NBA Team Names by Description

This team's name is a reference to this indigenous bear species found in the Pacific Northwest

This team's name was derived from a name-the-team survey; other options included Suntans and Beaches

This team's name is a reference to the year the Declaration of Independence was signed in this city

This team's name was inspired by a dinosaur species in Jurassic Park

This team's name actually placed second in the name-the-team contest and refers to the history of westward expansion that led to its city's founding.

This team's name was chosen to continue the theme of rhyming New York team names

This team's name was chosen to honor its state as being home to the largest population of this canine species in North America

The owner of this expansion team settled on this name-the-team winner because it represented "fearless men, whose life's pact was never surrender, no matter the odds."

After relocating to this sunny Southern California city in 1960, the team kept its name which is a reference to the nickname of its former home state

A name-the-team contest determined this team's name which was a reference to a British general's alleged description of this city as being a "_____'s nest of rebellion" during the American Revolution

This team kept its original name after relocating to this mountainous state from its former city, the home of this musical genre

This team's avian name was shortened from its original name which was inspired by this Sauk Nation leader

This team's owner disavowed references to gun violence after the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and opened the team name through a contest

In 1947, this original team adopted the same name of a previous team from the 1925 American Basketball League that played in the same city

In 2008, the ownership group named this team for the region's powerful storms and the city is home to the 45th Infantry Division

This team's name is a reference to its city's historically large Irish population

This name was selected through a contest and referenced large sailing ships that passed through the San Diego Bay

The company of this team's first owner produced these car engine components in Fort Wayne; when the team relocated to Motown, the name stuck

This team was initially set to be called the Gunslingers. However, before their first ever game, ownership started a name-the-name contest and this footwear modification was selected

This team name is a reference to its city's role in the meatpacking industry and its proximity to the Union Stock Yards

This team changed its name to this monarch title to avoid confusion with the baseball team of its former city

This team adopted its city's National Basketball League team name which referred to this 19th century mining boom for precious metals

This team kept its original name from San Diego to create an aerospace theme with its baseball counterpart in this Texas city

This team's name is a reference to this city's largest tourist attraction, Disney World

Fans chose this team's name which was inspired by a popular TV Western and starred a member of the team's ownership group

This team's name is a homage to the state bird of Louisiana

Judges of the name-the-team contest decided upon the second-place submission, noting that these forest animals were "spirited, good jumpers, fast and agile."

This team's name is a reference to this state's NASCAR race and use of this type of car to establish speed since 1911

This team's name was selected in a name-the-team contest and is a reference to its metro area's nickname, "Valley of the ___"

The team's first ownership group selected this Dutch Colonial attire as a tribute to its city's heritage