Gameface.ph
  
Untitled Document
VIEW FEATURED ARTICLES
HOOPSTER: 2011 NBA Finals: It's Now or Never for the Heat (06/11/11)
HOOPSTER: 2011 NBA Finals: Series Shifts to Dallas (06/04/11)
HOOPSTER: 2011 NBA Finals Facts and Figures (05/31/11)
HOOPSTER: NBA Finals: Dallas In 6 (05/28/11)
HOOPSTER: NBA'S "Least Worthy" Championship Teams (05/28/11)
HOOPSTER: 2010-11 NBA: Top Twenty Scorers (05/28/11)
HOOPSTER: NBA Playoffs: Final Four (05/18/11)
HOOPSTER: 2011 NBA Playoffs: Lakers, Jackson Out (05/10/11)
HOOPSTER: Christmas Treat Part 2 (12/25/10)
HOOPSTER: Christmas Treat Part 1 (12/25/10)
Ann Meyers - First Woman To Sign an NBA Player Contract (11/27/10)
Nancy Lieberman Breaks Gender Barrier, Again (11/27/10)
Origin of the NBA 24-Second Shot Clock (10/31/10)
Breaking the NBA Color Barrier (10/29/10)
Enjoy the 2010-11 NBA games while they last (10/24/10)
Starbury Makes Waves in China (10/23/10)
NBA Players in World Basketball Championship (08/27/10)
Team USA Sets Sight on World Gold (08/27/10)
Make way for the 2010 NBA Asia Challenge (08/22/10)
Something in Common (08/22/10)
Elite players get Spoelstra treatment; Heat coach off to San Pablo for sentimental journey (08/12/10)
Coach Spo brings NBA FIT to Boys Town, UAAP schools; holds NBA-style training camp for elite athletes on August 11 (08/11/10)
HOOPSTER: Is The Zen Master Headed For Retirement? (06/25/10)
Kobe has 5 Rings,One More Than Shaq (06/21/10)
Lakers Repeat! (06/20/10)
NBA Finals: Celtics or Lakers (06/14/10)
NBA Finals Trivia III (06/13/10)
NBA Finals Trivia II (06/06/10)
NBA Finals Trivia (06/01/10)
Lakers in 6 (05/31/10)
A Look At The NBA Conference Finals (05/15/10)
A Look At The Second-Round NBA Playoffs (05/03/10)
A Look At The First-Round NBA Playoffs (04/18/10)
A Lackluster NBA All-Star Game? (02/09/10)
Sixty for sixty (12/25/09)
Chamberlain's Twelve Days of Christmas(12/13/09)
FIVE TEAMS MAKE HEAD COACHING CHANGES(11/08/09)
OLD FACES IN NEW PLACES(11/07/09)
KOBE AND THE LAKERS SEEK AN NBA TITLE REPEAT (11/01/09)
A BRAND-NEW NBA CAMPAIGN (11/01/09)
Kareem's Back in Manila (09/07/09)
Horry's Perfect NBA Finals stint (09/07/09)
NBA stars eager to experience Filipino basketball mania(09/04/09)
Argentina tops FIBA World men's basketball rankings(09/02/09)
FIBA AMERICAS UP (09/01/09)
EUROBASKET 2009 GETS UNDERWAY (09/01/09)
IRONMAN KOBE (07/28/09)
KOBE WITHOUT PAU: NO RING (06/22/09)
KOBE CLIMBS TO 6TH ON ALL-TIME NBA PLAYOFF SCORING LIST (06/19/09)
LAKERS TAKES 2009 NBA TITLE (06/16/09)
Lakers: A Win Away (06/14/09)
THE RING'S THE THING (06/13/09)
HOOPSTER (06/12/09)
HOOPSTER (06/08/09)
HOOPSTER (06/06/09)
HOOPSTER 419 (06/02/09)
HOOPSTER 418 (06/02/09)
HOOPSTER (05/20/09)
HOOPSTER (05/19/09)
HOOPSTER (05/04/09)
HOOPSTER 406 (04/21/09)
HOOPSTER 405 (04/19/09)
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.


HTML Comment Box is loading comments...

Visitor count:
Copyright © 2005 - 2012. Gameface.ph
Follow us on:
Google
 
Web www.gameface.ph