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NBA teams have to go through a lot to win a championship. After 82 games of the regular season, teams have to get 16 wins in the postseason to capture the title, which is very difficult.
Some NBA teams have won back-to-back titles and some have achieved a three-peat. However, there are a couple of teams that completely collapsed after winning the title and finished the next season with a poor record.
This article reveals five NBA teams that had the worst record after winning the title a season before. The list includes several interesting teams, including the Chicago Bulls after Michael Jordan.
Chicago Bulls are among NBA teams that completely collapsed after winning the title
The 1997-98 season truly was the last dance for the Chicago Bulls. They finished the season with a 62-20 record and beat the Utah Jazz in the NBA Finals to win their third straight title, their sixth in eight years.
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After this season, Michael Jordan retired and the Bulls completely collapsed. They finished the 1998-99 season with a 13-37 record, which put them at the bottom of the Eastern Conference. Only the LA Clippers (9-41) had a worse record in the league.
Boston Celtics won only 34 games after their 1969 title
The Boston Celtics beat the LA Lakers in the 1969 NBA Finals. Led by John Havlicek and Sam Jones, the Celtics defeated their rivals in seven hard-fought games. In the end, however, it was Jerry West who was named the Finals MVP.
The Celtics finished the regular season with a 48-34 record before making the finals. However, they were only 34-48 the season after, completely missing the playoffs.
2022-23 Golden State Warriors are awful, but the jury is still out
The 2022-23 season is not over yet, but the Golden State Warriors are one of the most disappointing NBA teams in it. After beating the Celtics in six games in the 2022 NBA Finals, the Dubs have struggled to win games this season.
The Warriors are currently 25-24 and sixth in the Western Conference. However, they are only one game ahead of the OKC Thunder, who are 11th in the West.
If they don't get on a win streak very soon, the Warriors could miss the playoffs, which would be very disappointing.
Going all the way back to the 1956 Syracuse Nationals
The Syracuse Nationals are no longer an NBA team, as they recolated to Philadelphia and became the 76ers. However, they made the NBA Finals three times in Syracuse, winning it in 1955.
The Nationals finished the 1995-56 season with a 35-37 record. Despite their poor record, they won a third-place tiebreaker against the New York Knicks and made the playoffs, beating the Boston Celtics in the first round.
The Philadelphia Warriors ended up beating the Nationals in the Eastern Divisional Finals in five games.
2007 Miami Heat massively underperformed
Back in 2006, the Miami Heat won their first championship. They were one of the best NBA teams in the regular season, finishing with 52 wins and 30 losses. Led by Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O'Neal, the Heat beat the Dallas Mavericks in the 2006 NBA Finals.
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In the 2006-07 season, Miami dealt with a lot of issues. D-Wade missed more than 30 games due to injury, and Shaq appeared in only 40 of them. The Heat ended the season with a 44-38 record and were swept by the Chicago Bulls in the first round.
