The 2024-25 NBA regular season is rapidly approaching a thrilling conclusion. Only four regular-season fixtures remain before the playoffs explode into action, and basketball fans inch another step closer to discovering who the NBA champions will be. Right now, the Oklahoma City Thunder, Boston Celtics, and Cleveland Cavaliers becoming champions are the NBA best bets to make due to their impressive winning records, but what about the teams lower down the pecking order? Are they there only to make up the numbers?
It makes sense that teams with the winningest regular season records tend to go deeper in the playoffs. Momentum plays a significant role in any team sport, and basketball is no different. Winning becomes a habit, and the Thunder (64-14), Cavaliers (62-16), and Celtics (58-20) have done more than their fair share of winning. But what about teams on the flipside of the coin? What about those with less-than-stellar records? Do they stand a chance of achieving playoff glory?
The NBA Playoff Picture
The Eastern Conference playoff teams have already been decided. The conference's finishing order is the only thing remaining to be set in stone. Things are almost settled in the Western Conference, too. The Phoenix Suns and Portland Trail Blazers have an outside shot of nudging their way into contention, but they must win their remaining four games and hope the teams above them don't pick up any further victories.
As things stand, as many as six teams could enter the 2024-25 NBA playoffs that finish the regular season with a losing record. The Chicago Bulls (36-42), Miami Heat (36-43), Orlando Magic (38-40), Atlanta Hawks (37-41), Dallas Mavericks (38-41), and Sacramento Kings (39-40) have all lost more games than they have won. Should any of these teams defy the odds and become NBA champions, they would become the "worst" team to lift the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy. Of course, a team cannot be too bad if it wins the title, as the following historic championship-winning teams proved.
1978 Washington Bullets
Before 1997, the Washington Wizards were known as the Washington Bullets. The team that competed in the 1977-78 season is officially the worst in NBA history to become champions. After losing six of their first ten games, the Bullets hit form and embarked on an 18-5 run to put them back into contention. However, injuries ravaged the roster, and the Bullets lost 13 of their next 18 games.
The Bullets hovered around the .500 mark for the rest of the season, ultimately finishing with a 44-38 record. Since 1958, only four other teams had won less than 50 games in non-lockout seasons yet became NBA champions; all four had won more than 44 games.
The Bullets defeated the Atlanta Hawks in two games in the first round of the playoffs. They needed six games to brush aside the San Antonio Spurs and six to beat the Philadelphia 76ers in the Conference Finals. The finals went to Game 7, with the Bullets emerging 4-3 victors and officially becoming the worst-ever NBA team to win the championship.
1995 Houston Rockets
Having become NBA champions during the 1994-94 season, with a 58-24 regular-season record, the Houston Rockets fans had high hopes for the subsequent campaign. The team boasted the likes of Hakeem Olajuwon, Clyde Drexler, and three-point specialist Tracy Murray, so it was unsurprising when the Rockets started the regular season with a 9-0 record. However, the team suffered from inconsistency and finished with a 47-35 record, which was only enough for sixth in the conference.
If the Rockets were going to win back-to-back championships, they would have to do it the hard way. And boy, did they do that. They defeated the 60-win Utah Jazz in five games in Round 1, then the 59-win Phoenix Suns in seven games. The Rockets took six games to beat the Spurs, who had won 62 games, in the conference finals, setting up a clash with the Orlando Magic in the NBA Finals.
The Finals were billed as Olajuwon versus Shaquille O'Neal, and it is fair to say the former came out on top. Olajuwon scored at least 30 points in each game and won the NBA Finals MVP award as the Rockets swept the Magic 4-0.
1975 Golden State Warriors
The 1975 Golden State Warriors, led by the incredible Rick Barry, finished the regular season with a 48-34 record. Strangely, that record was enough to clinch the number-one seed that season. Small forward Barry enjoyed one of his best seasons in Warriors colors, averaging 30.6 points over 80 games during the regular season and continuing his impressive form into the playoffs.
The Warriors beat the SuperSonics in six games, and it took seven games to beat the Chicago Bulls. However, they were too much for the then-Washington Bullets to handle in the NBA Finals, and the Warriors won 4-0. The victory was the Warriors' third in the team's history, but they would not claim the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy again until 2015.
Will a new team join the ranks this season? While a team with a losing record could become the 2025 NBA champions, it is unlikely at best. The game was different when the Bullets became champions after finishing the regular season campaign with only 44 wins; today's standard is much higher.
Everyone loves an underdog story, so basketball fans from far and wide will hope to see at least one of the teams with a lesser record ruffle a few feathers in the playoffs. However, making a case for any team other than the Thunder, Celtics, or Cavaliers is challenging, and it is one of those talented trio that is most likely to become NBA champions in 2025.
