The New Orleans Pelicans are an American professional basketball team based in New Orleans, Louisiana, that competes in the National Basketball Association (NBA). They play in the Southwest Division of the league's Western Conference. The franchise was established as the New Orleans Hornets in the 2002–03 season 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 January 24, 2013, the franchise announced it would rename itself as the New Orleans Pelicans. The name change to the Pelicans took effect after the conclusion of the 2012–13 season. The Charlotte Hornets name, history and records from 1988–2002 were returned to its original city to be used by the then-Charlotte Bobcats franchise, starting May 20, 2014. In 13 seasons of play since the original franchise relocated from North Carolina, the New Orleans franchise has achieved an overall regular season record of 453–515, and has qualified for the postseason five times. Their achievements include one playoff series victory and one division title.

Smoothie King Center

The Oklahoma City Thunder is an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The team plays in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Its home court is at Chesapeake Energy Arena. The Thunder's NBA Development League affiliate is the Oklahoma City Blue, which is owned by the Thunder. The Thunder is the only team in the major professional North American sports leagues based in the state of Oklahoma. Formerly the Seattle SuperSonics, the team relocated in 2008 after a dispute between owner Clay Bennett and lawmakers in Seattle, Washington. As the SuperSonics, the franchise qualified for the NBA Playoffs 22 times, won their division six times, and won the 1979 NBA Championship. In Oklahoma City, the Thunder qualified for their first playoff berth during the 2009–10 season. They followed that success by winning their first division title as the Thunder in the 2010–11 season and their first Western Conference championship as the Thunder in the 2011–12 season, appearing in the NBA Finals for the fourth time in franchise history and first since 1996, when the club was based in Seattle.