What Was The Worst Record In Nba History?

The 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers finished the season with a 9-73 record, the worst in NBA history.

The 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers

The 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers were an embarrassment to the NBA. They finished the season with a record of 9-73, the worst record in NBA history. They were outscored by an average of 12 points per game, and their opponents won by an average margin of 19 points. They lost 14 games by 30 points or more, and their closest margin of victory was 7 points.

The Record

With a 9-73 record, the 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers set the record for the worst season in NBA history. The team suffered through a twenty-game losing streak, and their star player, Billy Cunningham, missed the entire season due to injury. Not surprisingly, the team struggled to score points, averaging just 97.2 per game.

The Team

The 1972–73 Philadelphia 76ers season was the franchise’s 27th season in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The team finished with a 9-73 win-loss record, the worst in NBA history. They qualified for the playoffs with a 4-58 record, making them one of only two teams (along with the expansion New Orleans Jazz) to ever qualify for the playoffs after winning less than 10 games in an 82-game season. The 76ers were swept in four games by the eventual Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics in the First Round.

The 1981-82 Cleveland Cavaliers

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The Record

The 1981-82 Cleveland Cavaliers finished the season with a record of 15-67, the worst record in NBA history. The team was plagued by injuries, and only won seven games after February. Head coach Bill Fitch was fired midway through the season, and replaced by assistant Gene Littles. The Cavaliers would improve slightly the following season, but would not return to respectability until the mid-1980s.

The Team

The 1981-82 Cavaliers were an expansion team in their second NBA season. They finished the season with a record of 15-67, the worst record in NBA history at the time. The team was coached by Bill Fitch and featured players such as World B. Free, James Edwards, and Johnny Davis.

The 1992-93 Dallas Mavericks

The 1992-1993 Dallas Mavericks finished the season with an abysmal 11-71 record, the worst in NBA history. This was a season of firsts for the franchise, as they also set the record for most losses in a single season. The Mavericks would go on to draft future Hall of Famer Dirk Nowitzki with the ninth pick in the 1998 NBA Draft.

The Record

The Mavericks finished the 1992-93 season with a record of 11-71, which is the worst record in NBA history. They were just one game shy of tying the then-record for worst record, which was 12-70, set by the 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers.

The Team

The 1992-93 Dallas Mavericks were an American professional basketball team based in Dallas, Texas. They were members of the Midwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Mavericks finished the regular season with a 20–62 record, worst in the NBA. This remains the Mavericks’ worst winning percentage in franchise history.

The 1997-98 Denver Nuggets

The 1997-98 Denver Nuggets finished the season with a record of 17-65, the worst record in NBA history. They were also the first team in NBA history to lose 60 games in a season. The Nuggets were so bad that they actually had a higher chance of getting the first overall pick in the NBA draft than winning a game.

The Record

The 1997-98 Denver Nuggets were an American professional basketball team based in Denver, Colorado. They were in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Nuggets played in the Midwest Division of the Western Conference. They played their home games at McNichols Sports Arena. The team was coached by Dan Issel, who was in his first season as head coach of the Nuggets.

Early in the 1997-98 season, the Nuggets traded All-Star forward Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf to the Sacramento Kings for center Michael Olowokandi and three future second-round draft picks. This trade signaled the beginning of a rebuilding phase for the franchise. The Nuggets finished with a franchise-worst record of 11–71. Their winning percentage of .134 is the lowest in NBA history for a full season.[1][2]

The Team

The 1997-98 Denver Nuggets were an American professional basketball team based in Denver, Colorado. They were in the Western Conference’s Midwest Division. The team compiled a franchise worst record of 11-71[1], and they are to date, the only team in NBA history to lose at least 70 games in a season and still make the playoffs. They did so because of the league’s decision to expand the first round of the playoffs from best-of-5 to best-of-7.[2]

The 2009-10 New Jersey Nets

The Record

In the 2009-10 season, the New Jersey Nets had the worst record in NBA history, finishing with a record of 12-70. They finished last in the Eastern Conference, 37 games behind the conference-leading Cleveland Cavaliers. They also had the worst point differential in NBA history, being outscored by an average of 12.5 points per game. The Nets’ season was so bad that they actually managed to lose to the Charlotte Bobcats, who had the second-worst record in NBA history at that time, by 22 points.

The Team

The New Jersey Nets were an American professional basketball team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Nets competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. The franchise was initially founded as the Akron Goodyear Tire Company in 1966. The team then became the New York Nets in 1968 and eventually relocated to New Jersey in 1977. They played their home games at the Meadowlands Arena from 1977 to 2010. The franchise sustained some success in the early years, making it to the ABA Finals in 1974 and 1976, but they failed to make a significant impact in the NBA. After several losing seasons, they had a massive rebuild that led to eight consecutive playoff appearances from 2002 to 2009, but they never made it past the Eastern Conference semifinals during that time. In 2009–10, their final season before moving to Brooklyn, they had a league-worst record of 12–70 (.146).