In 1973 the Philadelphia 76ers completed the worst season in NBA history, a record they would hold for almost 40 seasons. Then, the 2011-2012 Charlotte Bobcats happened and the worst NBA record ever.
The Bobcats 7-59 record amounted to a .106% winning percentage, which was worse than the 1973 Sixers mark of 9-73 with a winning percentage of just .110.
1. 2011-12 Charlotte Bobcats 7-59 .106%
Injuries and a lack of overall talent killed the Bobcats this season. Michael Jordan gets a lot of the blame for the horrible results and maybe he should. Charlotte fans have become accustomed to bad basketball as the team has made the playoffs just one time in nine years.
2. 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers 9-73 .110%
The Sixers were bad for the entire season, losing their first 15 games of the year and also having a then record 20 game losing streak later in the year. Philly won 30 games the previous year and no one expected the following year to be as bad as it was- the worst in NBA history for nearly 40 years. The media dubbed the team the “Nine and 76ers”, a witty reference to their inability to win games.
3. 2015-16 Philadelphia 76ers 10-72 .122%
“Trust The Process” was the mantra for this squad and used to be a joke until the team finally got good. 15 different players started a game, including an old broken down Elton Brand. Ish Smith was the second leading scorer. It is bad news when Ish Smith is your second leading scorer.
4. 1947-48 Providence Steam Rollers 6-42 .145%
The Steamrollers were one of the original eleven NBA franchises. The team still holds the NBA record for least games won in a season with six. That year the one record they set that wasn’t embarrassing was having the oldest player in NBA history play a game for them. At age 46, Nat Hickey set the record that still stands.
5t. 1992-93 Dallas Mavericks 11-71 .134%
The Mavericks Roster was almost completely devoid of talent, outside of Derek Harper and a young Jimmy Jackson. The team had to constantly tap into the CBA via the 10 day contract, which equated to a lot of minutes for journeymen like Terry Davis and Doug West. Rather than one long epic losing streak like some of the other teams on this list. The Mavs tortured fans with losing streaks of 12, 15, 8, 19. 5, 4 and 3. With the all-time losing mark on the line, the Mavs actually won their last two games.
I have a special affinity for this season. As a 12-year-old in Omaha, Nebraska armed with a transistor radio in my bedroom, thanks to the way radio stations used to crank up their signals at night, I listened to this entire season on the radio.
5t. 1997-98 Denver Nuggets 11-71 .134%
The Nuggets became the fourth team in NBA history to lose at least 70 games in a season. Denver tied the NBA record of consecutive losses at 23, a record that has since been eclipsed.
1 thought on “The 5 Worst Seasons In NBA History”
Comments are closed.