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Most under-achieving team in US sport history?
They were supposed to cruise to the Finals...
Nobody could stop them...
Kirby not only had MVPau but the league's most other dominant big...
They gave away 4 picks for Nashty...
The payroll was $118 million, WAY over the cap...
And then...
Most under-achieving team in US sport history?
alleniversonjumperstepsovertyronnlue.gifMost under-achieving team in US sport history?
Barely beating Lithuania
Outplayed by Od
Player Pos MP FG FGA 3P 3PA FT FTA ORB DRB TRB AST STL BLK TOV PF PTS Stephon Marbury G 1 1 1 0 3 18 Lamar Odom F 8 3 2 0 1 14 Tim Duncan F-C 6 0 0 0 3 10 Allen Iverson G 2 3 2 0 1 10 Shawn Marion F 5 1 3 0 0 9 Carlos Boozer F 9 1 3 0 2 8 Richard Jefferson F 2 0 0 0 0 7 LeBron James G 1 0 0 0 1 3 Dwyane Wade, Jr. G 2 2 2 1 3 2 Amar'e Stoudemire C 0 0 0 0 0 0 Team 36 11 13 1 14 81
If you have Jefferson in your team failure is unavoidable.
what kind of "sports" fan considers the olympics anything other than trailer trash free giveaway plane tickets?
Bernucca: Future murky for Lakers, biggest underachievers in NBA history
April 29, 2013 by Chris Bernucca
Before Game 4 of their Western Conference first-round series against the San Antonio Spurs, the Los Angeles Lakers handed out white towels to fans at the Staples Center.
Apparently, someone in the marketing department didn’t understand symbolism. By halftime, those towels had become flags of surrender for the Lakers, the biggest underachieving team in the history of the NBA.
Dwight Howard offered his own symbolism, figuratively throwing in the towel midway through the third quarter. Unwilling to grit his teeth and bang and bump his way through all of another telling, embarrassing loss, he got himself ejected, starting his offseason of uncertainty with an hour’s headstart on his teammates.
Dwight Howard, human surrender flag. Yeah, there’s the sort of toughness you want to build a franchise around.
Eight months ago, the Lakers had assembled a superteam for the ages. People were talking about 70 wins. Among a panel of 35 “experts” at ESPN.com, 33 said the Lakers would win their division, 25 tabbed them as Western Conference champions and eight picked them to win it all.
You say the media doesn’t know what it’s talking about? Fine. In an NBA.com survey, all but one of 30 GMs had the Lakers winning the division, 18 said they would win the West and seven had them hoisting The Larry.
I don’t want to hear about injuries. GM Mitch Kupchak knew Howard was coming off back surgery and Steve Nash had been nursing mutiple aches and pains for several seasons.
I don’t want to hear about age. Kupchak knew the acquisitions of thirtysomethings Nash and Antawn Jamison made his team older, slower and extremely susceptible on defense.
I don’t want to hear about coaching changes. Smart coaches develop schemes that fit their talent instead of forcing talent to fit their scheme.
The projected starting lineup was a former Defensive Player of the Year who actually was the runt of the litter; a four-time All-Star and arguably the best all-around European player ever; the NBA’s best center, a three-time Defensive Player of the Year and the game’s most impactful paint player; a two-time MVP who is among the league’s best passers and shooters; and simply one of the greatest players ever with an unmatched will and compe ive nature.
The injury whiners will point out that the projected starting lineup took the floor just seven times this season. Right. And went 0-7.
“It’s not necessarily about having the best names,” forward Metta World Peace told CBS Sports Radio this weekend. “It’s about being the best team. So this year, I felt we had the most talent. It just wasn’t translating and it didn’t connect.”
From Nov. 21 to March 8 – a span of 107 days – the Lakers were not above .500. They lost home games to Orlando, Philadelphia and Washington, three of the worst road teams in the league. They won three road games all season against teams that finished with winning records. They had to win eight of their last nine games just to clinch a playoff berth on the final day of the season.
With a $100 million payroll, the Lakers finished 45-37. That was the same record as the Houston Rockets, whose payroll was $52 million. They were swept in the first round of the playoffs for the first time since 1967. They lost all four playoff games by double digits and led those games for a total of 5 1/2 minutes.
When told that the 120-89 beatdown in Game 3 was the worst home playoff loss in franchise history, Earl Clark said, “Damn, that sucks.”
I challenge anyone to find a team that has underachieved more in a single season. The 1994 Seattle SuperSonics and the 2007 Dallas Mavericks may have suffered stunning first-round upsets, but both those teams won 60-plus games with less talent than the Lakers and neither was swept out of the first round.
