5 NBA players with worst plus-minus rating ft. Jordan Poole's -342
In the fast-paced world of the NBA, understanding player impact goes beyond traditional stats like points, rebounds, and assists. Enter the plus-minus statistic, a metric that often goes unnoticed but holds significant weight in evaluating a player's influence on the game.
Plus-minus measures a player's effect on the team's point differential during their time on the court. It's a straightforward yet powerful metric that reflects how much a team outscored or was outscored by its opponents while a specific player was in the game.
In this article, we're going to list the five NBA players who have the worst plus-minus ratings.
Cade Cunningham and four other NBA players with the worst plus-minus rating
#1 Jordan Poole (-342)
Jordan Poole is one of the saddest stories in the modern NBA. He went from being a champion with the Golden State Warriors to being arguably the worst player in the league right now. While Poole was optimistic about his new opportunity in Washington after being traded by the Warriors, he isn't providing the Wizards the numbers he promised.
Poole, alongside his new buddy Kyle Kuzma, is the main attraction in Washington at the moment but his -342 plus-minus rating means he has been one of the least effective players on the court. The Wizards are in 14th place in the Eastern Conference and have a disappointing 6-28 record.
#2 Kyle Kuzma (-313)
Similar to his teammate Jordan Poole, Kyle Kuzma was also once an NBA champion whose form dipped after joining a new team. Kuzma and Poole are the worst-performing players in the league right now, given their plus-minus ratings. While their averages are decent, it doesn't change the fact that the Washington stars are getting outscored by an overwhelming amount on a nightly basis.
#3 Jeremy Sochan (-304)
Initially seen as a player who could help the San Antonio Spurs get back up from the ground, especially when Victor Wembanyama came into the picture, Jeremy Sochan has been a disappointment. Sochan is more or less providing the same numbers he did in his rookie season despite playing a more significant role this year. With the lack of changes in his game, it's no wonder he isn't able to help the Spurs win games.
#4 Tyus Jones (-281)
It's no surprise that another Washington Wizards player is on this list. Given how poorly the Wizards have performed all season long, a role player like Tyus Jones is bound to get scored on by better teams every night. However, in fairness to him, the fact that he ranks higher than his star teammates Kyle Kuzma and Jordan Poole says a lot about how bad the team has been.
#5 Cade Cunningham (-268)
A surprising entry on this list is Cade Cunningham. He's the only player aside from Bojan Bogdanovic who is playing at an elite level for the Detroit Pistons, who are considered the worst team in the NBA today.
However, considering how he has the most playing time, he's prone to get scored on more often compared to his other teammates.