Pacific Division (NBA)

The Pacific Division is one of the three divisions in the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The division consists of five teams, the Golden State Warriors, the Los Angeles Clippers, the Los Angeles Lakers, the Phoenix Suns, and the Sacramento Kings. All teams, except the Suns, are based in California.

The division was created at the start of the 1970–71 season, when the league expanded from 14 to 17 teams with the addition of the Buffalo Braves, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Portland Trail Blazers. The league realigned itself into two conferences, the Western Conference and the Eastern Conference, with two divisions each in each conference. The Pacific Division began with five inaugural members, the Lakers, the Blazers, the San Diego Rockets, the San Francisco Warriors and the Seattle SuperSonics. The Lakers, the Rockets, the Warriors and the Sonics all joined from the Western Division.

The Lakers have won the most Pacific Division titles with 23. The Suns have won the second most titles with six. The Clippers have won the Pacific Division title for the first time in 2013. 14 NBA champions came from the Pacific Division. The Lakers won 11 championships, while the Warriors, the Blazers and the Sonics won one championship each. All of them, except the 1976–77 Blazers and the 2001–02 Lakers, were division champions. In the 1991–92 season, six teams from the division qualified for the playoffs. In the 1977–78 season, all teams in the division had winning percentages above 0.500 (50%). The most recent division champion is the Los Angeles Clippers.