Are the Philadelphia 76ers the Worst Team Ever?
By Bryce Olin
The Philadelphia 76ers are the worst team in the NBA heading into 2014-15, but could they be the worst team in the history of the league?
The 2014-15 season could be a historical one for the Philadelphia 76ers for all the wrong reasons.
The 76ers are, hands down, the worst team and could honestly be the NBA team the league has ever seen.
When I wrote that two weeks ago in my NBA Win Projections column, I took a lot of heat from Philadelphia fans, claiming I don’t see the plan and that there are good players on the 76ers.
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Trust me, I see the plan. I understand what General Manager Sam Hinkie is trying to do and accomplish with this team, but I’m also realistic about how good the players are. That doesn’t mean I think they’re bad or that I don’t like them. I just don’t think the 76ers have the talent this season to win more than 12 games.
I like Michael Carter-Williams, Nerlens Noel, Joel Embiid, Hollis Thompson, and K.J. McDaniels; I really do. I also like Taco Bell, but that doesn’t mean it’s good.
In 2013-14, the 76ers won 19 games. 19.
And, they even had real NBA players Evan Turner and Spencer Hawes on the team for almost two-thirds of the season.
Last season, the 76ers traded Turner and Hawes at the trade deadline after they played 54 and 53 games, respectively. After they were traded, the 76ers, already on a seven-game losing streak, lost 19 more games in a row. Without Hawes and Turner, Philadelphia finished the season 4-24. Project 4-24 over the course of 82 games and that’s 11.7 wins for the 76ers.
As you know, the 76ers got even worse this offseason when they traded Thad Young for an old bag of airplane peanuts and Embiid’s friend. Last season, Young was worth at least 3 of wins, and now the 76ers are down to 8.7 wins by my layman’s calculation.
| Rk | Player | Age | G | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | 3P% | TRB | AST | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Evan Turner | 25 | 54 | 34.9 | 6.6 | 15.4 | .428 | .288 | 6.0 | 3.7 | 17.4 |
| 3 | Thaddeus Young | 25 | 79 | 34.4 | 7.4 | 16.2 | .454 | .308 | 6.0 | 2.3 | 17.9 |
| 4 | Spencer Hawes | 25 | 53 | 31.4 | 5.0 | 11.1 | .451 | .399 | 8.5 | 3.3 | 13.0 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 10/24/2014.
It’s not like Turner, Young, and Hawes are All-Stars, but they were above average players, the only above average players on the whole roster last season.
“But, Noel is playing this season for the 76ers…”
Yes, you’re so right. Noel is playing this season; he will be a very bright spot for the 76ers and should be a staple in their lineup for years to come.
That’s all true, but he’s also coming off an ACL injury, which kept him out a year, and he’s never played an actual minute in an NBA game. Are we predicting Noel is going to be the next Magic Johnson or Tim Duncan and actually contribute on a championship-caliber team as a rookie? That’s laughable.
On top of Noel’s inexperience, Carter-Williams, you know, the point guard, is going to miss games to start the season after his shoulder surgery in May. Tentatively, Carter-Williams is set to return Nov.13, but who knows when he’ll actually be back.
Without their top four performers from last season, Young, Hawes, Turner, and Carter-Williams (who could actually miss the whole season), Philadelphia could definitely win less than ten games. That’s not even an exaggeration, just logic.
It’s one thing to compare the 76ers to the rest of the league, especially when we know how bad they are. So, I’ve compared the 76ers to the worst five teams in NBA league history. I know there are six teams listed below, but the 1992-94 Dallas Mavericks were so bad I had to include another team.
Let’s take a peek at how the 2014-15 76ers have to do to avoid being one of the worst teams ever:
1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers (9-73)
1997-98 Denver Nuggets (11-71)
1986-87 Los Angeles Clippers (12-70)
1992-93 Dallas Mavericks (11-71)
1992-94 Dallas Mavericks (13-69)
2011-12 Charlotte Bobcats (7-59)
Projecting out for a full 82-game season, the 2011-12 Charlotte Bobcats are the worst team in NBA history. The Bobcats have the lowest win percentage in NBA history of 10.6 percent.
I might be getting suckered in here because it seems like the trend in the NBA is taking games off, or letting players have games off. I don’t think LeBron James or any other important player is going to play many minutes against the 76ers once the game is wrapped up.
