Which are the 5 worst records in an 82-game NBA season?
In the NBA's vast history, certain teams have faced daunting challenges resulting in some of the poorest performances over an 82-game season. Here's a dive into the history books to look at the teams that struggled the most.
Because this is a list of 82-game seasons, the 2011-12 Charlotte Bobcats are not in this list as they only played in a shortened 66-game season.
Five NBA teams that performed the worst in an 82-game season
In this list, we try to check out who the players and coaches were, look at what happened and how it affected the team moving forward.
#5, 1986-87 LA Clippers: 12-70
During the most challenging season for the LA Clippers, Michael Cage stood out with 15.7 points and 11.5 rebounds per game. The team traded him a year later, and they missed on drafting David Robinson. The team fell to the fourth pick, taking Georgetown star Reggie Williams and passing on Scottie Pippen.
The Clippers were the butt of all losing jokes at this point, and they spent the entire 1980s with a winning percentage of 39%.
#4, 2009-2010 New Jersey Nets (12-70)
The NBA draft has not been nice to the Brooklyn Nets, but they managed to get Brook Lopez, who emerged as the team's star with 18.8 ppg and 8.6 rps in his sophomore year. But the team started with a dismal 0-18 record. The ownership changed hands with Mikhail Prokhorov acquiring the team and leading the overhaul by getting Deron Williams the following season.
#3, 1997-98 Denver Nuggets (11-71)
After not signing Dikembe Mutombo, the Denver Nuggets were the NBA's worst team entering the 1997-98 season and started with an 0-12 record. Johnny Newman was the team's best scorer with 14.7 ppg followed by LaPhonso Ellis not far behind with 14.3 ppg.
After this year, it seemed that it was just the start of their bad luck as they passed on stars like Dirk Nowitzki and Paul Pierce for Raef LaFrentz in the next draft.
#2, 1992-93 Dallas Mavericks (11-71)
This was a tough year for the Dallas Mavericks after owning a meager 13.4% winning percentage. Jim Jackson stood out among everyone, and Derek Harper was the only visible veteran who they lost to injury. The Mavericks at this time were mediocre, but having Jason Kidd and Jamal Mashburn the following seasons made them an exciting team.
It was only in 2000 when Mark Cuban decided to buy the team and won a championship in 2011.
#1, 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers (9-73)
So here we are at the bottom of the barrel where you can find the 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers failing to win double-digit games in the NBA. Fred Carter was the silver lining for this season, but people at this time can't imagine how hard the Sixers fell since winning a championship six years earlier.
Even when the Sixers tanked in the mid-2010s, they were not able to reach this deep, when Carter had to endure several losing streaks.