With the 2026-27 NBA season just around the corner, here’s a look into recent history of division championships – a team accomplishment that has become rather frivolous.
While sports fans have their plates full with college football, the MLB postseason, the NFL and the NHL, sports equinox season is nearly here as the NBA regular season begins on Tuesday.
This season begins with plenty of energy and anticipation, coming off the heels of the New York Knicks’ first championship since 1973 while the league saw some seismic change in the offseason, most notably in the form of the Philadelphia 76ers adding both LeBron James and Jaylen Brown.
Still, injuries and emergent rookies promise to interrupt the flow of what everyone thinks will happen each season, and with another parity-filled group of teams this year, the outcomes remain wildly unpredictable.
With the start of the season approaching soon, I started to think about the differences between the NBA playoffs and the postseasons of other leagues – most notably, the fact that the NBA largely disregards division championships and division play in general.
Since the start of the 2016-17 season, the NBA has awarded playoff berths to the top eight teams regardless of conference, with that number being extended to 10 for the 2020-21 season with the addition of the Play-In tournament.
This change was largely lauded by fans, who were tired of seeing a top-four seed being given to a division champion in a lackluster division while better teams were stuck without home-court advantage.
Last year’s standings spoke to the usefulness of the layout, as the Southeast Division champion Atlanta Hawks merely made it in as a No. 6 seed – behind four of the five teams in the Atlantic Division, as well as the Detroit Pistons.
Although division titles are virtually meaningless now, the continued existence of divisions still connects many of the league’s greatest rivalries while still playing a role in playoff seeding – even if it’s not fighting for guaranteed top-four spot.
To this day, only the Charlotte Hornets have never won their division, a streak that dates back to the franchise’s days as the original Hornets from 1988 to 2002.
With the upcoming season getting underway in a matter of hours, here’s a look at the last time each NBA team won their division:
2026
- Boston Celtics
- Detroit Pistons
- Atlanta Hawks
- Oklahoma City Thunder
- Los Angeles Lakers
- San Antonio Spurs
2025
- Cleveland Cavaliers
- Orlando Magic
- Houston Rockets
2024
- Milwaukee Bucks
- Los Angeles Clippers
- Dallas Mavericks
2023
- Miami Heat
- Denver Nuggets
- Sacramento Kings
- Memphis Grizzlies
2022
- Utah Jazz
- Phoenix Suns
2021
- Philadelphia 76ers
2020
- Toronto Raptors
2019
- Golden State Warriors
2018
- Portland Trail Blazers
2017
- Washington Wizards
2014
- Indiana Pacers
2013
- New York Knicks
2012
- Chicago Bulls
2008
- New Orleans Pelicans*
2006
- Brooklyn Nets**
2004
- Minnesota Timberwolves
*denotes team was known as New Orleans Hornets at the time
**denotes team was known as New Jersey Nets at the time
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