Charlotte Bobcats - Worst NBA Team in History: 2023 Edition (Part 1)
How did the best NBA player of all time help to create the worst NBA team ever? We take a look at how Michael Jordan created the 2011-12 Charlotte Bobcats.
The Worst Team in NBA History
Michael Jordan sold his stake in Charlotte's NBA franchise ending an era of one of the worst owners of all time.Jordans horror ownership is best summarised by the 2011-12 Charlotte Bobcats, who finished with a 7-59 record and is the worst NBA team of all time.
In a season shortened by the NBA lockout, the Bobcats were outscored by 14 points on average and won just 10.6% of their games.
It Began With Michael Jordan’s Ownership
Michael Jordan became the second largest shareholder of the Charlotte Bobcats in 2006. By 2010 Jordan would become majority owner with a 97% controlling stake.To his credit Jordan became the first former NBA player to become a majority owner in the process. In his first season the Bobcats recorded a respectable 34-48.
Charlotte weren't as good as their record suggested, but there weren't any signs that the Bobcats were about to become the worst team in NBA history.
2010 Draft Sets Tone for Worst NBA Team
Michael Jordan has a habit of making the worst picks in drafts. When he was part owner and president of basketball operations at the Washington Wizards, he picked one of the biggest NBA draft busts of all time.
Jordan selected Kwame Brown straight out of high school with the first pick of the 2001 NBA draft and his career was plagued by poor work ethic and a lack of consistency.
So when Jordan took charge of the Charlotte Bobcats he brought across his poor decision making. Jordan overlooked the Bobcats trading away all their 2010 NBA Draft picks and missed out on players like Avery Bradley, Hassan Whiteside and Eric Bledsoe.
2011 Draft Gets Even Worse
The Bobcats had an even better opportunity in the 2011 NBA Draft, a class which isn't far from being considered one of the best NBA draft classes. Jordan and the Bobcats had the seventh and ninth picks in 2011.With Klay Thompson, Kawhi Leonard, Nikola Vucevic and Jimmy Butler on the board the Bobcats picked Bismack Biyombo seventh overall. At number nine the Bobcats selected Kemba Walker.
The Bobcats got it right with Kemba Walker and despite Biyombo having the potential to become one of the dominant defensive bigs in the league, they missed out on a huge opportunity to strengthen their offense with who was left on the board.
I'll be back tomorrow with part 2!
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