The Detroit Pistons are currently having an abysmal campaign in the NBA with just eight wins in 54 games so far, meaning that they are on track to becoming one of the worst teams the NBA has ever seen.
Which teams fall under the exclusive category of the worst teams that have played in the NBA?
Well, let's take a look at the ten worst teams in NBA history!
10. Houston Rockets 1982-1983 (14-68)
The Houston Rockets just about scraped into this list after this horrendous season in 1982-1983.
Although they could easily be replaced by this year's Detroit Pistons depending on how the season pans out.
It was a tough start for this Rockets team as it took them 11 games to even record their first win.
A much-needed 109-98 win in Indiana against the Pacers, would've given them a taste of hope, knowing that they could have built some momentum.
However, only nine wins and 71 games later, they recorded their name into the negative NBA history books.
Their star player that season, 6'1 point guard Allen Leavell, averaged 14.8 points (best on the team), 2.5 rebounds, and 6.7 assists (best on the team) per game.
In that campaign, the team scored an average of 99.3 points but conceded an average of 110.9 points per game.
They went on to have another bad campaign the next season but used their high draft picks to rebuild the roster.
This included the history-changing picks of Ralph Sampson, Hakeem Olajuwon, and Rodney McCray, which certainly saw their chances of winning rocket.
9. Vancouver Grizzlies 1996-1997 (14-68)
The Vancouver Grizzlies seemed to be hibernating in the season of 1996-1997 as they suffered a truly awful season.
It took eight games for them to find their first victory of the term, which wasn't as bad as the Rockets in 1982.
Moreover, it could be argued that defensively, they weren't disastrous.
They conceded an average of 99.4 points per game, which ranked 21st in the NBA that campaign.
Of course, their defensive performances could've been a lot better, but they certainly weren't the worst team in the NBA that season in terms of defence.
However, their attacking performances from that season really let their side down and contributed heavily to their 14-win record.
The team averaged a horrendous 89.2 points per game.
This included a heavy 68-106 thrashing from the Utah Jazz towards the middle of the season.
The lengthy 15-game losing streak would've shattered any remaining confidence the team did have.
8. Dallas Mavericks 1993-1994 (13-69)
In the 1993-94 campaign, the Mavericks lost out in some very close battles, showcasing that they did have some talent and fight about them, but they simply struggled to translate this into victories.
Furthermore, the Mavericks suffered from huge losing streaks that proved very hard to overcome.
Their longest losing streak was a staggering 20 games long.
They also made NBA history as that season they recorded the longest-ever home losing streak with 19 losses, one that the organisation would love to forget.
Their brightest spark was shooting guard Jim Jackson who posted an average of 19.2 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 4.6 assists per game
However, they did receive the second overall pick for their poor performances, which was used to draft star player Jason Kidd, who spent 8/19 seasons of his playing career with the Mavericks.
Kidd is currently the head coach in Dallas!
7. Atlanta Hawks 2004-2005 (13-69)
It was certainly a season to forget for the Atlanta Hawks.
Constant changes to the lineups and a lack of consistency off the court added fuel to the fire in Atlanta.
Giving up an average of 102.5 points per game and only scoring an average of 92.7 points in return was a huge recipe for disaster.
At least Antione Walker stood out from the rest after averaging around 20.4 PPG and 9.4 RPG, which is very impressive given the team's performances.
Moreover, rookies Josh Childress and Josh Smith had a fantastic season of development, despite the shocking season for the franchise.
6. LA Clippers 1986-1987 (12-70)
This proved to be a significant season for the Clippers.
Not only was it their worst-ever season, but it forced the team to make wide-scale changes to their backroom staff.
One of them was head coach Donald Chaney, who saw his three-year tenure in charge of the Clippers come to an abrupt end.
With a record of 3-3 in the first six games, they may have had hopes for a solid season ahead.
However, that record soon turned into an abysmal three wins and 15 losses.
Forward Michael Cage managed to lead his team in rebounds with an excellent record of 11.5 rebounds per game.
