Deserve's Got Everything to Do With It: 2026 Basketball Edition

Little Bill Daggett (Gene Hackman): "I don't deserve this! To die like this!"

Will Munny (Clint Eastwood): "Deserve's got nothing to do with it!"

-- Unforgiven, 1992, directed by Eastwood

As I occasionally (but not annually) do, I am ranking Playoff teams by how much they, and their fanbases, deserve to win a World Championship. This time, the NBA:

20. Oklahoma City Thunder, West 1st seed.

May Deserve Because: They've proven themselves to be worthy champions. And their fans have proven themselves worthy of a great team, which was not obvious when the team arrived in 2008.

May Not Deserve Because: They just won the title last year. They don't need another. Ownership sure doesn't deserve it: These are the guys who moved the Seattle SuperSonics, and they're now trying to build a new arena -- to replace the new arena they already have! What gives? Also, it's a conservative city, in a very red State. They don't deserve another title!

19. Miami Heat, East 10th seed, play-in team.

May Deserve Because: Honestly, I can't think of a good reason, unless you mean finally throwing off 27 years of conservative Mayors last year. Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro are interesting players, but not especially deserving. South Florida has a lot of ex-New Yorkers and ex-New Jerseyans, but, by itself, that doesn't help much.

May Not Deserve Because: One of America's most conservative cities, in one of America's most conservative States. They've won the title as recently as 2013, and been in the Finals as recently as 2023. There's no "guy to root for." And there's a reason those ex-New Yorkers and ex-New Jerseyans moved there: Because they wanted to get away from the multicultural society that their area has become.

18. Boston Celtics, East 2nd seed.

May Deserve Because: Boston is a liberal city, in a liberal State. And... that's about it.

May Not Deserve Because: The Celtics won the title as recently as 2024, and they've won more than any other team. They don't need another. And it's not like they have a great player who wasn't a part of that 2024 team, and hasn't won one.

17. Los Angeles Lakers, West 4th seed.

May Deserve Because: Los Angeles is a liberal city, in a Blue State. And that's about it.

May Not Deserve Because: They last won in 2020. How many more do they need? LeBron James certainly doesn't deserve another title.

16. San Antonio Spurs, West 2nd seed.

May Deserve Because: Victor Wembanyana is a special player.

May Not Deserve Because: They're in Texas. They last won in 2014, not that long ago. And Wembayana is only 22. He will, most likely, have many more chances. To put that in perspective: When they won their 1st NBA titles, LeBron James was 27, Michael Jordan was 28, Wilt Chamberlain was 30, Oscar Robertson was 32, Julius Erving was 33, and Jerry West was 34.

15. Golden State Warriors, West 10th seed, play-in team.

May Deserve Because: San Francisco is regarded as the liberal city, and California as the Blue State. Steve Kerr is rightly one of the most admired men in the NBA, maybe the most admired, now that Gregg Popovich has retired from coaching. Steph Curry is beloved. He and some of the Warriors have won titles, but his brother Seth Curry and Jimmy Butler have not. But Butler won't win one this time, as he is unavailable due to a season-ending injury.

May Not Deserve Because: The Dubs have dominated the West, winning it 6 of the last 11 seasons, including 4 NBA Championships. They don't need another. I wouldn't mind if they did, especially if they beat a Red State team in the Finals. But they don't need it.

14. Denver Nuggets, West 3rd seed.

May Deserve Because: Denver is a liberal city, in a Blue State. Nikola Jokić is probably the best player in the world this season.

May Not Deserve Because: They won in 2023, which is very recent. Nobody on the team needs a title all that badly.

13. Cleveland Cavaliers, East 4th seed.

May Deserve Because: Cleveland is a liberal city. And the city has won only 1 World Championship since 1964, so they deserve it. James Harden and Donovan Mitchell are legends who probably deserve to win a title.

May Not Deserve Because: Cleveland's status as a liberal city, but it hasn't been able to turn Ohio away from being a Red State. Harden is a jerk. And that 1 title was the Cavs, only in 2016.

12. Houston Rockets, West 5th seed.

May Deserve Because: Houston is a liberal city. The Rockets haven't won a title, or even been to the Finals, since 1995.

