The

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA) is a

professional basketball In professional sports, as opposed to amateur sports, participants receive payment for their performance. Professionalism in sport has come to the fore through a combination of developments. Mass media and increased leisure have brought larger a ...

league with teams in the United States and Canada. Nearly every team, with one exception, has a squad of dancers for

cheerleading Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense Physical exercise, physical activity. It can be performed to motivate s ...

that are usually involved in dancing, charity work,

fundraisers Fundraising or fund-raising is the process of seeking and gathering voluntary financial contributions by engaging individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies. Although fundraising typically refers to efforts to gathe ...

, and

modeling A model is an informative representation of an object, person, or system. The term originally denoted the Plan_(drawing), plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French language, French and Italian language, Italian ult ...

.NBA Dance Teams, I Love This Game, Manlyweb.com
/ref> However, the #MeToo Movement has resulted in many NBA teams replacing their all-girl dance teams with family-friendly hype teams in recent years.

Teams

The only team currently without traditional NBA dancers is the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

. Until 2018, they had a dance squad called the Silver Dancers.

Notable NBA cheerleaders

Atlanta Hawks

Deneen Graham Deneen Zezell Graham Kerns is a dance teacher and pageant contestant from North Carolina. In 1983, she became the first African-American to win the Miss North Carolina beauty pageant; she remained the only African-American to have won the Miss Nort ...

(1994) –

Miss North Carolina The Miss North Carolina competition selects the representative for the state of North Carolina to compete in the annual Miss America competition. The competition has been held in High Point, North Carolina since 2021 and was previously held in R ...

1983 * Kaylin Reque (2008–11) –

Miss Georgia USA The Miss Georgia USA competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Georgia in the Miss USA pageant. This pageant is directed Greenwood Productions under the ownership of Miss Tennessee USA 1989 Kim Greenwood and i ...

2011 *Laurie Flynn – wife of

Matt Schaub Matthew Rutledge Schaub (; born June 25, 1981) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback for 17 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Virginia Cavaliers, and was selecte ...

Boston Celtics

* Michelle Leonardo (2013–present) –

Miss New Jersey USA The Miss New Jersey USA competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of New Jersey in the Miss USA pageant. It is produced by D&D Productions. New Jersey has yet to win the Miss USA title, although from 1989 to 1991 ...

2012

Brooklyn Nets

*Melissa Becraft (2017–present) – dancer, TikToker *

Cassie Yeung Cassie Yeung (born April 13, 1994) is an American chef, TikToker, and dancer. Early life and education Yeung was born on April 13, 1994, and grew up in South Brunswick, New Jersey. She is of Chinese Singaporean descent. Yeung attended South Br ...

(2016–2018) – Chef, TikToker

Chicago Bulls

* Shanon Lersch (2004–09) –

Miss Illinois USA The Miss Illinois USA pageant is a competition that selects the representative for the state Illinois in the Miss USA pageant. It is directed by Vanbros and Associates and is previously directed by D&D Productions from 2001 to 2014 before bec ...

2008 *Ashley Bond (2007–13) –

2009 Maya Hayes (1996–1999) – dancer and choreographer Currently the Founder and President of the National Basketball Dancer Alumni Club est. 2023. She also served as the game day entertainment coordinator and choreographer for the Jr. Basketball League under the direction of Mr. LaVar Ball.

Dallas Mavericks

*Cindy Villarreal (1989–90) – choreographer *Kandi Harris (2004–05) – wife of

Hunter Mahan Hunter Myles Mahan (born May 17, 1982) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. He is a winner of two World Golf Championship events, the 2010 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and the 2012 WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship ...

Jill Marie Jones Jill Marie Jones is an American actress and former professional dancer and cheerleader. Jones is best known for her role as Antoinette "Toni" Childs-Garrett on the UPN comedy series, '' Girlfriends'' (2000–2006). Jones has appeared in a ...

– actress, Toni on '' Girlfriends'' *Maya Hayes (2007–2009) – dancer and choreographer Currently the Founder and President of the National Basketball Dancer Alumni Club est. 2023. She also served as the game day entertainment coordinator and choreographer for the Jr. Basketball League under the direction of Mr. LaVar Ball.

Denver Nuggets

*Lindsey Kovacevich (2005–07) – anchor and reporter of

KVAL-TV KVAL-TV (channel 13) is a television station in Eugene, Oregon, United States, affiliated with CBS. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, which provides certain services to dual NBC/ CW+ affiliate KMTR (channel 16) under a shared services a ...