With that said, I think the 76ers could finish the season with a lower win percentage than the 2011-12 Bobcats. Based on this roster, they should finish with a worse win percentage. Here’s a quick statistical look at those Bobcats:
| Rk | Player | Age | G | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | TRB | AST | PTS ▾ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gerald Henderson | 24 | 55 | 33.3 | 6.0 | 13.1 | .459 | 4.1 | 2.3 | 15.1 |
| 2 | Corey Maggette | 32 | 32 | 27.5 | 4.3 | 11.7 | .373 | 3.9 | 1.2 | 15.0 |
| 3 | Kemba Walker | 21 | 66 | 27.2 | 4.3 | 11.6 | .366 | 3.5 | 4.4 | 12.1 |
| 4 | D.J. Augustin | 24 | 48 | 29.3 | 3.8 | 10.1 | .376 | 2.3 | 6.4 | 11.1 |
| 5 | Byron Mullens | 22 | 65 | 22.5 | 3.9 | 9.1 | .425 | 5.0 | 0.9 | 9.3 |
| 6 | Reggie Williams | 25 | 33 | 22.6 | 3.2 | 7.7 | .416 | 2.8 | 1.8 | 8.3 |
| 7 | Derrick Brown | 24 | 65 | 22.2 | 3.3 | 6.3 | .518 | 3.6 | 1.0 | 8.1 |
| 8 | Boris Diaw | 29 | 37 | 27.5 | 3.1 | 7.6 | .410 | 5.3 | 4.3 | 7.4 |
| 9 | D.J. White | 25 | 58 | 18.9 | 3.0 | 6.1 | .493 | 3.6 | 0.8 | 6.8 |
| 10 | Tyrus Thomas | 25 | 54 | 18.8 | 2.2 | 6.1 | .367 | 3.7 | 0.6 | 5.6 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 10/24/2014.
Is there anyone on the 76ers that is better than Gerald Henderson, D.J. Augustin, or Kemba Walker?
Right now, Noel is probably better. Carter-Williams (if he plays) is better. After those two, it’s a crap shoot.
For your comparison, here’s who the 76ers brought back from last year’s team:
| Rk | Player | Age | G | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | TRB | AST | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Michael Carter-Williams | 22 | 70 | 34.5 | 6.1 | 15.1 | .405 | 6.2 | 6.3 | 16.7 |
| 6 | Henry Sims | 23 | 26 | 27.2 | 4.3 | 8.8 | .489 | 7.0 | 1.8 | 11.8 |
| 7 | Tony Wroten | 20 | 72 | 24.5 | 4.8 | 11.2 | .427 | 3.2 | 3.0 | 13.0 |
| 8 | Hollis Thompson | 22 | 77 | 22.6 | 2.2 | 4.8 | .460 | 3.2 | 0.9 | 6.0 |
| 10 | Elliot Williams | 24 | 67 | 17.3 | 2.1 | 5.0 | .415 | 1.9 | 1.1 | 6.0 |
| 12 | Arnett Moultrie | 23 | 12 | 15.6 | 1.3 | 3.2 | .421 | 2.9 | 0.2 | 3.0 |
| 17 | Casper Ware | 24 | 9 | 12.9 | 2.0 | 4.7 | .429 | 1.0 | 1.1 | 5.3 |
| 20 | Brandon Davies | 22 | 51 | 11.3 | 1.1 | 2.5 | .422 | 2.1 | 0.5 | 2.8 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 10/24/2014.
In 2011-12, only the Charlotte Bobcats won less than 20 games. The league’s talent was a little more spread around the league. There weren’t as many teams like Philadelphia, Milwaukee, and Orlando at the time. This season, though, the league is going to be better than it was last season, depth-wise, if several players stay relatively healthy all season.
This season the league is better than it was last season, as a whole. Only a few teams are substantially worse than they were a year ago. Indiana lost Paul George and Lance Stephenson. Miami lost LeBron James. In the East, there’s ten teams I could see in the playoffs. In the West, there’s ten teams, possibly 11, who can make the conference semifinals. More than two-thirds of the league is competing for the playoffs, while the other third of the league is making improvements. Los Angeles, Utah, Sacramento, Milwaukee, Boston, and Orlando will all be better than they were last season.
That’s not a good sign for the Philadelphia 76ers.
Or maybe it is…
This is all by design. Sam Hinkie knows exactly what he’s doing by stripping this team of any expenses and trying to turn picks into young, talented assets/investments that he can cash in later. Philadelphia is supposed to be bad, and we’ll see how bad they can actually be when it’s all said and done.
For now, the 76ers are the worst team in NBA history, but the 2014-15 squad might set the bar even lower than the 1972-73 76ers did.
Yikes.