May Not Deserve Because: Houston is still in Texas, among the reddest of the Red States. As a city, it last won a title in 2022, with the Astros *. And their biggest star is Kevin Durant, not exactly a player who needs another title.

11. Toronto Raptors, East 5th seed.

May Deserve Because: Toronto is a liberal city, in a liberal country. Brandon Ingram deserves a title.

May Not Deserve Because: The Raptors only won in 2019.

10. Orlando Magic, East 8th seed, play-in team.

May Deserve Because: Orlando has never won a Championship, in any sport, unless you count the Orlando Pride winning the National Women's Soccer League title in 2024.

May Not Deserve Because: Florida is a Red State. And the Magic have no "He really deserves it" guy.

9. Atlanta Hawks, East 6th seed.

May Deserve Because: Atlanta is a liberal city. The Hawks haven't won a title since 1958, when they were in St. Louis. Indeed, since coming to Atlanta in 1970, they've only made the Conference Finals twice, in 2015 and 2021.

May Not Deserve Because: Georgia is still a Red State. Atlanta has proven itself to be a rotten sports city. While the Hawks haven't won a title, the city last won one only in 2021, with the Braves. And there's no especially-deserving player.

8. Phoenix Suns, West 7th seed, play-in team.

May Deserve Because: The Suns have never won a title in 55 seasons, going 0-3 in the Finals. The only title for an Arizona-based team is the 2001 Diamondbacks *. Devin Booker deserves a title. And the Phoenix area is full of ex-Chicago people.

May Not Deserve Because: One of America's most conservative cities, and it's in what's usually still a Red State.

7. Charlotte Hornets, East 9th seed, play-in team.

May Deserve Because: Charlotte is a blue city that, on occasion, has made North Carolina a Blue State. While Raleigh won a Stanley Cup in 2006, Charlotte has never won a title, with the Hornets never having reached the Conference Finals, and the Carolina Panthers having gone 0-2 in Super Bowls.

May Not Deserve Because: North Carolina is still a blue State, and there's no "guy to root for."

6. Detroit Pistons, East 1st seed.

May Deserve Because: Detroit is a liberal city, usually turning Michigan to be a Blue State. The city hasn't had a title since the 2008 Red Wings, and the Pistons haven't won since 2004 or been in the Finals since 2005. Just 2 seasons ago, they completed a run of season with only 20, 23, 17 and 14 wins, including a 28-game losing streak, tied for the longest losing streak in NBA, and major league sports, history. Their comeback under head coach J.B. Bickerstaff (son of former NBA coach Bernie) and general manager Trajan Langdon (former Duke star) has been remarkable.

May Not Deserve Because: The only reason I can think of is that they don't have a standout "He deserves it" guy. Cade Cunningham might be on his way, but he's not a legend yet. And 2004 wasn't that long ago.

5. Philadelphia 76ers, East 7th seed, play-in team. 

May Deserve Because: Philadelphia is a great city. It's a liberal city. Pennsylvania is a Blue State. It's been 43 years since they last won it all. It would make a few people I know happy, since I only live only 64 miles away. Joel Embiid deserves a title.

May Not Deserve Because: Their fans have been known to be a bit rough. And Kyle Lowry already has a title, with the 2019 Toronto Raptors.

4. Los Angeles Clippers, West 9th seed, play-in team.

May Deserve Because: Los Angeles is a liberal city, in a Blue State. The Clippers are not the lordly Lakers: The franchise has been playing for 56 years, as the Buffalo Braves from 1970 to 1978, the San Diego Clippers from then until 1984, and the Los Angeles Clippers since. Their fans have suffered, especially in comparison to Laker fans. Bradley Beal deserves a title, but he is injured an unavailable. And they are no longer owned by the racist real-estate developer Donald Sterling. They are owned by Steve Ballmer, one of the more sympathetic super-rich guys.

May Not Deserve Because: Head coach Tyronn Lue has already won a title, with the 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers. So has Brook Lopez, with the 2021 Milwaukee Bucks. Other than that, no big reason.

