HOOPSTER:
NBA'S "Least Worthy" Championship Teams
by Henry Liao for philippinebasketball.ph (05/28/11)
Every NBA follower has his own opinion as to which championship
teams in NBA history are the “greatest.”
There’s Bill Russell and his fabled Boston Celtics
teams during the 1950s and 1960s.
The “Showtime" squads of Earvin (Magic) Johnson
with the Los Angeles Lakers during the 1980s are also worthy of
consideration.
And of course, nobody can ever forget the double
"three-peat" title accomplishments of Michael Jordan with
the Chicago Bulls during the 1990s.
However, only a few have an idea as to which teams
can be considered among the “weakest” or “least worthy” champions
in NBA history.
Some would say it's the 1978 NBA champion Washington
Bullets (now called the Wizards), who completed the 1977-78 regular
season with a pedestrian 44-38 record.
That year, the Bullets grabbed the final two games
of the best-of-seven NBA Finals against the Seattle SuperSonics
to capture the only title in their franchise history with a 4-3
decision.
The Bullets, who were coached by Dick Motta and bannered
by future Hall-of-Fame players Wes Unseld (the NBA Finals MVP) and
Elvin (The Big E) Hayes, sweet-shooting forward Bob Dandridge (a
one-time Manila visitor) and bruising frontliner Mitch Kupchak (currently
the LA Lakers’ general manager), won the decisive Game Seven on
the Sonics' home floor (Seattle Center Coliseum).
They are one of only three championship teams in
NBA history to capture Game Seven of an NBA Finals on their opponent’
home court, the others being the 1969 Boston Celtics (vs. LA Lakers)
and the 1974 Celtics (vs. Milwaukee Bucks).
Known for their campaign slogan "The opera ain’t
over till the Fat Lady sings," the 1978 champion Bullets needed
to win Game Six at home (Capital Centre) to extend the titular series
to a seventh game then having to secure the clincher before a hostile
crowd on the road and break the Sonics’ 22-game winning streak at
home.
Others opine that the 1995 Houston Rockets are among
the weakest champions in NBA annals simply because they owned the
worst seed by any titlist since the league went into a 16-team playoff
format in 1984.
With a 47-35 regular-season record, those Rockets
just ranked sixth in the West standings. The playoffs, however,
were a different matter as Hakeem Olajuwon, Clyde Drexler and company
shot down four 57-game winners – Utah (60-22), Phoenix (59-23),
San Antonio (62-20) and Eastern titlist Orlando (57-25) – en route
to retaining their crown.
“Don’t underestimate the heart of a champion” were
the famous words of Rockets head coach Rudy Tomjanovich that year.
There’s also the question which are the NBA championship
teams with the poorest winning percentage during their playoff stint.
Four of the five worst teams ironically are part
of Boston’s league-record 17 title units – the 1962 Celtics (8-6,
.571), 1960 Celtics (8-5, .615), 1963 Celtics (8-5, .615) and –
surprise, surprise – 2008 Celtics (16-10, .615).
The 1988 LA Lakers needed 24 of a possible 26 games
to post a 15-9 mark and a .625 winning percentage.
The 2008 Celts registered a 66-16 record during the
regular wars, but were only 16-10 in the postseason while playing
a league record-setting 26 playoff games (out of a possible 28)
before snaring their first NBA crown since 1986.
Their 10 playoff defeats are the most by any champion
in NBA history.