Many injuries and a lack of team cohesion all contributed to a horrific season.
But, it was a campaign that forced them to make changes that would turn their fortunes around for quite a few years.
5. New Jersey Nets 2009-2010 (12-70)
At the time of their worst-ever season, there was a lot of turmoil going on behind the scenes, including the negotiation of the sale of the franchise to Russian businessman Mikhail Prokhorov.
The Nets scored an average of 92.4 points per game, highlighting their lack of conviction in throwing the ball into the net of the hoop.
Furthermore, they conceded an average of 101.5 points per game.
It would be fair to argue that their roster had a lot of holes and various weaknesses, which many teams exploited.
However, in the campaign promising centre Brook Lopez shone amidst the chaos.
Lopez averaged 18.8 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 2.3 assists.
4. Dallas Mavericks 1992-1993 (11-71)
This is the second time the Mavericks have appeared on this list, which isn't something to be proud of.
The team struggled a lot in 1992, with Point guard being the only notable player on that roster at the time.
Although he was arguably their best player at the time, he did miss 20 of the 82 games, which contributed to the abysmal term that the team suffered.
He recorded an average of 18.2 points, 2 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game that he featured in that season.
The lack of experience and leadership would not have helped their fortunes, especially as the roster was filled with mainly younger players.
On the other hand, that season made quite a drastic change as they secured the fourth pick of the 1993 draft, where they drafted Jamal 'Monster Mash' Mashburn.
He went on to secure a spot in the first-team of the 1993-94 NBA all-rookie team.
3. Denver Nuggets 1997-1998 (11-71)
Despite their record that season, the team were not completely awful defensively as they conceded an average of 100.8 points per game.
Some teams that season had much worse defensive records, therefore, at least they weren't completely terrible.
Much like the previously mentioned 1996-1997 Vancouver Grizzlies, the Nuggets had an extremely tough time scoring points.
In that campaign, Denver recorded a mean of 89 points per match they played.
Their season started awfully as they only managed to find their first victory in their 13th game.
That is over an eighth of their season without a single win!!
Wait a minute it gets worse...
The team went on a whole losing streak of 23 games during the term!!
That booked their spot in this historic list.
However, there is one organisation that takes both first and second place, the Philadelphia 76ers.
2. Philadelphia 76ers 2015-2016 (10-72)
The most recent team on this list, and they take second place.
The 76ers had an abhorrent start to their season.
They had to wait 19 games for their first victory of the campaign.
Philadelphia beat the LA Lakers convincingly with a 103-91 scoreline.
The 76ers struggled heavily with injuries, including the missing centre Joel Embiid, who had to sit out the entire season due to a foot injury.
Although, they did manage to score an average of 97.4 points per game, which isn't as bad as some other teams on this list, but still not great.
Their poor scoring record, mixed with poor defensive performances contributed towards their second-worst campaign ever.
However, the poor campaign with very little expectations took the pressure off the rookies, who proceeded to shine.
Jahlil Okafor, the third pick of the 2015 draft, showed glimpses of his potential as he racked up an average of 17.5 points per game for his side, showing they had plenty of talent that they could build the team around.
1. Philadelphia 76ers 1972-1973 (9-73)
Here we are everyone, officially the worst-ever team to exist in the NBA's history.
Will the Detroit Pistons take their title???
Well, it's very unlikely considering they already have eight wins from 54 games, but it is not out of the question.
Their problem wasn't scoring points.
They averaged 104.1 points per game, which isn't awful.
However, they leaked a lot of points each game, averaging 116.2 points, which ultimately saw them have the worst NBA campaign on record.
That season, shooting guard Fred Carter was the brightest spot of a dark season as he tallied an average of 20 points, 6 rebounds, and 4.3 assists.
It will be seen in the future if anyone can knock the 76ers off the top spot in this list, however, it would take something remarkably bad from a side to be considered the worst-ever team in the NBA
The real question that everyone has on the tips of their tongue is, can the Philadelphia 76ers avoid making this list??
