Southwest Division

Southwest Division

The Southwest Division is one of three divisions in the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The division is located in the Southern and Central United States and 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. The division, made up of some of the most historically competitive teams in the NBA's Western Conference, was created at the start of the 2004-2005 season, when the league was expanded from 29 to 30 teams with the addition of the Charlotte Bobcats. The competition divided itself into three divisions in each conference. The Southwest Division started with five inaugural members, the Mavericks, the Rockets, the Grizzlies, the Hornets (now Pelicans) and the Spurs. The Mavericks, Rockets, Grizzlies, and Spurs joined the now-defunct Midwest Division, while the Pelicans joined the Central Division. The Spurs have been dominant since the division's inaugural season, winning the most titles in the Southwest Division with nine of them. The Mavericks and Rockets have each won two titles, and the Pelicans have won one title. The Grizzlies have never won the Southwest Division title. For example, there were Four NBA champions 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 had more than 50 wins each. In the 2010–11 season and 2014–15 season, all teams in the division had win percentages above 0.500 (50%). The 2014-15 season saw the Southwest Division see all of its teams make it to the playoffs, a feat achieved only twice in the past 30 years. The most recent division champion is the Houston Rockets.