If you search this question expecting a quick one-line answer, you deserve a complete and accurate one. California is home to not three but four NBA teams, spread across three cities.
Many people miss one of them, and that oversight is understandable. But once you know all four, the picture of California basketball becomes a lot more interesting.
Here is the fast answer: California’s NBA teams are the Golden State Warriors, the Los Angeles Lakers, the LA Clippers, and the Sacramento Kings.
Now let’s go through each one properly.
The 4 NBA Teams in California
1. Golden State Warriors (San Francisco)
The Warriors play at Chase Center, located in the Mission Bay neighborhood of San Francisco. They moved there in 2019 after spending decades across the bay in Oakland. The “Golden State” name technically claims the whole state, but the franchise is firmly a Bay Area institution.
They are one of the most decorated teams in recent NBA history, having won multiple championships between 2015 and 2022. Stephen Curry built his legacy here, and the team draws one of the most devoted fanbases in the entire league.
One thing new fans sometimes get wrong: they assume the Warriors still play in Oakland. That has not been the case since 2019.
2. Los Angeles Lakers (Los Angeles)
The Lakers play at Crypto.com Arena in downtown Los Angeles and are arguably the most globally recognized basketball franchise in the world.
Seventeen championships. Jerry West, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James. The list of legends who have worn Lakers gold is unmatched in the sport.
They originally played in Minneapolis before relocating to Los Angeles in 1960. The franchise has been a defining force in shaping basketball’s mainstream cultural appeal.
3. LA Clippers (Los Angeles)
The Clippers share the Los Angeles market with the Lakers, making LA the only city in the United States with two NBA franchises in the same market. For most of their history the Clippers lived in the Lakers’ shadow, often dismissed as the city’s second team.
That began to change significantly after billionaire Steve Ballmer purchased the franchise in 2014. The team built consistent playoff rosters and in 2024 moved into the brand-new Intuit Dome in Inglewood, a state-of-the-art arena built specifically for the Clippers. It is their first home that was not shared with another NBA team.
4. Sacramento Kings (Sacramento)
This is the team most people forget when counting nba teams in california, and that is genuinely unfair to the franchise and its fans.
The Sacramento Kings have called California home since 1985 when they relocated from Kansas City. They play at Golden 1 Center in downtown Sacramento, which opened in 2016 and is widely regarded as one of the best arenas in the league.
The Kings went through a prolonged stretch without making the playoffs, but they returned to postseason contention in recent years and have one of the loudest home crowds in the NBA.
The Kings are also historically significant. The franchise traces its roots back to 1945, making it one of the oldest in professional basketball.
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All 4 California NBA Teams
| Team | City | Arena | Est. | Titles |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Golden State Warriors | San Francisco | Chase Center | 1946 | 7 |
| Los Angeles Lakers | Los Angeles | Crypto.com Arena | 1947 | 17 |
| LA Clippers | Los Angeles | Intuit Dome | 1970 | 0 |
| Sacramento Kings | Sacramento | Golden 1 Center | 1945 | 0 |
Why Do So Many People Say Three Instead of Four?
The Sacramento Kings are a smaller media market than Los Angeles or San Francisco. They do not appear in national broadcasts as frequently. Their fanbase, while passionate, does not generate the same global social media volume as the Lakers or Warriors.
When people casually count California NBA teams, their minds go to the two major metros first. Sacramento gets overlooked the same way other mid-market cities do across professional sports.
It is worth noting that Sacramento is the state capital of California. A franchise in the state capital is not a footnote. The Kings deserve the recognition they rarely get in this conversation.
Why Does Los Angeles Have Two NBA Teams?
This is a fair question. Los Angeles is the second-largest media market in the country, which gives it the commercial foundation to support two franchises simultaneously. When the Clippers relocated from San Diego in 1984, the NBA approved the move to Los Angeles because the revenue potential justified it.
New York is in a similar situation with the Knicks and the Brooklyn Nets. Chicago and Miami have historically been single-team cities, but major markets in the top tier can carry two teams without one cannibalizing the other.
The Lakers and Clippers even shared the same arena for decades at what is now Crypto.com Arena. The Clippers finally got their own building in 2024, which gave the two-team city a two-arena footprint for the first time.
What This Means for California Basketball Culture
Having four NBA franchises in one state creates something genuinely unique in American sports. A teenager growing up in Stockton might root for the Kings or the Warriors depending on which city they feel more connected to.
A fan in San Diego, which has no NBA team, might follow the Clippers or the Lakers. Northern California identifies with the Warriors. The Central Valley has a complicated geography between Sacramento and the Bay Area.
The result is a rich, layered basketball culture with real regional identity behind each franchise. California also consistently produces some of the top high school and college basketball talent in the country, which feeds directly into the NBA pipeline that these four teams all benefit from.
No other state has this depth of professional basketball presence.
Common Mistakes People Make
Saying California has three NBA teams is the most common error, but there are a few others worth flagging.
Some people still think the Warriors play in Oakland. They do not. Chase Center in San Francisco has been the home arena since 2019.
Some assume the Clippers are a lesser franchise simply because they share a city with the Lakers. That perception has become outdated. The Clippers now have their own world-class arena and have been a legitimate postseason contender.
And some think the Kings are a franchise in decline or irrelevance. In reality they are an active, competitive team with a passionate fanbase and one of the better arena experiences in the league.
FAQs
Which California NBA team has won the most championships?
The Los Angeles Lakers lead with 17 NBA titles, the most of any California franchise and the second most in NBA history behind the Boston Celtics. The Golden State Warriors follow with 7 championships.
When did the Sacramento Kings move to California?
The Kings relocated from Kansas City to Sacramento in 1985. They have been a California franchise for over four decades and show no signs of moving again, especially after investing in the Golden 1 Center arena.
Do the Lakers and Clippers still share an arena?
No. The Clippers moved into the newly built Intuit Dome in Inglewood in 2024. The Lakers remain at Crypto.com Arena in downtown Los Angeles. The two teams now have separate homes for the first time in their shared history in the city.
Has California ever had more than four NBA teams?
San Diego had the Rockets from 1967 to 1971 before that franchise relocated to Houston. The Clippers also played in San Diego from 1978 to 1984. So at various points in history, California had franchises in San Diego, but none remain there today.
Which city in California produces the most NBA players?
Los Angeles consistently produces more NBA players than any other California city, largely due to the depth of high school basketball programs and AAU competition in the region. The Bay Area and Sacramento also have strong pipelines into the league.
Final Thoughts…
California has four NBA teams: the Golden State Warriors in San Francisco, the Los Angeles Lakers and LA Clippers in Los Angeles, and the Sacramento Kings in Sacramento.
If you have been saying three, now you know who was missing. The Kings have been part of California basketball since 1985 and deserve the same recognition as the other three franchises in this conversation.