Detroit Pistons

*Cassandra Ferguson – contestant on '' The Bachelor''

season 18 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and polar ...

*Heather Zara – traffic reporter of

WDIV-TV WDIV-TV (channel 4) is a television station in Detroit, Michigan, United States, affiliated with NBC. It serves as the flagship broadcast property of the Graham Media Group subsidiary of Graham Holdings Company. WDIV-TV maintains studio facili ...

Golden State Warriors

Bonnie-Jill Laflin Bonnie-Jill Laflin (born March 15, 1976) is an American actress, model, television personality and sportscaster. Laflin has also worked as an actress and most notably as a scout for the Los Angeles Lakers, making her the league's first female sc ...

(1992–94) – model, actress, television personality

Houston Rockets

Natalie Alvarado Natalie Nicole Alvarado, better known simply as Natalie, is an American R&B singer and songwriter. She is currently the entertainment director for the Houston Rockets. Biography After her high school years, she chose to study criminal justic ...

(1997–2004) – singer and dance team director of the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves (often referred to as the Wolves or T-wolves) are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Divisio ...

*Casey Potter (2016–2018) – director of the Houston Texans Cheerleaders

Indiana Pacers

* Angela Sparrow (2006–07) –

2011 *Jocelyn Peck (2013–present) – wife of Stanley Havili

Los Angeles Clippers

Eve Torres Eve Torres Gracie (born Eve Marie Torres on August 21, 1984) is an American actress, dancer, model, martial arts instructor and retired professional wrestler. She is best known for her tenure in WWE, where she was a record tying three-time WWE D ...

(2006–07) – wrestler *Jocelyn Peck (2010–12) – wife of Stanley Havili

Los Angeles Lakers

Paula Abdul Paula Julie Abdul (born June 19, 1962) is an American singer, dancer, choreographer, actress, and television personality. She began her career as a cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers at the age of 18 and later became the head choreographe ...

(1980s) – singer, dancer, choreographer, television personality *

Tina Landon Tina Landon (born January 6, 1963) is an American choreographer based in Los Angeles who has worked with Janet Jackson, Prince, Anastacia, Mýa, Pink, Jay-Z, Marc Anthony, Kristi Yamaguchi, Aerosmith, Jennifer Lopez, Christina Aguilera, Ricky Mar ...

(1980s) – dancer, choreographer *

Emily Harper Emily Harper (born February 16, 1978, in Cincinnati, Ohio) is an American actress. Career Harper starred in a ''Mike's Hard Lemonade'' commercial in 2004. Her first regular TV role was as Fancy Crane on the soap opera ''Passions'' from 2005 t ...

(2000–03) – actress * Cindy Leos (2000–01) – dancer, choreographer, celebrity trainer * Sandra Colton (2002–03) – dancer, author *

Taylour Paige Taylour Paige-Angulo (née Paige; born October 5, 1990) is an American actress. She received recognition for starring in the VH1 sports drama series '' Hit the Floor'' (2013–2016) and the comedy drama film '' Jean of the Joneses'' (2016). Her ...

(2010) – dancer, actress * Leah Van Dale (2010–11) –

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...

wrestler *Natasha Martinez (2011–12) –

Miss California USA Miss California USA is the beauty pageant that selects the representative for the state of California in the Miss USA pageant, and the name of the title held by that winner. The pageant is directed by Crown Diva Productions. California's mos ...

2015 *

Moon Bloodgood Korinna Moon Bloodgood (born September 20, 1975), known by her stage name Moon Bloodgood, is an American actress and model, known for her role as Lieutenant Blair Williams in the 2009 film ''Terminator Salvation'' and as Anne Glass in the TNT te ...

– model, actress *

Vanessa Curry Vanessa Curry (born in Fremont, California) is an American model, dancer, and singer. Career Curry was a Laker girl in the 2007–08 season. She was a member of the third and fourth line-up of The Pussycat Dolls (2010–12) and graduated f ...

– singer

Memphis Grizzlies

Stacey Tookey Stacey Tookey (born July 10, 1976) is a Canadian choreographer and dancer known for her frequent appearances as a resident choreographer and guest judge on the Canadian and American versions of the dance-competition reality-television show '' ...

– dancer, choreographer

Miami Heat

Jessica Sutta Jessica Lynn Sutta (born May 15, 1982) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer and former actress. She is a former member of the girl group The Pussycat Dolls. As a solo artist, Sutta shelved her first attempt with a debut album, ''Sutta Pop'' ( ...