Lamar Odom redeemed himself and won an NBA championship and a FIBA World Championship in 2010.
No longer invincible, USA loses shot at gold
By David DuPree, USA TODAY
ATHENS — The reasons are aplenty, some legitimate, some exaggerated and others simply imagined, but the reality of the situation is chilling — a group of top NBA stars, albeit, not the very top, but still among the best — lost three games at the Olympics and isn't even in the gold medal game.
The United States is no longer the invincible basketball power it once was. The world's best players might be in the NBA, but the best team, for right now, at least, is Argentina.
Led by Manu Ginobili of the San Antonio Spurs, Argentina had its way against the United States Friday and ended the USA's quest for a gold medal with an impressive 89-81 victory.
The United States will face Lithuania Saturday for the bronze medal, while Argentina will face surprising Italy for the gold. Italy upset previously undefeated Lithuania, 100-91, in Friday's other semifinal.
"You can't take anything away from them," said the USA's Allen Iverson. "We fought as hard as we could. We just couldn't get it done. They were just the better team."
Ginobili controlled the game with 29 points, including going 4-for-6 on three-point shots. His energy and floor leadership also gave Argentina a huge advantage as it successfully held off every challenge the USA made.
"He may be a better compe or than he is a player," said USA assistant coach Gregg Popovich, who also coaches Ginobili on the Spurs. "Tonight he combined both."
While the USA was scrutinized, criticized and second-guessed for everything from who wasn't on the team to its lack of outside shooting to its difficulty in adjusting to the international game and to international officiating, the bottom line is simply that this particular team just wasn't good enough. Effort and willingness to try to do things the right way was never an issue. But having been together for only a month showed, especially against a team like Argentina, which has essentially been together for four years.
"Their execution and the years they've played together showed," Popovich said. "Just because a team loses doesn't mean it wasn't ready. We were ready. You have to give credit to Argentina, but that doesn't take away from how hard our players played. I'm proud of every one of them."
The USA shot only 42% and was 3-for-11 from three-point range. Tim Duncan was in foul trouble early in the second quarter and played only 19 minutes before fouling out. Without him inside, and with no consistent outside game, the USA was left to scramble.
"I'm proud of my team," coach Larry Brown said. "They never stopped trying and they played hard under some difficult cir stances, like Duncan getting into foul trouble every game. Every game there were different kinds of fouls. I couldn't see any pattern except that he never got to play. I thought Argentina executed well and made its shots and we didn't. For us to have a chance, we had to have an inside presence and Timmy fouled out of four (actually two) games here."
1. 1992 Barcelona
With 11 future Hall of Famers and one college legend, the original “Dream Team” changed the global landscape of basketball.
“It was like Elvis and the Beatles put together,” coach Chuck Daly said. “Traveling with the Dream Team was like traveling with 12 rock stars.”
Until further notice, the first team of NBA players remains the best.
Record: 8–0
USA ppg: 117.3
OPP. ppg: 73.5
Avg. Margin: 43.8 ppg
Gold Medal Game: Croatia (117–85)
Coach: Chuck Daly, Detroit Pistons
Player, Pos. (Stats):
Michael Jordan, G (14.9 ppg, 4.5 apg, 4.6 spg)
Charles Barkley, F (18.0 ppg, 71.1 FG%)
Karl Malone, F (13.0 ppg, 5.3 rpg)
Scottie Pippen, F (9.0 ppg, 5.9 apg, 2.9 spg)
Patrick Ewing, C (9.5 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 1.9 bpg)
Magic Johnson, G (8.0 ppg, 4.1 apg)
Larry Bird, F
David Robinson, C
Chris Mullin, F
Clyde Drexler, G
John Stockton, G
Christian Laettner, F
2. 2008 Beijing
The “Redeem Team” had arguably the most athletic roster in Olympic history — with a young LeBron, D-Wade, Dwight and Melo, and a young-er Kobe.
Record: 8–0
USA ppg: 106.2
OPP. ppg: 78.4
Avg. Margin: 27.8 ppg
Gold Medal Game: Spain (118–107)
Coach: Mike Krzyzewski, Duke University
Player, Pos. (Stats):
LeBron James, F (15.5 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 3.8 apg)
Dwyane Wade, G (16.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 2.25 spg)
Kobe Bryant, G (15.0 ppg, 2.8 rpg)
Dwight Howard, C (10.9 ppg, 5.8 rpg)
Carmelo Anthony, F (11.5 ppg, 4.3 rpg)
Chris Bosh, F (9.1 ppg, 6.1 rpg)
Chris Paul, G (8.0 ppg, 4.1 apg, 3.6 rpg)
Jason Kidd, G
Deron Williams, G
Tayshaun Prince, F
Carlos Boozer, F
Michael Redd
3. 1996 Atlanta
It would be hard for any Team USA to deal with the size of this host nation roster — which included David Robinson, Shaquille O’Neal, Hakeem Olajuwon, Charles Barkley and Karl Malone.
