball-Reference.com.
Specific
  1. ↑ "Expansion Bobcats prompt change". ESPN.com. November 17, 2003. Retrieved May 29, 2011.
  2. ↑ "Southwest Division's historical dominance". ESPN.com. April 15, 2015. Retrieved April 16, 2015.
  3. ↑ "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.
  4. ↑ "NBA Unveils Division Winner Trophies Named After Black Pioneers from League History". Bleacher Report. April 11, 2022. Retrieved January 28, 2023.
  5. ↑ Jenkins, Lee (December 5, 2011). "'tis The Season". CNN Sports Illustrated. Time Warner Company. Retrieved April 30, 2012.
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