With corporate naming rights being a staple in the NBA for many years, most arenas in the league have changed names at least once.
It’s been a wild week in the world of basketball, with Miami Heat star Bam Adebayo putting up a historic 83-point night while college basketball fans prepare to make their brackets ahead of March Madness.
While the postseason is technically already underway on the college hardwood, it’s quickly approaching in the NBA as teams look to finish the last month of the regular season strong before the start of the playoffs.
A big part of the playoffs in any professional sport is the added pressure of playing in raucous postseason environments, with several NBA teams being known for having a distinct home court advantage.
This was made clear to fans across the country last spring, when the Indiana Pacers rode the enthusiasm of their home crowd all the way to a Game 7 of the NBA Finals, concluding with a loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on the road and a devastating injury to Tyrese Haliburton.
Yet the crazy playoff crowd that I’ve experienced twice myself in years past at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis wasn’t always so – having gone under two previous names in the past despite opening in 1999.
After taking a look at all of the MLB stadiums that have changed names over the years, I thought it would be interesting to dive into the same concept for the NBA, a league that doesn’t have the wide range of old-time venues that never changed their name.
At least slightly unsurprisingly, name changes of home venues is more common in the NBA than in the MLB, with 18 of the league’s 30 arenas having undergone at least one name change in their lifespan, compared to the 14 MLB stadiums that have done the same.
While oft-changing corporate names dominate the NBA naming rights landscape, there are a few exceptions. The historic Madison Square Garden has never changed names, while the corporate-named United Center and American Airlines Center have maintained their names throughout their decades-long lifespans thus far.
With that said, the history of different names within current NBA arenas offers a fascinating snapshot of some companies of yesteryear and now-forgotten arena names that once felt ubiquitous.
Here’s a deeper look into each current NBA arena that has changed names:
*denotes arena also hosts NHL team
1. Ball Arena* – Denver Nuggets
- Pepsi Center (1999-2020)
2. Capital One Arena* – Washington Wizards
- MCI Center (1997-2006)
- Verizon Center (2006-2017)
3. Crpyto.com Arena* – Los Angeles Lakers
- Staples Center (1999-2021)
4. Delta Center* – Utah Jazz
- Delta Center (1991-2006)
- Salt Lake Ice Center (2002 Winter Olympics)
- EnergySolutions Arena (2006-2015)
- Vivint Smart Home Arena (2015-2020)
- Vivint Arena (2020-2023)
5. Frost Bank Center – San Antonio Spurs
- SBC Center (2002-2006)
- AT&T Center (2006-2023)
6. Gainbridge Fieldhouse – Indiana Pacers
- Conseco Fieldhouse (1999-2011)
- Bankers Life Fieldhouse (2011-2021)
7. Kaseya Center – Miami Heat
- American Airlines Arena (1999-2021)
- FTX Arena (2021-2023)
- Miami-Dade Arena (2023)
8. Kia Center – Orlando Magic
- Amway Center (2010-2023)
9. Moda Center – Portland Trail Blazers
- Rose Garden (1995-2013)
10. Mortgage Matchup Center – Phoenix Suns
- America West Arena (1992-2006)
- US Airways Center (2006-2015)
- Talking Stick Resort Arena (2015-2020)
- Phoenix Suns Arena (2020-2021)
- Footprint Center (2021-2025)
- PHX Arena (2020, 2025)
11. Paycom Center – Oklahoma City Thunder
- Ford Center (2002-2010)
- Oklahoma City Arena (2010-2011)
- Chesapeake Energy Arena (2011-2021)
12. Rocket Arena – Cleveland Cavaliers
- Gund Arena (1994-2005)
- Quicken Loans Arena (2005-2019)
- Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse (2019-2025)
13. Scotiabank Arena* – Toronto Raptors
- Air Canada Centre (1999-2018)
14. Smoothie King Center – New Orleans Pelicans
- New Orleans Arena (1999-2014)
15. Spectrum Center – Charlotte Hornets
- Charlotte Bobcats Arena (2005-2008)
- Time Warner Cable Arena (2008-2016)
16. State Farm Arena – Atlanta Hawks
- Philips Arena (1999-2018)
17. TD Garden* – Boston Celtics
- FleetCenter (1995-2005)
- TD Banknorth Garden (2005-2009)
18. Xfinity Mobile Arena* – Philadelphia 76ers
- CoreStates Center (1996-1998)
- First Union Center (1998-2003)
- Wachovia Center (2003-2010)
- Wells Fargo Center (2010-2025)
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