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Image credit: Fadeaway World
Not all NBA champions are built like the best teams in the league. For some teams, making the playoffs is all you need to do. Once in the playoffs, everyone dropped back to 0-0. After the first round, it could be anyone’s game. We see upsets all the time, so why don’t low seeds make it to the NBA Finals? That being said, we’ve never seen a seed lower than the sixth seed win an NBA title, but we’ve seen seventh and eighth seeds make it to the NBA Finals before.
These teams enter the playoffs as regular-season reserves. While some teams run away with home-court advantage, others struggle with adversity and even make it to the playoffs. These teams were able to put it together at the right time. These 10 champions have the worst record in the regular season. To be fair, we’re using the worst regular-season winning percentage, since the NBA didn’t implement a full 82-game regular-season schedule until the 1967-68 season, while other seasons were shortened by lockouts.
Despite technically having the worst winning percentage in the top 10, there are two teams that didn’t make this list. These included the 1947 champion Philadelphia Braves and the 1948 champion Baltimore Bullets. These two champions are considered BAA champions, not NBA champions. We’ve limited this list to NBA champions.
These are the worst regular-season teams to win the NBA Championship.
10. Boston Celtics 1956-57
Regular season record: 44-28 (61.11% winning percentage)
Playoff record: 7-3
The Celtics are led by MVP award winner Bob Cousy. He was joined by the great rebounding legend Bill Russell, the trusty Tom Heinsohn, the future great Bill Sharman, and the consistent Frank Ramsey. Sharman led the team with 21.1 points per game and shot 90.5 percent from the free-throw line. Cousy led the team in assists with 7.5 per game and played 36.9 minutes per game. Heinsohn played the most games, playing more than 70 games, while Russell shot 42.7 percent from the field and averaged 19.6 rebounds per game.
During the regular season, the Celtics started 13-3 but went on to win seven of their 11 straight games. The team ended up winning 12 of its next 14 games before finishing the year poorly. The Celtics have lost five of their final seven games of the season.
In the playoffs, Cousy stepped up. He averaged 20.2 points per game. Combined with Heinsohn’s 22.9 points, the Celtics were unstoppable and lost just three games in the playoffs. Russell averaged 24.4 rebounds per game, while Sharman shot 95 percent from the free-throw line. The Celtics swept the Nationals in three games before taking on the Hawks in a seven-game series in which Heinsohn scored 37 points and Russell had 32 rebounds in Game 7.
9. Minneapolis Lakers 1951-52
Regular season record: 40-26 (60.61% winning percentage)
Playoff record: 9-3
After finishing second in the Western Conference, the Lakers embarked on a memorable journey that included one of the greatest finishes in the NBA Finals. This season has been marked by the league expanding its foul lane in an attempt to slow down superstar George Mikan. The change had little effect on Mikan, who still averaged 23.8 points per game. However, Mikan lost the scoring title to Paul Arizin.
The Lakers lost their division title to the Rochester Royals by one game. The team started 10-3 but then lost seven of its next 17 games. The Lakers have won three consecutive victories many times, but then suffered a three-game losing streak. That being said, the team finished the regular season with three straight wins and headed into the playoffs with momentum.
The team started the playoffs with a two-game sweep of the Indianapolis Olympus. In the conference finals, the Lakers relied on scoring from Mikan, Vern Mickelson and Jim Pollard to beat the Royals in a 3-1 series. That led to an intense seven-game series with the New York Knicks. Mikan was the leading rebounder in all seven games. In the final two games of the season, Mikan had 28 points and 15 rebounds in the loss, then 22 points and 19 rebounds in the Game 7 win.
8. Rochester Royals 1950-51
Regular season record: 41-27 (60.3% winning percentage)
Playoff record: 9-5
The Royals are three games behind the Lakers in the Western Conference. The Royals are averaging 84.6 points per game, but the defense can’t hold when the team is averaging 81.7 points per game. The team was led by 6-foot-9 centers Arnie Risen, 6-foot-7 Jack Coleman and 6-foot-5 Arnie Johnson. The backcourt featured All-NBA selection Bob Davis.
The regular season team started with a 3-6 record. Ultimately, the team went 9-8 on Dec. 7 and never dropped below .500 that season. For a while, the team extended its record to 19-10, but the team struggled, going 31-25 with a few games left. The regular season ended on a high note with 10 wins in its final 12 games.
Defeated the Pistons 2-1 in the first round of the playoffs. After that, the team quickly eliminated the Lakers after losing the first game of the series. The NBA Finals with the New York Knicks was a scrimmage. The Royals took a 3-0 series lead, setting up Game 7 at home. In the last quarter of the game, the team won 79-75 with Risen’s 24 points and 13 rebounds.
7. Portland Trail Blazers 1976-77
Regular season record: 49-33 (59.76% winning percentage)
Playoff record: 14-5
This was one of Bill Walton’s most memorable seasons. The All-NBA second-team center won the Finals MVP award before the season ended. As of now, this remains the team’s only title. The team started the season by winning 22 of its first 31 games and its final few games.