(1999–2002) – singer, dancer, actress, member of the pop girl group

The Pussycat Dolls The Pussycat Dolls were an American girl group and dance ensemble, founded in Los Angeles, California, by choreographer Robin Antin in 1995 as a neo-burlesque troupe. At the suggestion of Jimmy Iovine, Antin decided to take the troupe mainstrea ...

Trista Rehn Trista Nicole Sutter ( Rehn, born October 28, 1972) is an American television personality who was the runner-up on season 1 of '' The Bachelor'' before becoming the star of the first season of its companion show, '' The Bachelorette''. Sutter ...

(2000–02) – contestant on '' The Bachelor''

season 1 Season One may refer to: Albums * ''Season One'' (Suburban Legends album), 2004 * ''Season One'' (All Sons & Daughters album), 2012 * ''Season One'' (Saukrates album), 2012 See also * * * Season 2 (disambiguation) Season 2 may refer to: ...

*Jenni Croft (2005–06) – contestant on ''The Bachelor'' season 11 *

Layla El Layla El (born 25 June 1977) is an English retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, dancer and Model (person), model. She is best known for her tenure in WWE, under the mononymous ring name Layla. She danced for Carnival Cruise L ...

(2004–06) – model, dancer, actress, wrestler *Hennely Jimenez (2006–07) – Actress, starred in the film ''

200 mph ''200 mph'' is an auto racing action film directed by Cole McKay and distributed by The Asylum. It was released direct-to-DVD April 26, 2011. It is a mockbuster of the 2011 Universal Pictures film ''Fast Five''. Plot When the older brother ( ...

'' *

Kristina Akra Kristina is a feminine given name and a variant of Christina. Notable people and characters with the name include: People *the Swedish name of Christina of Sweden * Kristina (born 1987), Slovak singer *Kristina Adolphson (born 1937), Swedish actre ...

– reporter for

Fox Sports South FanDuel Sports Network South is an American regional sports network owned by Main Street Sports Group (formerly Diamond Sports Group) and operated as an affiliate of FanDuel Sports Network. The network carries regional coverage of professional a ...

* Traci Young-Byron – (8 Year Vet) MTV's America's Best Dance Crew Season 3 Lifetime's Bring it

Set it up ''Set It Up'' is a 2018 American romantic comedy film directed by Claire Scanlon, written by Katie Silberman, and starring Zoey Deutch, Glen Powell, Taye Diggs, and Lucy Liu. The plot follows two overworked assistants who try to set up their ...

Milwaukee Bucks

Tanya Fischer Tanya may refer to: People * Tanya (name), a feminine given name Film * ''Tanya'' (1940 film), a Soviet musical comedy by Grigori Aleksandrov * ''Tanya'' (1976 film), a low-budget American comedy Music * "Tanya", a composition by Donald Byrd, ...

(2003–04) – Actress of '' The Defenders'' * Bishara Dorre (2008–11) –

Miss Wisconsin USA The Miss Wisconsin USA competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Wisconsin in the Miss USA pageant. Since 2007, the state pageant has been directed by Future Productions of Savage, Minnesota. Wisconsin is on ...

2014

Minnesota Timberwolves

* Brittany Thelemann –

Miss Minnesota USA The Miss Minnesota USA competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Minnesota in the Miss USA pageant. It is directed by Future Productions based in Savage, Minnesota since its inception in 1995, which also dire ...

2011

New Jersey/Brooklyn Nets

*Denise Garvey (1999–2000) – former

Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders (sometimes initialized as DCC, and officially nicknamed "America's Sweethearts") are the National Football League cheerleading squad representing the Dallas Cowboys team. They have a unique fashion sense, wearing ...

, former

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...

dancer, director of the New York

Jets Flight Crew The Jets Flight Crew were a professional cheerleading squad for the New York Jets of the National Football League. The group was established in 2006 as the Jets Flag Crew, composed of six female flag carriers. In 2007, the group expanded and was ...

Keltie Knight Keltie Colleen Knight (born January 28, 1982) is a three-time Emmy Award-winning Canadian television personality, podcast host, New York Times bestselling author, and former professional dancer. Formerly, she was the weekend co-host and correspo ...

(2003–05) – Television entertainment reporter

New Orleans Hornets

Dawn Richard Dawn Angeliqué Richard (born August 5, 1983) is an American singer from New Orleans, Louisiana. She began her career auditioning for MTV's '' Making the Band 3'' in 2004, during which she formed the girl group Danity Kane. The group signed wi ...

