By showing such gusto so late in the season, they ended the regular season tied with the San Antonio Spurs for the worst record in the Western Conference at 22-60. And this was a team that had a 13-game losing streak during the season. The Rockets winning three straight games at the end of the season ruined their chances of landing the number one overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. But, great failures bring great rewards, and with the Hornets in possession of the second overall pick in next month’s NBA Draft, they could end up with a generational talent-either Alabama’s Brandon Miller or G-League star Scoot Henderson-to pair with a returning LaMelo. The Hornets finished the season with a 27-55 record, the second worst in the Eastern Conference, was next to last in field goal (45.7) and three-point (33) percentage and was the worst offensive team in the league with a rating of 109.2.
Terry Rozier (21.1ppg), Kelly Oubre (20.3ppg) and the oft-injured Gordon Hayward (14.7ppg) tried to pick up the slack, but it didn’t matter. That pretty much sunk any hopes in the Queen City. Yet, Ball only played 36 games for the Hornets and was done for the season after suffering a fractured ankle. Highlights of this season centered around the continued growth of LaMelo Ball, who averaged career highs in points (23.3) and assists (8.4), as well as becoming the second-youngest player to rack up 1,000 points, rebounds and assists in his three-year career (behind LeBron James). The Blazers can also say farewell to Dame, trade him for more draft capital ( like, say, to the Brooklyn Nets), and lean into their rebuilding with five-year guard Anfernee Simons (who averaged a career-high in points (21.1) on 44.7 shooting, also a career-high) as the new face of the team.Īfter Charlotte’s 43-39 record last season, their first 40-win year since 2015, there was some promise for the Michael Jordan-owned team leading up to the 2022-23 campaign. They own the third pick in this year’s draft, and whispers about them considering offloading that pick for a star to pair with Lillard are loud AF. That’s why this offseason is a pivotal one for the franchise.
In a nutshell, outside of injuries decimating the team, Portland simply didn’t have enough talent to surround their loyal superstar with. They were also a defensive liability ranking 27 th in rating and 29 th in opponent three-point percentage. Despite Dame Time putting up the best scoring season of his 11-year career (32.2ppg), which included an insane 71-point game, the Blazers were near the bottom in field goals made (27 th in the league), rebounding (28th), plus-minus (26th). Portland winning 33 games this season was an improvement from only mustering 27 wins the previous one, but when you have a team led by Damien Lillard, a year like this one deserves to be mentioned on a list like this. So, small victories for the small market Spurs. But, hey, they have the number one pick in this year’s draft. Add to that, they were tied for first (or last, depending on your viewpoint) with the worst road record in the league (8-33) and had the longest losing streak of the season with 16 straight. That last stat included giving up the most points in a game under Coach Pop when the Spurs were mollywhopped by the Minnesota Timberwolves, 151-131. As a team, San Antonio was in the bottom 10 in points scored (113), field goals (46.5), three-pointers (34.5), and dead last in the plus-minus department (-10), and defensive rating, gave up the most points in the season (123.1) and had the worst point differential (-832). Keldon Johnson was the team’s leading scorer with 22 points a game, a high mark in his four-year career, and third-year guard Devin Vassell excelled with a career-high in points (18.5) and field goal shooting (43.9), but that’s about it. There were a few bright spots, of course. This was the fourth straight season the Spurs missed the playoffs, and at 22-60, is the worst season for legendary coach Gregg Popovich since his first season running the team in 1996. Even though technically the San Antonio Spurs had the worst record in the Western Conference, they’re this high (or low, depending on your viewpoint) on this list mainly because their 22-win futility won them the NBA Draft Lottery-and will definitely select “once in a generation” wunderkind Victor Wembanyama with the number one pick.
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