Believe it or not but in less than two months, a whole new decade is going to begin. The 2020’s will bring new challenges, new found success for a lot of us and maybe a couple of setbacks along the way as well.
However, the teams mentioned in the list below surely would be hoping that with the new decade their performance would also take flight.
Here’s listing down five of the worst NBA teams on the 2010s:
5. Toronto Raptors (2017-18)
The Toronto Raptors were supposed to take the next step in the 2017-18 NBA season as they challenged the Cleveland Cavaliers to a six-game Easter Conference Finals the previous season. They set a franchise record with 59 wins and clinched the first seed in the Conference. In the playoffs, the Raptors faced the Washington Wizards and advanced to the next round to face the Cavs. But Toronto seemed liked a different team going up against Lebron James.
What was supposed to be an entertaining series, turned out to be a massive disappointment for everyone by as the Raptors got swept by the Cavs and it was for the first time ever in NBA history that a ‘number one’ seed team got swept in the Conference Semi-Finals. The All-Star duo of Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan could not score to save their lives and the defence by the Raptors was pathetic to the point that James and Kyrie Irving were scoring at will.
4. Los Angeles Clippers (2014-15)
The Los Angeles Clippers clinched the third spot in the Western Conference and faced the defending champions, the San Antonio Spurs in the first round of the playoffs. Chris Paul made a game winning shot with one second left on the clock to defeat the Spurs in Game 7. It looked like the Clippers had all the momentum they needed after they went 3-1 against the Houston Rockets and held a 20 point lead in the final quarter of Game 5. But the Rockets made an incredible run to make a late game comeback and win the game.
All went downhill from that game, the Clippers went on to lose to the Rockets in the seven-game series and lost the best opportunity they had to win the first NBA Finals in franchise history. Fans all around the world wanted to see the Western Conference matchup of the Golden State Warriors Warriors and the Clippers as both teams hated each other and what could have been an all-time classic series. Sadly, CP3’s side chocked and disappointed their fans once again.
3. Los Angeles Lakers (2012-13)
The Los Angeles Lakers traded for All-Stars Steve Nash and Dwight Howard to start the 2012-13 NBA season and were supposed to revive the BIG3. It was a dream come true for NBA fans like us as it was a high possibility for a matchup between Kobe Bryant and LeBron James in the NBA Finals; two of the greatest players, period. However, the Lakers had a rough start due to multiple injuries and struggled to make the playoffs as the seventh seed. It took everything Bryant had in his tank to make the Purple and Gold reach the playoffs and even cost him a major Achilles injury in the 80th game of the season.
The Spurs swept the Lakers in the first round who struggled to defend and score without Kobe in the lineup. This might go down as the biggest ‘What If’ in the history of the game. If the Lakers were fully healthy would they have reached the NBA Finals to face the Miami Heat? Guess we’ll never know.
2. Miami Heat (2010-11)
LeBron James shocked the NBA world by signing with the Miami Heat during the 2010 Free Agency to pair up with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. This move was heavily criticized by both analysts and fans, as majority of the Cleveland fans burned LeBron’s jersey. They felt the superstar betrayed his hometown. Many believed that the formation of BIG3 in Miami would end the suspense of the NBA season as they were heavy favourites to win it all. Despite a rough start, Heat managed to win 58 games and secured the second seed in the Eastern Conference and cruised to the NBA Finals to face an aging Dallas Mavericks led by Dirk Nowitzki.
The Heat held the home court advantage and led the series 2-1, but we witnessed the biggest meltdown by a superstar ever as LeBron James would perform horribly in the next 3 games to the extent that Jason Terry averaged more points than LeBron and also held him to zero points in the 4th quarter of Game 6. It is perhaps the most amazing run by a team to win an NBA championship as the Mavs defeated back to back champions in Lakers and the favourites, the Miami Heat to claim the trophy.
1. Golden State Warriors (2015-16)
The 2015-16 Golden State Warriors are considered an all time great team of regular season as they set an NBA record of winning 73 games in a season and were led by the only unanimous MVP in history Stephen Curry. It was clear that no team can compete at a high level against this team as they defeated the Rockets and the Portland Trail Blazers with ease in the first two rounds of the playoffs. There was no end to the perfect season as they overcame a 3-1 deficit against the Oklahoma City Thunder to reach the NBA Finals. However despite gaining a 3-1 against the Cavs in the finals, Warriors suffered a huge loss in Game 5 after losing Andrew Bogut to injury and Draymond Green to a one game suspension. It is not an excuse to lose a 3-1 lead in the finals as in the final minutes of Game 7, Stephen Curry threw a careless behind the back pass which was outbound and letting Kyrie Irving score on the other end giving the Cavs a three-point lead in the last 58 seconds of the game. Then on a crucial possession of the game, Curry could not score over Kevin Love who was ranked 129th in defensive rating that season and threw an off balance shot without moving the ball to get a better shot.
Cavs completed a historic comeback in the finals giving LeBron his third ring and finally delivering the championship to the city of Cleveland. Despite setting numerous records in the regular season, the Warriors could not finish it off with a championship to complete a historic run in the history of NBA.
This is our list of Top 5 most disappointing teams of the decade. Let us know in the comments if you agree with our list.
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