2002 The Pelicans

The Pelicans are based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They play in the Southwest Division of the league's Western Conference. The franchise was established as the New Orleans Hornets in 2002 due to the relocation of the Charlotte Hornets after spending 1988–2002 based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Due to the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the franchise temporarily relocated to Oklahoma City, where they spent two seasons officially known as the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets. The team returned to New Orleans full-time for the 2007–08 season. On December 4, 2012, it was reported that the Hornets would change their name to the New Orleans Pelicans beginning with the 2013-2014 season. The team name is inspired by Louisiana's state bird, the Brown Pelican.

1995 The Grizzlies

The Grizzlies are based in Memphis, Tennessee. The team is part of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference. They were established in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1995. The team relocated to Memphis in 2001. They are also the only team out of the four major professional leagues that plays in Memphis. Despite being one of the youngest teams in the NBA, the Grizzlies are rivals with the Los Angeles Clippers. The Grizzlies and Clippers have been rivals since the 2011-12 season, when the Clippers eliminated the Grizzlies in the first round of the 2012 NBA Playoffs. The Grizzlies returned the favor in the 2012-13 season, eliminating the Clippers in the first round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs. The Grizzlies also have a rivalry brewing with the Oklahoma City Thunder. The two squads have faced each other in the playoffs in 2011, 2013, and 2014.

1995 The Raptors

The Raptors are based in Toronto, Ontario. They are part of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. The team was established in 1995, along with the Vancouver Grizzlies, as part of the NBA's expansion into Canada. When the Grizzlies relocated to Memphis, Tennessee to become the Memphis Grizzlies in 2001, the Raptors became the only Canadian team in the NBA.  In 2006–07, the Raptors qualified for their first playoff berth in five years, capturing the Atlantic Division title with 47 wins. In the 2007–08 season, they advanced to the playoffs again, but failed to make the playoffs in each of the next five seasons. They returned to the playoffs, won their second Atlantic Division title, and won a franchise record 48 games in the 2013–14 season. However, they failed for a fourth consecutive time to advance beyond the first round of the playoffs.

1989 T-Wolves

The Timberwolves (also commonly referred to as the T-Wolves, or simply Wolves) are based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference. Like most expansion teams, the Timberwolves struggled in their early years, but the team made the playoffs eight consecutive times from 1997 to 2004. Despite losing in the first round in their first seven attempts, the Timberwolves won their first division title in 2004 and advanced to the Western Conference Finals. After missing the playoffs their first seven seasons and losing in the first round the next seven, won their first two playoff series in 2004 before losing to the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals. As of the end of 2014 season, the Timberwolves hold the longest active streak without a playoff berth, having missed the playoffs ten straight years since.

1989 The Magic

The Magic are based in Orlando, Florida. It is part of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The franchise was established in 1989 as an expansion franchise. There was decided to hold a contest in the Orlando Sentinel newspaper to get names for their new franchise. Out of a total of 4,296 submitted entries,  the names were subsequently narrowed to four, "Heat", "Tropics", "Juice" and "Magic". They currently are the only team in the major pro sports leagues to play in the city of Orlando. The franchise has also been in the playoffs for more than half of their existence (14 playoff appearances in 24 years). Orlando has been the second most successful of the four expansion teams brought into the league in 1988 and 1989 in terms of winning percentage, after the Miami Heat.

1988 The Heat

The Heat are based in Miami, Florida. The team is a member of the Southeast Division in the Eastern Conference. The Heat are not related to the Miami Floridians, an ABA team in the early 1970s, although the Heat have occasionally paid tribute to the older franchise by wearing a replica version of the Floridians' uniforms for the NBA's "Hardwood Classics Nights" during the 2005–06 and 2011–12 seasons. Formed in 1988 as one of the NBA's four expansion franchises, the Heat have won three league championships (in 2006, 2012 and 2013), five conference titles and 11 division titles. From February to March, 2013, the Heat won 27 games in a row, the second-longest streak in NBA history (after the Los Angeles Lakers' 33 wins).

1988 The Hornets

The Hornets are based in Charlotte, North Carolina, that competes in the NBA. They are part of the Southeast Division in the league's Eastern Conference. The Hornets were first established in 1988 as an expansion team, but relocated to New Orleans following the 2001–02 season. In 2004, a new expansion team, the Charlotte Bobcats, was established. After 10 seasons as the Bobcats, the team changed its name to the Charlotte Hornets, a year after the New Orleans franchise relinquished the Hornets name and renamed itself the Pelicans. In addition to re-inheriting the Hornets name from New Orleans, the Charlotte franchise reclaimed the history and records of the original 1988–2002 Hornets, effectively becoming a continuation of the original franchise.