How many Pro Sports Teams Don't End in the Letter "S" and Which Are They?

Hint, there are 4 in the NBA, 3 in the NHL, 2 in the MLB and 1 in the NFL. Can you name them all?

Updated Jan 12 2023 | Read: 3 min

It's crazy to consider that most every team ends in the letter "s" in the four major U.S. Professional Sports. What is crazier is that up until this year, there were zero in the NFL. We'll explore what's changed.

But first, one thing we notice is that having an "S" in your team name is required to be the best franchise in your professional sports league, as none of the teams below lead their league in championships won.

Editor's note - There are 51 cities with 157 professional teams.

How many pro sports team names do not end in "S"?

There are 10 teams that do not end in S. Check out our College Team list

4 National Basketball Association (NBA) teams that do not end in "S"

1. Miami Heat - Miami Heats would just sound awkward.
2. Oklahoma City Thunder - Does Thunder even have a plural?
3. Orlando Magic - Magic plural is more appropriate for high fantasy literature. As in, "Tolkien created the various magics of Middle-Earth ..."
4. Utah Jazz - Jazzs. Just doesn't look right.

3 National Hockey League (NHL) teams that do not end in "S"

1. Colorado Avalanche - One Avalanche is danger enough, multiple Avalanches would be insane. They may have gotten Ray Bourque a Stanley Cup win, but they took Dexter Rutecki from us, and for that, we can never truly forgive them.
2. Minnesota Wild - Yeah, we aren't really sure how Wilds would play out. Best to stick to just Minnesota Wild.
3. Tampa Bay Lightning - Does Lightning even have a plural?

2 Major League Baseball (MLB) teams that do not end in "S"

1. Boston Red Sox - They play at Fenway Pahk. Mispronunciation is a thing in Boston. Also, they were the Red Stockings, so they used to have an "s", but alas, team owner, John I. Taylor changed their name to Red Sox in the early 1900s. The Red Sox also used to have a guy on the team who drank 60 beers on a cross country flight, so they do things differently in Boston we guess.
2. Chicago White Sox - Like the Red Sox, can we really blame the South Siders for not knowing how to spell in 1900? Although, the Chicago Pale Hose would have been a fun choice. And, another name without the "s". Kuds to you, Chicago.

1 National Football League (NFL) team that does not end in "S"

1. Washington Football Team - Ahh yes, WFT, the team formerly known as the Washington Redskins. Not taking a cue from Prince, but rather coming to their senses and getting with the times is the Washington Football Team. We're actually big fans of the name. Sure, they no longer have an "S" in their name like they did when they were the Redskins, but their name is clean and their unis are slick. We're sold.

Update: The Washington Football Team is now the Commanders.

Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) teams that do not end in "S"

1. Atlanta Dream
2. Chicago Sky
3. Connecticut Sun
4. Indiana Fever
5. New York Liberty
6. Minnesota Lynx
7. Phoenix Mercury
8. Seattle Storm

Wrapping up

18 teams do not have an "S" in American Pro Sports, currently. In 2021, the list will expand to 19 with the NHL picking up one more team, the Seattle Kraken. We'd be lying if we weren't going to press a few BLTs and drink a few cold beers in anticipation of Seattle getting a hockey team.