The 29 most hopeless fan bases in professional sports

CLEVELAND, OH - DECEMBER 13, 2015: Cleveland Browns fans hold up signs reading 'HELP' during a game against the San Francisco 49ers on December 13, 2015 at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio. Cleveland won 24-10. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Diamond Images/Getty Images) /

4 of 30

Mar 28, 2016; Miami, FL, USA; Brooklyn Nets head coach Tony Brown reacts during the second half against the Miami Heat at American Airlines Arena. The Heat won 110-99. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports /

27. Brooklyn Nets

Last Championship: Never (Won 2 ABA titles)

Last winning season: 2013-14

The Nets as an organization were perhaps the most exciting thing to look forward to from the NBA/ABA merger. Here was a team that had the most exciting player on the planet in Julius Erving, who would have assured the then-New York Nets would be front-page news during their debut run in the NBA.

However, Doctor J held out due to a contractual dispute on the eve of the Nets’ first NBA season and was ultimately traded away to the Philadelphia 76ers, where he crafted his enduring NBA legacy — including a championship in 1983.

The Nets have never scraped their ABA-based, Erving-led level of success, which included two ABA championships and three overall Finals appearances in four years. Their NBA debut season saw them stumble to a .280 winning percentage over their first two years, before finally making the playoffs….where none other than Dr. J’s Sixers sent them home with a first-round defeat.

In their first 25 years in the NBA, the Nets only made the playoffs 10 times, making it out of the first round just once, with over half of their eliminations coming in the form of a sweep. After making a pair of NBA Finals appearances in early 2000s, they slipped back into mediocrity again, before relocating to Brooklyn, where they most recently finished with the third worst record in the NBA last year.

Next: 26. Miami Dolphins