The

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

(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 larg ...

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 activity. It can be performed to motivate sports teams, to ente ...

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 plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin ''modulus'', a measure. Models c ...

.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 league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Southwest Division ( ...

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

Notable NBA cheerleaders

Atlanta Hawks

Deneen Graham Deneen Zezell Graham Kernsis 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 North ...

(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 Raleigh every year since 1978. Prior to that, it was held in vario ...

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 ...

2011 *Laurie Flynn – wife of

Matt Schaub Matthew Schaub (born June 25, 1981) is a former American football quarterback who played for 17 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Virginia Cavaliers, and was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the th ...

Boston Celtics

Michelle Leonardo Michelle Leonardo (born June 28, 1991) is an American dancer and model and beauty pageant contestant who won the Miss New Jersey Teen USA pageant in 2008 and the Miss New Jersey USA pageant in 2012. She placed in the Top 10 at Miss USA 2012. S ...

(2013–present) -

Miss New Jersey USA The Miss New Jersey USA competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the U.S. state, 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 ...

2012

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

Dallas Mavericks

*Cindy Villarreal (1989–90) – choreographer *Kandi Harris (2004–05) – fiancee 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 (born January 4, 1975) 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). Jon ...

– actress, Toni on '' Girlfriends''

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/The CW Plus, CW+ affiliate KMTR (channel 16) under a shared ...

Detroit Pistons

*Cassandra Ferguson – contestant on '' The Bachelor'' season 18 *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 faciliti ...

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 ...

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

Houston Rockets

Natalie Alvarado Natalie Nicole Alvarado (born September 2, 1979), better known simply as Natalie, is an American R&B singer and songwriter. Biography After her high school years, she chose to study criminal justice. She was previously a cheerleader for the ...

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

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. Founded in 19 ...

*Casey Potter (2016-2018) director of the

Houston Texans Cheerleaders The Houston Texans Cheerleaders are the official cheerleading squad of the Houston Texans of the National Football League. Although they are marketed as cheerleaders, they are actually a dance team. The group has been with the team since the tea ...

Indiana Pacers

* Angela Sparrow (2006–07) –

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

Stanley Havili Stanley Havili (born November 14, 1987) is a former American football fullback. He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the seventh round of the 2011 NFL Draft. He played college football at Southern California. Personal life Havili's par ...

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 former professional wrestler. She is best known for her time with WWE, where she was the first ever three-time WWE ...

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

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 choreograph ...

(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 Prince, Anastacia, Mýa, Pink, Jay-Z, Marc Anthony, Kristi Yamaguchi, Aerosmith, Jennifer Lopez, Christina Aguilera, Ricky Martin, Janet Jack ...

(1980s) – dancer, choreographer *

Emily Harper Emily Harper (born February 16, 1978, in Cincinnati, Ohio) is an American actress. Career She starred in a ''Mike's Hard Lemonade'' commercial in 2004. Harper portrayed Fancy Crane on the soap opera ''Passions'' from 2005 to 2008. She was i ...

(2000–03) – actress * Cindy Leos (2000–01) - dancer, choreographer, celebrity trainer *

Sandra Colton Sandra Lynn Colton (born July 27, 1978) is an American dancer, singer, and actress. Born in Des Moines, Iowa and raised in Millbrae, California and later in Las Vegas Valley, Las Vegas, Nevada, she is the younger of two sisters. First performing at ...

(2002–03) – dancer, author *

Taylour Paige Taylour Dominique Paige-Angulo (born October 5, 1990) is an American actress and dancer. She is best known for her role as Ahsha Hayes in the VH1 sports drama series '' Hit the Floor'', and has gained recognition for her performances in the fi ...

(2010) – dancer, actress *

Leah Van Dale Leah Van Dale (born October 23, 1987) is an American professional wrestler, dancer and model. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Carmella, where she is a former WWE SmackDown Women's Champion ...

(2010–11) –

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

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 most ...

