The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City, Utah. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference. Since 1991, the team has played home games at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City. The franchise began play in 1974 as the New Orleans Jazz, based in New Orleans, Louisiana, before moving to Salt Lake City in 1979. The Jazz is currently one of two franchises from the major North American professional sports leagues to be based in the state of Utah; the other is Major League Soccer's Real Salt Lake.