Record: 8–0
USA ppg: 102.0
OPP. ppg: 70.3
Avg. Margin: 31.7 ppg
Gold Medal Game: Yugoslavia (95–69)
Coach: Lenny Wilkens, Atlanta Hawks
Player, Pos. (Stats):
Charles Barkley, F (12.4 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 81.6 FG%)
David Robinson, C (12.0 ppg, 4.6 rpg)
Scottie Pippen, F (11.0 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 3.3 apg)
Reggie Miller, G (11.4 ppg, 17-of-41 from 3)
Shaquille O’Neal, C (9.3 ppg, 5.3 rpg)
Penny Hardaway, G (9.0 ppg, 4.4 apg)
Karl Malone, F (8.4 ppg, 4.5 rpg)
Grant Hill, F (9.7 ppg)
Gary Payton, G
John Stockton, G
Hakeem Olajuwon, C
Mitch Richmond, G
4. 1984 Los Angeles
Three future Dream Teamers (M.J., Ewing, Mullin), plenty of NBA-ready size (Tisdale, Perkins) and solid guard play (Roberton, Alford, Flemming) makes Robert Montgomery Knight’s squad the top Olympic college roster of all-time.
Record: 8–0
USA ppg: 95.4
OPP. ppg: 63.3
Avg. Margin: 32.1 ppg
Gold Medal Game: Spain (96–65)
Coach: Bob Knight, Indiana University
Player, Pos. (Stats):
Michael Jordan, G (17.1 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 2.0 apg)
Patrick Ewing, C (11.0 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 2.3 bpg)
Chris Mullin, F (11.6 ppg, 3.0 apg, 2.5 rpg)
Wayman Tisdale, F (8.6 ppg, 6.4 rpg)
Sam Perkins, F (8.1 ppg, 5.4 rpg)
Alvin Robertson, G (7.8 ppg, 2.1 spg)
Steve Alford, G (10.3 ppg)
Vern Flemming, G
Leon Wood, G
Joe Kleine, F
Jon Koncak, C
Jeff Turner, F
5. 1960 Rome
With three of the NBA’s top 50 players — the Big O running the show, the Logo shooting from the outside and Lucas down low — it’s hard to deny that Rome witnessed one of the most talented, balanced, albeit top-heavy, USA rosters ever.
Record: 8–0
USA ppg: 101.9
OPP. ppg: 59.5
Avg. Margin: 42.4 ppg
Gold Medal Game: Soviet Union
Coach: Pete Newell, University of California
Player, Pos. (Stats):
Oscar Robertson, G (17.0 ppg)
Jerry Lucas, C (17.0 ppg)
Jerry West, G (13.8 ppg)
Terry Dischinger, F (11.8 ppg)
Adrian Smith, G (10.9 ppg)
Walt Bellamy, C (7.9 ppg)
Robert Boozer, F
Lester Lane, G
Darrall Imoff, C
Jay Arnette, F
Burdette Haldorson, F
Allen Kelley, G
6. 2000 Sydney
Vince-anity jumping of French 7-footer Frederic Weis was the highlight of this roster — which was the first Team USA that elite NBA players (looking at you, Shaq and Kobe) thought they were too cool to play on.
Record: 8–0
USA ppg: 95.0
OPP. ppg: 73.4
Avg. Margin: 21.6 ppg
Gold Medal Game: France (85–75)
Coach: Rudy Tomjanovich, Houston Rockets
Player, Pos. (Stats):
Kevin Garnett, F (10.8 ppg, 9.1 rpg)
Vince Carter, F (14.8 ppg)
Alonzo Mourning, C (10.2 ppg)
Ray Allen, G (9.8 ppg, 10-of-19 from 3)
Jason Kidd, G (6.0 ppg, 4.4 apg)
Allan Houston, G
Antonio McDyess, F
Shareef Abdur-Rahim, F
Vin Baker, F
Steve Smith, G
Gary Payton, G
Penny Hardaway, G
7. 1976 Montreal
The electric Dantley was flanked by undefeated 1976 Hoosiers (May and Buckner) and coach Dean Smith’s Tar Heels (Kupchak and Ford), giving this team even more built-in chemistry than most.