– singer, dancer, former member of

Danity Kane Danity Kane is an American music group whose most recent line-up consisted of Aubrey O'Day, Dawn Richard, and Shannon Bex. The group originally had five members, but D. Woods, Wanita "D. Woods" Woodgett left the group in 2008, and Aundrea Fimbre ...

New York Knicks

*Heather Van Arsdel (1998–2005) –

WPTZ WPTZ (channel 5) is a television station licensed to Plattsburgh, New York, United States, serving as the NBC affiliate for the Burlington, Vermont–Plattsburgh, New York market. It is owned by Hearst Television alongside Montpelier, Vermo ...

news anchor *Denise Garvey (2001–05) – former

, former

New Jersey Nets New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

dancer, director of the New York

Asia Nitollano Asia Nitollano (born February 14, 1988) is an American singer, dancer, model and cheerleader. After winning the television series '' Pussycat Dolls Present: The Search for the Next Doll'', Nitollano became a member of the Pussycat Dolls, only t ...

(2006–07) – singer, dancer, former Pussycat Doll *Amanda Grace (2008) – director of the

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The club w ...

Ice Dancers *Sarah Mitchell – dancer, actress *Sydney Lotuaco (2015–18) – Contestant of '' The Bachelor'' season 23

Oklahoma City Thunder

*Kimberly Sullivan (2008–09) – contestant on '' The Bachelor'' season 14 * Ali Dudek – singer (during the team's

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

days)

Orlando Magic

* Megan Clementi (2003–08) –

Miss Florida USA The Miss Florida USA competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Florida in the Miss USA pageant. Up until the 2017 pageant, both Miss and Teen state pageants were held separately in different months. In recen ...

2010 * Trinity McCray –

wrestler *

Sandy Fox Sandra Marie Fox (née Kessler; born July 13, 1963) is an American voice actress who has had numerous roles in various animated cartoon, anime, and video games. She portrayed the live-action Betty Boop and has provided her voice for Universal Stu ...

(1988–91) – Voice actress

Philadelphia 76ers

* Amber-Joi Watkins (2005–07) –

Miss Pennsylvania USA The Miss Pennsylvania USA competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Pennsylvania in the Miss USA pageant. It has been previously known as Miss Pennsylvania Universe. This pageant is independently conducted an ...

2011

Phoenix Suns

* Brittany Bell (2006–09) –

Miss Arizona USA Miss Arizona USA is the beauty pageant that selects the representative for the state of Arizona in the Miss USA pageant, and the name of the title held by its winner. The pageant is directed by Casting Crown Productions. Arizona's most successf ...

2010 *Jenni Croft (2006–09) – contestant on '' The Bachelor'' season 11 *Kat Hurd (2013–present) – contestant on '' The Bachelor''

* Tiffany Dunn – singer

Portland Trail Blazers

* Caysie Torrey (1997–98) – dancer, actress, clothing model *

Shannon Bex Shannon Rae Bex (born March 22, 1980) is an American singer, dancer, and reality show personality. She was also a member of girl group Danity Kane. Early life Bex was born in Gresham, Oregon, to parents Pamela and Marshall. She has an older b ...

(1999–2004) – singer, dancer, former member of

Sacramento Kings

* Vanessa Born (2001–03) – actress and dancer *Aubrey Aquino – TV reporter and hostAubrey Up Close
/ref>

Toronto Raptors

Nicole Arbour Nicole Arbour is a Canadian comedian, speaker, choreographer, singer, actress, and YouTuber. Career Arbour is a former cheerleader for the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association. While studying at Humber College, she started ...

– YouTube comedian and provocateur * Nikki Grant (2007–09) – actress

Utah Jazz

Tiffany Coyne Tiffany Adams Coyne (born May 6, 1982) is an American model and dancer presently known best for her role of model and hostess on the CBS game show ''Let's Make a Deal''. Biography On May 6, 1982, Tiffany Lynn Adams was born in Layton, Utah. Her ...

(2000–02) – Co-host and model on ''

Let's Make a Deal ''Let's Make a Deal'' (also known as ''LMAD'') is a television game show that originated in the United States in 1963 and has since been produced in many countries throughout the world. The program was created and produced by Stefan Hatos and Mo ...

'' on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

*Jocelyn Peck (2007–10) – wife of Stanley Havili *Jessica Sanchez – morning traffic reporter of

WKMG-TV WKMG-TV (channel 6) is a television station in Orlando, Florida, United States, affiliated with CBS and owned by Graham Media Group. The station's studios are located on John Young Parkway ( SR 423) in Orlando, and its transmitter is located o ...

References

External links