Fansided

Every NBA team’s worst iteration ever

By Rich Kraetsch

BOSTON - NOVEMBER 20: Guard Chris Herren and coach Rick Pitino's expressions on the bench reflected their loss against the 76ers. (Photo by Jim Davis/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
BOSTON - NOVEMBER 20: Guard Chris Herren and coach Rick Pitino's expressions on the bench reflected their loss against the 76ers. (Photo by Jim Davis/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) /
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OAKLAND, UNITED STATES: NBA Players Association President Billy Hunter (foreground-L) responds to questions on behalf of former Golden State Warriors player Latrell Sprewell (foreground-C) as agent Arn Tellem (3rd R) and attorney Johnnie Cochran (2ndR) and former teammates listen on, 09 December, in Oakland, CA. Sprewell was fired by the Warriors organization after he choked coach P.J. Carlesimo during practice. AFP PHOTO John G. MABANGLO (Photo credit should read JOHN G. MABANGLO/AFP/Getty Images)
OAKLAND, UNITED STATES: NBA Players Association President Billy Hunter (foreground-L) responds to questions on behalf of former Golden State Warriors player Latrell Sprewell (foreground-C) as agent Arn Tellem (3rd R) and attorney Johnnie Cochran (2ndR) and former teammates listen on, 09 December, in Oakland, CA. Sprewell was fired by the Warriors organization after he choked coach P.J. Carlesimo during practice. AFP PHOTO John G. MABANGLO (Photo credit should read JOHN G. MABANGLO/AFP/Getty Images) /

Golden State Warriors (1997-98, 19-63, -9.20 SRS)

The Golden State Warriors recent success as the dominate team of the current day NBA has made many forget just how bad thing were for the Warriors. Thankfully, Twitter accounts like @ThisDayInSuck can easily remind of us the Chris Cohen years.

No single year of that or any era of Warriors misery is as downtrodden as 1997-98. This is an all-timer, where to begin?

We’ll start with the obvious one: the Warriors star player choking their coach and threatening to kill him.

Latrell Sprewell, who was already on thin ice within the franchise, lost his temper during a practice and choked first-year head coach PJ Carlesimo. The entire saga has many layers to it with blame being placed on several different parties but regardless, it was a black eye on an organization already in turmoil.

The early 1990s success of the Don Nelson-led Run TMC Warriors was long gone giving way to a team that had destroying any good will in their community with terrible, unlikable teams, horrible draft picks and now, a player attacking a coach.

On the court things were equally awful as the Warriors—who finished 30-52 under Rick Adelman the year prior—were in a nosedive.

They’d finish the season 19-63, post a franchise-worst -9.20 SRS and finish dead last in the NBA with 88.3 points-per-game despite being in the top half of the league in pace. To date, the 1997-98 Warriors are one of only seven teams to have a pace above 90 and score less than 90 points per game.

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