Record: 6–0
USA ppg: 97.3
OPP. ppg: 83.3
Avg. Margin: 14.0 ppg
Gold Medal Game: Yugoslavia (95–74)
Coach: Dean Smith, University of North Carolina
Player, Pos. (Stats):
Adrian Dantley, G (19.3 ppg, 5.7 rpg)
Scott May, F (16.7 ppg, 6.2 rpg)
Mitch Kupchak, C (12.5 ppg, 5.7 rpg)
Phil Ford, G (11.3 ppg)
Quinn Buckner, G
Kenny Carr, F
Tom LaGarde, C
Phil Hubbard, F
Walter Davis, F
Ernie Grunfeld, F
Tates Armstrong, G
Steven Sheppard, G
8. 1956 Melbourne
As always, Russell — an 11-time NBA champion, two-time NCAA champion and gold medalist — turned defense into offense, en route to the greatest average margin of victory in USA men’s basketball history (53.5 ppg).
Record: 8–0
USA ppg: 99.1
OPP. ppg: 45.6
Avg. Margin: 53.5 ppg
Gold Medal Game: Soviet Union (89–55)
Coach: Gerald Tucker, Phillips 66ers
Player, Pos. (Stats):
Bill Russell, C (14.1 ppg)
Robert Jeangerard, F (12.5 ppg)
Ron Tomsic, G (11.1 ppg)
K.C. Jones, G (10.9 ppg)
Charles Darling, C (9.3 ppg)
James Walsh, G (9.1 ppg)
Burdette Haldorson, F (8.6 ppg)
Boushka, F (8.0 ppg)
William Evans, G
William Hougland, F
Gilbert Ford, G
Carl Cain, F
9. 1964 Tokyo
Iba’s first of two golds (and one silver medal) leading Team USA. Bradley and future bronze-winning coach Brown headline a relatively boring roster.
Record: 9–0
USA ppg: 78.2
OPP. ppg: 48.2
Avg. Margin: 30.0 ppg
Gold Medal Game: Soviet Union (73–59)
Coach: Henry Iba, Oklahoma State University
Player, Pos. (Stats):
Jerry Shipp, G (12.4 ppg)
Bill Bradley, F (10.1 ppg)
Luious Jackson, F (10.0 ppg)
Joe Caldwell, G (9.0 ppg)
Larry Brown, G
Walt Hazzard, G
Jim Barnes, C
Melvin Counts, C
George Wilson, F
Pete McCaffery, F
Richard Davies, G
Jeff Mullins, F
10. 1968 Mexico City
The inside-outside duo of Haywood and Jones might have trouble against some of the USA’s deeper rosters.
Record: 9–0
USA ppg: 82.1
OPP. ppg: 56.1
Avg. Margin: 26.0 ppg
Gold Medal Game: Yugoslavia (65–50)
Coach: Henry Iba, Oklahoma State University
Player, Pos. (Stats):
Spencer Haywood, C (16.1 ppg)
Jo Jo White, G (11.7 ppg)
Michael Silliman, F
Charles Scott, F
Bill Hosket, F
Calvin Fowler, G
Michael Barrett, G
Glynn Saulters, G
Donald Dee, F
Ken Spain, C
John Clawson, G
James King, F
11. 1948 London
Adolph Rupp served as an assistant coach on a team that preferred to squeeze the air out of the basketball and feed the post with Groza, Kurland and Barksdale.
Record: 8–0
USA ppg: 65.5
OPP. ppg: 32.0
Avg. Margin: 33.5 ppg
Gold Medal Game: France (65–21)
Coach: Omar Browning, Phillips 66ers
Player, Pos. (Stats):
Alex Groza, C (11.1 ppg)
Robert Kurland, C (9.3 ppg)
Don Barksdale, F (9.0 ppg)
R.C. Pitts, F
Raymond Lumpp, G
Wallace Jones, F
Gordon Carpenter, F
Vincent Boryla, G
Jesse Renick, G
Lewis Beck, G
Kenneth Rollins, G
Clifford Barker, F
Ralph Beard, G
Jack Robinson, G
12. 1952 Helsinki
NIBL coach Warren Womble had a team that revolved around Lovellette — the first player in history to win championships at the NCAA, NBA and Olympic levels.
