The Underachievers: The Most Disappointing Teams in NBA History

Oh man.

The Lakers had a historically disappointing season.

Anthony Davis once again couldn’t stay on the court. Westbrook struggled in the limelight.  And LeBron, who also had his battles with injuries, lost the most games he’s ever lost in a single season (48) and missed the playoffs for only the 4th time in his career. 

Pheww! Sorry Lakers fans. 

And while we don’t exactly hate seeing Lakers fans suffer, we do have two treats in store for you: 1. we just put a 20% discount on all Lakers gear (you’re welcome) and 2. We’ve assembled a list of the other most disappointing teams in history, so you don’t have to feel alone while watching the start of the playoffs from afar. 

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2013-14 Brooklyn Nets

In 2013, the Nets sent out a swath of unprotected first-round picks for an aging KG, Paul Pierce, and Jason Terry to join the Net’s core of Derron Williams Joe Johnson and Brook Lopez. They also had a supporting cast that included Andrei Kirilenko, Shaun Livingston, Reggie Evens, and Mason Plumlee.

That’s a squad! Everyone thought. 

But the team underachieved. Winning 5 games less than the Nets did the previous year without the new additions. 

In reality, KG and Paul Pierce had already been a full 5 years removed from their finals win in Boston. Iso Joe and D-Will were also on the cusp of decline. And the starting unit as a whole was simply OLD. 32 years on average to be exact. 

To be fair they did make the playoffs and won their first-round matchup against the Raptors. And lost only to the Miami Heat, who represented the East in The Finals that year. But when you consider that the Nets jeopardized their future for all that star power to only complete one brief playoff run - that is disappointment. 

I’d like to say the Nets have recovered from this disastrous trade, but this year’s Nets team isn’t faring much better - they almost made this list!. At the time of writing, KD and the Nets are still fighting for their playoff spot, with 2 games remaining in the season.

1998-99 Houston Rockets

The Rockets were steady trying to recoup after their back-to-back championships in ‘94 and ‘95. 

And after a team of Hakeem, Barkley and Clyde Drexler couldn’t get it done, many believed they finally had what it took when they acquired Scottie Pippen from the Chicago Bulls before the  98-99 season. But things didn’t go as expected.

They seemingly checked off all the essentials: Superstars. Check. Championship experience. Check. Offense. Check. Defense. Check. 

What went wrong? 

Well for one, the team that had won back-to-back championships had largely been dismantled in their trades for Scottie Pippen and Clyde Drexler. With those moves, they were forced to get rid of Robert Horry, Sam Cassel, Chucky Brown, and Kenny Smith. Leaving the team with little depth and three aging stars.

On top of that Scottie Pippen wasn’t able to play in the role he wanted to and was disgruntled with the team’s superstar. He and Charles Barkley continually went at it, with Pippen questioning Charles Barkley’s work ethic at the end of the season. 

Like most teams on this list, they were also hit with injuries and in the end, they fell to the Lakers in the first round of the playoffs. 

2012-13 LA Lakers 

The Lakers had won the championship two years prior when they decided it was time to revamp their roster for another title run. And that’s what they did. They added 2x MVP Steve Nash and a prime Dwight Howard, who had been dominating the league with the Magic. They were also able to retain Paul Gasol and Ron Artest (a.k.a Metta World Peace), making for one of the most formidable starting 5s we’ve seen on paper. 

The expectations were huge. And disappointment ensued.

The team never gelled. Phil Jackson was no longer around. Kobe didn’t get along with Dwight. Almost no one liked playing in Mike D’Antoni’s system. And players didn’t understand their roles.

To add to that, the team was riddled with injuries. The big 4 - Kobe, Dwight, Nash, and Gasol - missed a combined 75 games. That’s almost an entire season. And finally, Kobe tore his Achilles right before the start of the playoffs, killing any hopes that remained. They wound up floundering in the first round, getting swept by the San Antonio Spurs.

Like most teams on this list, the 12-13 Lakers leave a huge “what-if”. You’ve got to figure, if Kobe stays healthy, they find a way to make it work out eventually.  

2015-16 Golden State Warriors

It’s hard to call the Warrior's season a failure. In many ways, the Warrior's 15-16 season could actually be called the best of all time. Stephen Curry was chosen to be the first unanimous MVP in league history. They set the record for most wins in a season, breaking the 95-96 Bulls’ record with 73 wins. And they made it all the way to the finals. 

But with great achievement come high expectations. They strolled through the first two rounds of the playoffs, outlasted Kevin Durant and Rusell Westbrook in the Western Conference Finals, and seemingly forced the Cavs into submission in less than 5 games. 

But then the unthinkable happened. They blew a 3-1 lead in the Finals. 

How does that happen? You set the record for most wins in a season, have a player who just had one of the best individual seasons ever. You’re so close. And then you blow it. 

They literally had 3 chances to close out the series. Three chances to put finishing touches on that perfect season. And they just left it sitting three games in a row. 

If that’s not disappointing, I don’t know what is. 

The Warrior's 15-16 season is as polarizing as can be: it is both arguably the most successful and most disappointing season in NBA history.

2021-22 LA Lakers 

Sorry Lakers fans, but you made it twice. We just couldn't let this one slide.

The Lakers seemingly had themselves a great off-season. Being only one year removed from winning the chip, it seemed they did enough to refuel for another title run in 2022. They secured yet another superstar in Russel Westbrook, brought back Dwight Howard and Rajon Rondo from their championship year, and added a solid cast of role players in Carmelo Anthony, Trevor Ariza, Wayne Ellington, and Kendrick Nunn.

Yeah, there were concerns that the team was a bit old (in fact, they were the oldest team going into the season with an average age of 30). But no one was expecting them to flame out the way they did. Everyone had them making the playoffs and just about all start-of-season power rankings saw the Lakers in their top 5.

But things didn’t go as planned. And Lakers fans all around the world are now wondering what’s next. 

We know: things can be tough for fans of underachieving teams. But keep your head up and secure your favorite NBA team's gear in our NBA Shop!