Digging into the NBA’s Rock Bottom Season
Okay, so the other day I was watching a game, and man, one team was just getting hammered. Like, couldn’t buy a basket, defense looked lost. It got me thinking, you know? What’s the absolute worst performance anyone’s ever put up over a full NBA season? Not just a bad stretch, but the whole 82-game slog.
I had a few teams pop into my head, some of the expansion squads from back in the day, or maybe some teams during obvious tanking years. But I wanted the actual, official record holder for the most losses, or fewest wins, specifically in an 82-game season. Felt like 82 games is the real test, you know? No excuses.
So, I did what we all do. Fired up the computer, opened a browser, and started poking around. Typed in a few things like “most losses nba season 82 games” and “lowest win total nba history”. Took a couple of clicks, wading through stats sites and articles.
Pretty quickly, one team kept showing up.
The 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers.
Their record? A staggering 9 wins and 73 losses. Nine wins! Out of 82 tries. That’s just brutal to think about. Imagine showing up night after night knowing the odds were that stacked against you.
I read a little more about that specific season. It wasn’t pretty.
- They apparently started the season 0-15.
- Later on, they had a separate 20-game losing streak.
- The team wasn’t exactly loaded with star power after some trades and departures.
It was just one of those nightmare seasons where nothing goes right. You gotta feel for the players and the fans who lived through that.
Comparing the Lows
Now, some folks might bring up the 2011-12 Charlotte Bobcats. And yeah, their winning percentage (.106) was technically lower. They went 7-59. But, and this was the key part of my original search, that was a lockout-shortened season. Only 66 games.
For the full 82-game marathon, those ’72-’73 Sixers hold the mark for the fewest wins with just 9. It’s kind of the benchmark for futility over a complete NBA schedule.
So yeah, that was my little dive into the worst of the worst. Just wild to think a professional team could struggle that much for that long. Makes you appreciate the teams that manage to win even 20 or 30 games, honestly. It’s tough out there.
