For as long as fans could remember the Boston Celtics have always been a great team. But there was one season where the Celtics were not so lucky.
The Boston Celtics are one of the most successful franchises in the NBA. They have 17 championship banners and for most seasons have been a threat to any team they played. They have made the playoffs every year since 2014. And with the talent the Celtics have now, it is doubtful that will change anytime soon.
But there was a time when the Celtics were not good. A time when they fell to a .183 win percentage and had a record of 15-67. That time was the 1996-97 team. The 1996-97 Celtics, is a team most fans would like to forget, and rightfully so. This Celtics team started the season off 4-8 and then would go on a series of losing streaks. Their first losing streak was February-March, in which they lost 13 games in a row. Followed by another 10-game losing streak toward the end of the season.
Despite the team’s losing streaks, the Celtics’ offense was not the problem but their efficiency was. The best player on the team was Antoine Walker. He was selected as the number sixth pick in the 1996 draft and he averaged 17.5 points a game, followed by David Wesley who provided 16.8 points and Rick Fox who averaged 15.4 points per game. Offensively this Celtics team was ranked fifth in field goals made but ranked 22nd in field goal percentage. Defensively they were bottom of the league. The Celtics ranked 26th in defensive rebounds and 27th in blocks.
They would finish the season losing 34 of 38 games and going down as the worst season in Celtics history.
Did this Boston Celtics team lose games on purpose?
According to the Boston Herald, Celtics Coach M.L. Carr told the players that he was purposely losing games to get good draft position for Tim Duncan.
"“Guys would get upset about not being in the game, which is natural in the NBA,” he said. “But it got a little bit beyond that many times. I was always communicating with them and saying, ‘This is a long-term play. I’m trying to get you some help here.’ They’d understand it, but then when the game started it would be different."
Fox did not recall having a conversation with the coach about tanking, as per the Boston Herald
"“I was real naive to what was going on,” Fox said. “ML. (Carr, the C’s coach) was still selling that we’re trying to win every game, and I was still believing that’s what our goal was. Then I started to notice there’d be games when I would have like 31 points in the first three quarters and we’d be up like six or seven. Then I’d come out and sit down and watch us lose the lead. I’d be thinking, ‘What’s going on here?’"
After this season Fox was traded to the Lakers and went on to win three championships with them. As per the Boston Herald, Fox does not remember much from this Celtics team and just like him, fans want to forget this season happened as well.