Have the Los Angeles Lakers ever been worse?
"No," would be the accurate response. The worst record put forth by the Los Angeles Lakers came only one season ago under Mike D'Antoni. Those Lakers won 27 games out of an 82-game season. The 2014/15 crew would need to finish with eight wins in their final 10 games in order to match D'Antoni's record. In order to avoid holding the title on their own, the 2014/15 Lakers would need to win nine of their final 10 games. Barring an absolute miracle, the 2014/15 Los Angeles Lakers will be the worst team in the history of the franchise since moving to LA.
Have the Lakers (Minneapolis or LA) ever been worse?
"No," again would be the accurate response, but this one is slightly more interesting. Back in the 1957/58 season, the great George Mikan took over the Minneapolis Lakers as head coach. Mikan started the season 9-30 before being replaced by John Kundla during the season. Kundla had previously coached Mikan and the Lakers to five NBA championships, so the accomplished coach helped the Lakers finish 10-23 for a final record of 19-53.
Back then, the NBA season lasted 72 games. Well, the 2014/15 season is 72 games old for the Los Angeles Lakers, and they have a record of 19-53. Through 72 games, the current group is tied for the worst record in the history of the Lakers' franchise.
However, the 2014/15 Lakers will not finish the season in a tie. If the Lakers win two or fewer games over their final 10 contests, they will take sole ownership of the worst winning percentage, i.e. record, in the storied history of the Lakers' franchise. If the Lakers win three or more games (but fewer than 8) of their final 10 games, the 2014/15 Lakers will narrowly edge the 1957/58 team. However, the 2014/15 Lakers would still go down as the worst team in the history of the franchise since moving to LA.
Of course, the Lakers could technically finish with 9 wins in their last 10 games to avoid this entire conversation altogether. This is probably the right time to remind folks that the 2014/15 Lakers' longest winning streak is three games, a feat that they have accomplished twice. Putting those winning streaks to the side, the Lakers have only managed two two-game winning streaks this season. This team has not enjoyed the taste of winning often, and when it has come by, it hasn't lingered long.
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Suffice to say, the 2014/15 team will go down as the worst team in the history of the Lakers' franchise, but whether that assertion will require a qualifier of "since the team moved to Los Angeles" remains to be determined.