Record: 8–0
USA ppg: 70.3
OPP. ppg: 50.8
Avg. Margin: 19.5 ppg
Gold Medal Game: Soviet Union (36–25)
Coach: Warren Womble, Peoria Caterpillars
Player, Pos. (Stats):
Clyde Lovellette, F (14.1 ppg)
Robert Kenney, G (10.9 ppg)
Robert Kurland, C (9.6 ppg)
Ronald Bontemps, G
Dan Pippin, G
Marcus Freiberger, C
William Hougland, G
Wayne Glasgow, G
William Lienhard, F
Frank McCabe, F
Howard Williams, G
Charles Hoag, G
John Keller, F
Melvin Kelley, G
13. 1936 Berlin
The first Team USA is the worst gold medal squad in history. In fairness, the game has evolved quite a bit since the Olympics’ top team averaged less than 40 points per game.
Record: 5–0
USA ppg: 38.0
OPP. ppg: 17.3
Avg. Margin: 17.0 ppg
Gold Medal Game: Canada (19–8)
Coach: James Needles, Universal Pictures
Player, Pos. (Stats):
Joe Fortenberry, C (14.5 ppg)
Frank Lubin, F (11.0 ppg)
Francis Johnson, G (10.0 ppg)
Sam Balter, G
Willard Schmidt, C
John Gibbons, G
Carl Shy, G
William Wheatley, F
Jack Ragland, G
Carl Knowles, F
Art Mollner, G
Ralph Bishop, G
Don Piper, G
Duane Swanson, F
Silver Screwed
The only Team USA to lose a Gold Medal Game refused to accept their silver medals.
14. 1972 Munich
Controversy reigned supreme, as biased officiating led to the fist loss in USA Olympic men’s basketball history.
Record: 8–1
USA ppg: 77.3
OPP. ppg: 44.6
Avg. Margin: 32.7 ppg
Loss: Soviet Union (51–50)
Coach: Henry Iba, Oklahoma State University
Player, Pos. (Stats):
Thomas Henderson, G (9.2 ppg)
Bobby Jones, C (9.2 ppg, 5.7 rpg)
Mike Bantom, F (7.7 ppg, 4.9 rpg)
Jim Brewer, F (7.6 ppg, 7.1 rpg)
Doug Collins, G (7.3 ppg)
Tom McMillen, F
Ed Ratleff, F
Kevin Joyce, G
James Forbes, F
Dwight Jones, C
Tommy Burleson, C
Kenny Davis, G
Bronze Busts
Unlike the 1972 squad, these two disappointments have no excuse for failing to even advance to the Gold Medal Game.
15. 1988 Seoul
Team USA was no match for a Soviet Union roster of grown men — including 7-footer Arvydas Sabonis and wingman Sarunas Marciulionis.
Record: 7–1
USA ppg: 91.6
OPP. ppg: 61.3
Avg. Margin: 30.3 ppg
Loss: Soviet Union (82–76)
Coach: John Thompson, Georgetown University
Player, Pos. (Stats):
David Robinson, C (12.8 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 2.4 bpg)
Dan Majerle, G (14.1 ppg, 4.8 rpg)
Danny Manning, F (11.4 ppg, 6.0 rpg)
Mitch Richmond, G (8.9 ppg, 3.4 rpg)
Hersey Hawkins, G (8.8 ppg)
Charles E. Smith, G
Charles D. Smith, F
Vernell Coles, G
Jeff Grayer, G
J.R. Reid, F
Willie Anderson, G
Stacey Augmon, F
16. 2004 Athens
Larry Brown used the same starting lineup for all eight games — riding Iverson, Marbury, Odom, Jefferson and Duncan to an embarrassing 5–3 record while the 22-and-under crew of LeBron, D-Wade, Carmelo and Amare spent most of their time on the bench. After all, Brown is notorious for not playing young guys. He showed them. He showed us all.
The 2004 Athens Olympics was easily the worst showing in Team USA history.
Record: 5–3
USA ppg: 88.1
OPP. ppg: 83.5
Avg. Margin: 4.6 ppg
Losses: Puerto Rico (92–73), Lithuania (94–90), Argentina (89–81)
Coach: Larry Brown, Detroit Pistons
Player, Pos. (Stats):
Allen Iverson, G (13.8 ppg, 37.8 FG%)
Tim Duncan, C (12.9 ppg, 9.1 rpg)
Stephon Marbury, G (10.5 ppg, 3.4 apg)
Shawn Marion, F (9.9 ppg, 5.9 rpg)
Lamar Odom, F (9.3 ppg, 5.8 rpg)
Richard Jefferson, F
Dwyane Wade, G
Carlos Boozer, F
LeBron James, F
Amare Stoudemire, C
Carmelo Anthony, F
Emeka Okafor, C
by Nathan Rush
- See more at: http://athlonsports.com/nba/ranking-....vxXs7vO6.dpuf
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