Fewest Wins by an NBA Team by Decade

The NBA franchises with the fewest total regular-season victories during each decade, including a separate comparison for franchises that played throughout the entire decade.

Fewest NBA Wins by Decade

Expansion, relocation and defunct franchises make decade totals difficult to compare directly. A team that existed for only one or two seasons will naturally have fewer victories than a franchise that played all ten seasons.

For that reason, the table shows both the franchise with the fewest total wins during the decade and the franchise with the fewest wins among teams that competed throughout the full decade.

Decade	Fewest Total Wins	Wins	Fewest Wins — Full Decade	Wins
1946-1949	Denver Nuggets	11	Boston Celtics	89
1950-1959	Washington Capitols	10	Atlanta Hawks Franchise	319
1960-1969	Phoenix Suns	55	Detroit Pistons	314
1970-1979	New York/New Jersey Nets	117	Buffalo Braves/San Diego Clippers	337
1980-1989	Orlando Magic	18	San Diego/Los Angeles Clippers	251
1990-1999	Vancouver Grizzlies	78	Dallas Mavericks	239
2000-2009	Charlotte Bobcats	278	Los Angeles Clippers	320
2010-2019	Sacramento Kings	265	Sacramento Kings	265
2020-2026*	Washington Wizards	154	Washington Wizards	154

Notes

1940s: The NBA's historical record begins with the BAA in 1946, so the first period covers only the 1946-47 through 1949-50 seasons.

Franchise names: Relocated franchises are grouped together where appropriate. For example, the Buffalo Braves became the San Diego Clippers and later the Los Angeles Clippers.

Expansion teams: Teams such as Phoenix, Orlando, Vancouver and Charlotte appear in the first comparison because they entered the league partway through their respective decades.

2020s: The current decade is incomplete. The total shown includes the completed 2020-21 through 2025-26 NBA seasons. Washington has won 154 games over those six seasons. :contentReference[oaicite:1]{index=1}