Worst Starts in NBA History

A poor start does not necessarily determine an entire NBA season, but the teams on this page dug historically deep holes before recording their first victory.

The list includes every team in the original NBAHoopsOnline table that began a season with at least 10 consecutive losses. The start column shows the team's record immediately before its first win. The dates cover the period from the team's season opener through the date of its first victory.

Historical team names are retained. The 2009-10 Nets were still located in New Jersey, the 1974-75 Jazz were in New Orleans, and the Denver Nuggets listed in 1949-50 were the original NBA Nuggets, not the modern Denver franchise.

No franchise appears more often near the top of this list than the Philadelphia 76ers. Philadelphia owns three of the nine starts of 0-15 or worse in NBA history.

2015-16 - 0-18: The 76ers lost their first 18 games before defeating the Los Angeles Lakers on December 1, 2015. Philadelphia finished 10-72.

2014-15 - 0-17: One season earlier, Philadelphia had nearly established the record when it began 0-17. The Sixers finally defeated Minnesota on December 3 and finished the season 18-64.

1972-73 - 0-15: Long before "The Process," Philadelphia endured one of the worst seasons in professional basketball history. The Sixers opened 0-15 and ultimately finished 9-73.

That 9-73 record produced a .110 winning percentage and remained the lowest full-season winning percentage in NBA history until the lockout-shortened 2011-12 Charlotte Bobcats finished 7-59 (.106).

The Los Angeles Clippers are the only franchise other than Philadelphia to appear twice among the six starts of 0-16 or worse.

The 1998-99 Clippers began the lockout-shortened season 0-17. They did not earn their first victory until March 11, 1999, when they defeated Sacramento. The Clippers finished only 9-41.

Four seasons earlier, the 1994-95 Clippers began 0-16 before defeating Milwaukee on December 7. That team recovered enough to finish 17-65.

Expansion teams have produced several of the longest winless starts in NBA history.

1988-89 Miami Heat: Miami's first NBA team lost its first 17 games before beating the Los Angeles Clippers on December 14, 1988. The expansion Heat finished their inaugural season 15-67.

1970-71 Cleveland Cavaliers: Cleveland began its first NBA season with 15 consecutive losses. The Cavaliers finally defeated fellow expansion team Portland on November 12, 1970 and finished 15-67.

1974-75 New Orleans Jazz: The expansion Jazz lost their first 11 games before defeating Portland on November 10. New Orleans finished its inaugural season 23-59.

Denver appears twice on the list, but the two entries belong to different franchises.

1949-50 Denver Nuggets - 0-15: This was the original Denver Nuggets, a short-lived franchise that played in the NBA during the league's first season under the NBA name. The team began 0-15, defeated the Baltimore Bullets for its first victory and finished 11-51.

This franchise has no organizational connection to the modern Denver Nuggets.

1997-98 Denver Nuggets - 0-12: The modern Nuggets began 0-12 before defeating Minnesota on November 28, 1997. Denver finished 11-71, one of the worst records of the modern NBA era.

The 1996-97 Phoenix Suns stand apart from the rest of this list. Phoenix began the season with 13 consecutive losses but recovered to finish 40-42.

Despite starting 0-13, the Suns reached the NBA Playoffs and pushed the Seattle SuperSonics to a decisive fifth game in their first-round series.

Phoenix is the only team on this 0-10-or-worse list that recovered from its historically poor opening to reach the postseason.

No team from the 2025-26 NBA season qualified for this list.

The Brooklyn Nets began the season 0-7 before defeating the Indiana Pacers 112-103 on November 5, 2025. New Orleans also struggled out of the gate, beginning 0-6 before defeating Charlotte.

Because this page tracks starts of 0-10 or worse, neither team reached the threshold required to join the historical table.

NBA record: Philadelphia in 2015-16 and New Jersey in 2009-10 share the record for the longest losing streak to begin an NBA season at 18 games.

Philadelphia dominates the list: The 76ers appear three times: 0-18 in 2015-16, 0-17 in 2014-15 and 0-15 in 1972-73.

Two straight historically bad starts: Philadelphia's 2014-15 and 2015-16 teams produced consecutive seasons with starts of at least 0-17.

New Jersey's 0-18 start: The 2009-10 Nets were the first NBA team to lose 18 consecutive games to begin a season. They defeated Charlotte on December 4, 2009 to avoid falling to 0-19.

Expansion struggles: Miami's 0-17 start in 1988 and Cleveland's 0-15 start in 1970 both occurred during the franchises' inaugural NBA seasons.

Lockout season: The 1998-99 Clippers began 0-17 during the lockout-shortened 50-game season and finished just 9-41.

Longest drought to first victory by date: Because the 1998-99 season did not begin until February following the lockout, the Clippers did not record their first victory until March 11, 1999.

Phoenix recovered: The 1996-97 Suns began 0-13 but finished 40-42 and made the playoffs, easily the strongest recovery among the teams on this page.

The longest losing streak to begin a season and the worst final record are two different NBA records.

Philadelphia's 2015-16 team shares the record for the worst start at 0-18, but it did not finish with the lowest winning percentage in league history.

The 2011-12 Charlotte Bobcats hold the lowest single-season winning percentage at 7-59 (.106). Charlotte does not appear on this page because it won its season opener and therefore never had a season-opening losing streak.

The 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers, meanwhile, combined a 0-15 start with a 9-73 final record, giving them one of the most historically poor seasons from beginning to end.

This page measures consecutive losses from the beginning of an NBA regular season. A team leaves the list of winless teams as soon as it records its first regular-season victory.

The "Start" column shows the team's record immediately before that first victory. For example, an 0-18 start means the team lost its first 18 games and won Game 19.

The date range begins with the team's first regular-season game and ends with the date of its first victory. Preseason games are not included.

The table retains the historical franchise name used during the season. This is why the 2009-10 team is listed as the New Jersey Nets rather than Brooklyn Nets and the 1974-75 team is listed as the New Orleans Jazz rather than Utah Jazz.

If a team begins a future NBA season with 10 or more consecutive losses, it may qualify for this list. Historical schedules and records can also occasionally require corrections.

If you spot a missing team, incorrect date, first-win opponent, final record or another error, please send the information along with a reliable source when available.

Send corrections, additions and updates to:
Rednecksbasketball@yahoo.com

Submissions will be reviewed before changes are made to the NBAHoopsOnline historical records.