Top 5 worst NBA franchises according to ChatGPT

01/16/2025 03:51 PM

The best teams in NBA history get talked about a lot, and rightfully so. Teams like the Los Angeles Lakers, Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls, and San Antonio Spurs are always relevant, and that is mainly because they are almost always good. The success of these teams has led to their fans having a lot of fun over the years. Not all fandoms are as lucky, though. For every great team, there also has to be a historically bad team. Whether it is because of poor drafting, a bad front office, a lack of player development, or something else, the worst franchises in NBA history almost always seem to lose a lot of games.

We went to ChatGPT to find out just who the five worst NBA franchises ever are. So, check out the gallery to see what artificial intelligence has to say. We’ve also provided our own analysis on ChatGPT’s rankings.

1. Sacramento Kings

ChatGPT analysis: 

• Championships: 0
• Playoff Appearances (since 2000): Limited
• The Kings have the longest active playoff drought in the NBA (since 2006). Despite some talented players in the past (e.g., Chris Webber, Peja Stojaković), poor management decisions, coaching changes, and an inability to sustain success have plagued the franchise.

ClutchPoints’ analysis: There is no doubting that the Sacramento Kings are one of the worst NBA teams ever, especially since they’ve been playing in Sacramento. Since moving from Kansas City in 1985, the Kings have missed the playoffs 28 out of 39 seasons. They’ve only advanced past the first round four times during that stretch, and they even struggled through a 16-season playoff drought.

The Kings only really have one successful(ish) era to hang their hats on. The early 2000s teams led by Chris Webber were entertaining because of their fast-paced offense, and they made the playoffs eight straight years, but they never even advanced to the NBA Finals. To make matters worse, the Kings’ issues throughout their history have been obvious. The team has been atrocious in the NBA Draft, regularly picking draft busts and reaching on underwhelming prospects.

Marvin Bagley, Nik Stauskas, Ben McLemore, and Thomas Robinson are some names that come to mind as crucial draft misses just since 2010. The Kings are known for having a front office that can never figure it out, and they deserve to be criticized as one of the worst franchises ever.

However, the team did have moderate success before the move to Sacramento. When they were known as the Cincinnati Royals, the team employed all-time NBA great Oscar Robertson. They also won a championship in 1951 when they were called the Rochester Royals.

Note: It is worth mentioning that the Kings made the postseason in 2023, so the playoff drought isn’t active, as ChatGPT suggested.

2. Minnesota Timberwolves

ChatGPT analysis: 

• Championships: 0
• Playoff Appearances (since 2000): Few (1 trip to the Western Conference Finals in 2004)
• The Timberwolves have had some great individual talents (like Kevin Garnett, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Anthony Edwards), but the franchise has consistently struggled to build around them. Injuries, poor drafts, and questionable trades have kept them from long-term success.

ClutchPoints’ analysis: One of the newer teams in the NBA, the Minnesota Timberwolves have never had much-sustained success since they joined the league in 1989. The team has had some huge hits in the NBA Draft. They are responsible for turning Kevin Garnett into a megastar, Karl-Anthony Towns became the best shooting center ever with them, and Anthony Edwards is now established as a superstar.

They’ve also had some of the worst draft mistakes ever. They famously took two point guards (Ricky Rubio and Jonny Flynn) over Stephen Curry in the 2009 NBA Draft. Derrick Williams (2011) is one of the biggest draft busts ever, too.

The Garnett era was decent, and the Edwards era has potential, but nothing before or after has been good in Minnesota. The team has separate postseason droughts of seven and 13 games, respectively. No statistic proves their failures more than the team’s .411 career-winning percentage, though, as that is the worst in league history. The team’s run to the Western Conference Finals last season was the first time they won a playoff series since 2004 (the only other time they’ve won a postseason series).

The team has had plenty of other front-office blunders, too, none bigger than when they made an illegal contract agreement with Joe Smith that resulted in them forfeiting five first-round picks.

3. Charlotte Hornets

ChatGPT analysis: 

• Championships: 0
• Playoff Appearances (since 2000): Limited
• Despite moments of hope, such as the early days with Alonzo Mourning and Larry Johnson, or the rise of Kemba Walker, the Hornets have struggled with roster instability and poor drafting. Michael Jordan’s ownership has yet to bring the team consistent success, even with his star power.

ClutchPoints’ analysis: Like the teams directly before and after them on this list, the Charlotte Hornets are one of the newer teams in the NBA, and they haven’t had much success at all during their (somewhat) brief time in the league. The Hornets came into the NBA in 1988, and they had some decent teams early on. Alonzo Mourning, Glen Rice, Larry Johnson, and Muggsy Bogues were some of their early stars.

All of them except for Bogues (the shortest NBA player ever) left the team pretty quickly, though. Rice and Mourning lasted three years in Charlotte, while Johnson was gone after five. The Charlotte Hornets became the Charlotte Bobcats not long after that, and that is when things really went downhill.