2015 *

Moon Bloodgood Korinna Moon Bloodgood (born September 20, 1975) is an American actress and model, known for her role as Lt. Blair Williams in the 2009 film ''Terminator Salvation'' and as Anne Glass in the TNT television series '' Falling Skies''. Early life ...

– model, actress *

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

– 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 ''S ...

– dancer, choreographer

Miami Heat

Jessica Sutta Jessica Lynn Sutta (born May 15, 1982), previously known as J Sutta, is an American singer, dancer, and actress. She is best known as a former member of the American girl group the Pussycat Dolls. Born and raised in Miami, Florida, Sutta develo ...

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

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

Trista Rehn , stylized as Book☆Walker, is a Japanese e-book store that sells manga, light novels, and magazines from various publishers, as well as a few published by themselves. It is based in Chiyoda, Tokyo and was created by Kadokawa Corporation. The c ...

(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 4 (disambiguat ...

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

Layla El Layla El (born 25 June 1977) is an English real estate agent and retired professional wrestler, dancer and model. She is best known for her tenure with WWE from 2006 to 2015, where she performed under the mononymous ring name Layla. She dance ...

(2004–06) – model, dancer, actress, wrestler *Hennely Jimenez (2006–07) – Actress, starred in the film '' 200 mph'' * Kristina Akra – reporter for

Fox Sports South Bally Sports South (BSSO) is an American regional sports network owned by Diamond Sports Group, and operates as an affiliate of Bally Sports Networks. The network carries regional coverage of professional and collegiate sports events from across ...

* 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 deman ...

Milwaukee Bucks

* Tanya Fischer (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 direc ...

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. History 1960s During a game between the C ...

, 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 New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...

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 ...

New Orleans Hornets

Dawn Richard Dawn Angeliqué Richard (born August 5, 1983) is an American singer-songwriter. She started her career after auditioning for ''Making the Band 3'' in 2004. During this time, Richard became a member of girl band Danity Kane, from 2005 to 2009, a ...

– singer, dancer, former member of

Danity Kane Danity Kane was an American girl group whose original and most well-known lineup comprised Aubrey O'Day, Aundrea Fimbres, Dawn Richard, Shannon Bex, and Wanita "D. Woods" Woodgett. Its most recent iteration included O'Day and Richard as a duo ...

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, Vermont� ...

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

, former

New Jersey Nets New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

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 ...

(2006–07) – singer, dancer, former

*Amanda Grace (2008) – director of the

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional sports, 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 ...

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

season 23 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 pol ...

Oklahoma City Thunder

*Kimberly Sullivan (2008–09) – contestant on '' The Bachelor'' season 14 *

Ali Dudek ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; 600 – 661 CE) was the last of four Rightly Guided Caliphs to rule Islam (r. 656 – 661) immediately after the death of Muhammad, and he was the first Shia Imam. ...

– singer (during the team's

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

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 recent ...

2010 *

Trinity McCray Trinity Fatu ( née McCray; born November 30, 1987) is an American professional wrestler and dancer. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Naomi. In August 2009, Naomi signed with World ...

–

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 St ...

(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 and ...

2011

Phoenix Suns

Brittany Bell Brittany Mesa Bell (born November 9, 1987) is an American model, dancer, and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Guam 2014 and represented Guam at Miss Universe 2014, where she was unplaced. She had previously been crowned Miss Arizo ...

(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'' season 18 * 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, reality show personality, professional dancer, and co-founder of Vooks. the world's first streaming platform for children's storybooks. She was also a member of girl group Danity Kane ...

(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, 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 her cheerl ...

- 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 best known for her role of model and hostess on the CBS game show ''Let's Make a Deal''. Early life and career Tiffany Lynn Adams was born in Layton, Utah on May 6, 1982. She ...

(2000–02) – Co-host and model on ''

Let's Make a Deal ''Let's Make a Deal'' (also known as ''LMAD'') is an American television musical comedy variety-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 an ...

'' on

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

*Jocelyn Peck (2007–10) – wife of

*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 i ...