If you count the record of 10 wins and 0 losses at home, the Blazers have won a total of 45 games at home this season. Despite all this success, the team has been chasing the Lakers and Nuggets all season. The Lakers won the division title with 53 games, while the Nuggets secured the No. 2 seed with 50 games.
Portland beat the Bulls to victory in the first-round series, then beat the Nuggets in Game 2 of the Finals. Despite losing to the Lakers in the regular season, the Blazers swept the Lakers in four games in the conference finals. Between Maurice Lucas, Lionel Hollins and Walton, the Lakers couldn’t stop the trio. In the Finals, the team lost the first two games to the 76ers. The team bounced back with four straight wins, including 20-point games from Hollins and Walton, and 23 rebounds from Bob Gross.
6. Syracuse Nationals 1954-55
Regular season record: 43-29 (59.72% winning percentage)
Playoff record: 7-4
Dolph Schayes was the 26-year-old leading the team at the time. Shayes led the team with 18.5 points and 12.3 rebounds. Paul Seymour had 14.6 points and 6.7 assists, while Red Rocha, Red Kerr and Earl Lloyd completed the scoring offense. The team struggled and entered January with a 17-13 record. It wasn’t until mid-February that the team emerged from mid-level play.
At 35-25, the team started to widen the gap, winning eight of its final 12 games. Schayes earned first-team All-NBA honors, while Seymour made the third team. With 43 victories, the team won the division title in five games against the Knicks. In the playoffs, the team beat the Celtics in four games, and Schayes scored 22 and 28 points in the team’s two victories.
The Finals were a seven-game series with the Pistons. The team won the first two games of the series, but then home shifted and the Pistons won the next three games. Schayes led by 28 points in Game 6, a 109-104 victory for the Sixers. The final game of the series was tense. With time running out, guard George King made a key free throw to give the team a 92-91 lead before stealing the ensuing field goal pass for the title.
4 tons. Boston Celtics 1968-69
Regular season record: 48-34 (58.54% winning percentage)
Playoff record: 12-6
For a team with the best defensive rating in the NBA, this team still ranks fourth in the East. The Baltimore Bullets, Philadelphia 76ers and New York Knicks all fared better, winning more than 50 games. The Celtics are in their senior years in Bill Russell’s final season.
The team relies heavily on John Havlicek, Bailey Howell and Sam Jones on offense. The Celtics started the season with a 19-6 record. The team dropped a few games and hit .500 the rest of the season. The team’s winning streak never exceeded five games, but the team won its final four games to head into the playoffs with momentum.
A five-game playoff win over the 76ers followed by a six-game series over the Knicks. The Finals featured the legendary seven-game series against the Los Angeles Lakers. After losing their first two games, the Celtics took advantage of Havlicek’s scoring and Russell’s rebounding to win the next two. After losing Game 5, Don Nelson dropped 25 points in Game 6, while Havlicek’s 26 points led to a 108-106 Game 7 victory.
4 tons. Golden State Warriors 1974-75
Regular season record: 48-34 (58.54% winning percentage)
Playoff record: 12-5
League MVP Rick Barry led the Warriors to the best record in the Western Conference. No team seems to be running away with the division this season. The top five teams in the league are all 40 wins, and the Warriors and Bulls compete for the top seed, with the Warriors beating the Bulls by one game.
Barry was named to the first team and was the team’s only All-Star, while Jamal Wilkes was named Rookie of the Year. The team had even more success after trading Nate Thurmond to the Bulls in the offseason. However, the Al Attles coach implemented a team-oriented system that sometimes saw 10 players score in a game.
The playoffs begin with a six-game series for the Sonics. In the conference finals, the series went seven games, and the team thought they would lose to the team that traded Thurmond. Instead, the team won its final two games, with Barry scoring 36 points in Game 6 and Wilkes 23 in Game 7. A four-game Finals sweep, with Barry scoring the most points in all four victories.
3. Houston Rockets 1994-95
Regular season record: 47-35 (57.32% winning percentage)
Playoff record: 15-7
The Rockets are about to win their first championship in franchise history. With the team dropping to the No. 6 seed, the ensuing season felt like a hangover. To inspire, the team made a blockbuster trade that landed All-Star Clyde Drexler and 3-point specialist Tracy Murray. Drexler fit in quickly, as he was a college teammate of All-Star Hakeem Olajuwon.
That being said, the Rockets finished the second half of the season 18-18. Olajuwon averaged 27.8 points, 10.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.8 steals and 3.4 blocks per game. Drexler, meanwhile, is averaging 21.4 points, 7.0 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.7 steals in 35 games. Olajuwon finished fifth in MVP voting, but fans were skeptical about the team’s playoff performance as the team finished with an average finish. This includes 7-87 in March and 5-7 in April.
The playoffs are a different story as the teams embark on their journey to the NBA Finals. It starts with winning a first-round series against the Jazz in five games. In the second round, the team trailed the Suns 1-3, but rebounded with three consecutive victories and won the series in seven games. In the conference finals, the Rockets tied the Spurs 2-2, but Olajuwon scored 42 and 39 points in Games 5 and 6, respectively. In the finals, the team quickly finished…
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