The Bobcats are most known for going 7-59 in 2011-12. Their .106 winning percentage that year is the worst ever, and only the 1947-48 Providence Steamrollers (who played 18 fewer games) won less than seven games in a season. This era, and the years since (the team was re-renamed the Charlotte Hornets in 2014-15), have been filled with failed draft pick after failed draft pick.

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Cody Zeller, Noah Vonleh, and Frank Kaminsky were taken inside of the top 10 in four consecutive drafts, for example, and all of them became huge draft busts. Michael Jordan was the owner of the team during this time, proving he was much better suited to play basketball than make executive decisions for a basketball team.

Now, LaMelo Ball is the team’s franchise player. Although talented, Ball has struggled with injuries throughout his career, and the Hornets have only won more than 33 games once during his career so far. They are even only 9-28 so far through the 2024-25 season, and it looks like the promising rebuild will never result in wins on the court.

On top of all of this, the Hornets’ history is a weird one, as there was even a two-year gap of inactivity in between the team being named the Hornets and the Bobcats. During the years as the Bobcats, too, the team located in New Orleans used the Hornets name, but they eventually switched to the Pelicans.

4. Orlando Magic

ChatGPT analysis: 

• Championships: 0
• Playoff Appearances (since 2000): Moderate
• The Magic have made some high-profile playoff appearances (notably with Shaquille O’Neal in the early 90s and Dwight Howard in the late 2000s), but they've never been able to win a title. Injuries, bad contracts, and front-office decisions have prevented them from building a true championship contender.

ClutchPoints’ analysis: The Orlando Magic were able to secure Shaquille O’Neal and Penny Hardaway during their fourth and fifth NBA Drafts ever, respectively. That young duo made an NBA Finals together, but unfortunately, O’Neal bolted for the Los Angeles Lakers, and Hardaway became a massive what-if because of injury issues.

The team also drafted Dwight Howard first overall in 2004. Howard had an incredible career that also witnessed him lead the Magic to the Finals, but he wasn’t able to bring home the gold, either. Other stars, such as Grant Hill and Tracy McGrady, have suited up for the team too. Both of them dealt with injury problems in their own right, though, so they never found the success together that was expected. Despite all of that talent, ChatGPT still considered the Magic one of the worst NBA franchises ever.

While Orlando is far from perfect, and they’ve made their fair share of mistakes, ranking them this low in comparison to some other franchises seems a little bit harsh. Orlando’s problem has been that their best players have left the team right when things were looking promising. They’ve actually had more star talent than a number of teams across the league. Hopefully, Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner will stick around for the long haul.

Bad contracts have also affected the team in a negative way. Rashard Lewis’ megadeal, which was the biggest contract ever, is one egregious example.

5. Detroit Pistons

ChatGPT analysis: 

• Championships: 3 (1989, 1990, 2004)
• Playoff Appearances (since 2000): Sporadic
• The Pistons have had championship success, but they've been in a slow decline since their 2004 title. Poor drafts, trades, and coaching changes have led to years of mediocrity. Their struggles to rebuild a competitive roster after their peak years in the early 2000s put them on the lower end of the NBA hierarchy.

ClutchPoints’ analysis: The Detroit Pistons are tied for the sixth most championships in NBA history, so we simply have to disagree with ChatGPT ranking their franchise among the worst ever. The team did miss the playoffs six straight times from 2010-2015, as well as each of the last five seasons (on top of tying the record for worst losing streak ever last season), but prior to that, the team was consistently good.

The Bad Boy Pistons of the late ’80s’-early ’90s, for example, were one of the best NBA teams ever. Isiah Thomas and Joe Dumars were the leaders of a gritty, defensive-minded team that won games by beating their opponents down until their will to win was broken. Those teams featured fierce competitors such as Dennis Rodman, Bill Laimbeer, Mark Aguirre, Rick Mahorn, Vinnie Johnson, and John Salley.

Despite Magic Johnson’s Los Angeles Lakers, Larry Bird’s Boston Celtics, and Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls all playing at the same time, the Pistons won two championships. In fact, Jordan wasn’t able to become the greatest basketball player of all time until the Bad Boy Pistons were past their prime.

The Pistons even found success after that era. The Grant Hill era was memorable, and the 2004 Pistons are one of the most iconic championship winners ever. That team didn’t have a true star, but they were able to knock off a Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant Lakers team that was a dynasty, nonetheless.

None of Chauncey Billups, Ben Wallace, Rasheed Wallace, Richard Hamilton, or Tayshaun Prince scored 20 points per game when they won the NBA Finals, but they played a team-oriented style of play with a focus on defense (like their predecessors from the ’80s).

Even now, the Pistons are starting to turn things around. Cade Cunningham is establishing himself as a star during a breakout season for Detroit. The rebuild appears to be over, and the Pistons should compete in the playoffs for years to come. Teams like the Washington Wizards and Los Angeles Clippers probably should have been here over the Pistons and Magic.

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