3. Portland Trail Blazers, West 8th seed, play-in team.

May Deserve Because: Portland is a liberal city, and it keeps Oregon a Blue State. It's been 48 years since they last won it all, although the Portland Thorns won the NWSL title in 2022. Damian Lillard deserves a title, but has been injured all season.

May Not Deserve Because: Can't think of a good reason, although one of the current Blazers, Jrue Holiday, already has 2 titles, with the 2021 Milwaukee Bucks and the 2024 Boston Celtics. So he doesn't need another. It would help his Hall of Fame candidacy, but it wouldn't assure his election.

2. New York Knicks, East 3rd seed.

May Deserve Because: New York is the greatest city in the world, a liberal city in a Blue State. But unless you want to count the WNBA or soccer teams, it hasn't won a World Championship in any sport since the Giants in 2012. The Knicks haven't won one since 1973 -- 53 years. Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, Mikal Brunson and OG Anuoby are good guys who deserve a title. It's time.

May Not Deserve Because: Knick fans already think they know more about basketball than anybody. They might become insufferable if their team actually wins another title. And does James Dolan actually deserve a title? No.

1. Minnesota Timberwolves, West 6th seed.

May Deserve Because: Minneapolis is a liberal city, in a Blue State, and has suffered this calendar year. The City and the State have not won a title in any sport since the 1991 Twins. The T-Wolves have played since 1989, and while they've been to the Conference Finals in each of the last 2 seasons before this one, the city hasn't been to the NBA Finals since the 1954 Minneapolis Lakers. And if we're going by who's played a long time to earn a title, the T-Wolves have the most guys: Mike Conley Jr., Rudy Gobert, Kyle Anderson and Julius Randle.

May Not Deserve Because: I can't think of a good reason, unless you boycott Minneapolis-based Target, which has its name on both the T-Wolves' arena and the Twins' ballpark.

So there you have it: The Minnesota Timberwolves deserve to win the 2026 NBA Championship, more than any other team.

UPDATE: 2 beat 16. Better than usual.

April 15, 1965: John Havlicek Steals the Ball

April 15, 1965, 60 years ago: Game 7 of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals, at the Boston Garden. The Boston Celtics led the Philadelphia 76ers 110-109, but a rare mistake by Russell gave the Sixers the ball with just a few seconds left on the clock.

If the Sixers could score, they would end (or, at least, interrupt) the Celtic dynasty, and head to the NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers, who had wrapped up the Western Conference Championship 2 days earlier.

Hal Greer was getting ready to inbound the ball, and if the Sixers could get it to Wilt Chamberlain, that would probably be it. First, Greer saw Chet Walker (Number 25 in the photo above), and tried to get the ball to him.

John Havlicek had other ideas. Johnny Most had the call, on WHDH, 850 on the AM dial (now WEEI):

Greer is putting the ball in play. He gets it out deep, and Havlicek steals it! Over to Sam Jones! Havlicek stole the ball! It's all over! It's all over! Johnny Havlicek is being mobbed by the fans! It's all over! Johnny Havlicek stole the ball! Oh my, what a play by Havlicek at the end of this ball game!

"I knew he had 5 seconds to inbound," Havlicek said at the time. "So I started counting to myself: '1,001, 1,002, 1,003.' Usually, something has happened by then. So, by 1,003 and a half, I started to peek a little more."

The film always confused me. The player dribbling the ball up the court is clearly a black man, who, as Most pointed out, was Sam Jones. Havlicek was still playing when I was a little kid, so I knew he was white. If Havlicek was the one who stole the ball, why was he not the man dribbling up the court? The film shows him jumping and just tipping the ball with his hand, and Jones retrieving it. It's a "Blink and you'll miss it" play.

But it's become the most famous single play in NBA history -- due to Most doing for it what Russ Hodges did for Bobby Thomson's home run to win the New York Giants the 1951 National League Pennant, and, in each case, the moment did the same for the man -- and 2nd only to Willie Mays' catch in the 1954 World Series as the most famous defensive play in the history of sports.

The Celtics went on to beat the Lakers in the Finals, having already done so in 1959 (while the Lakers were still in Minneapolis), 1962 and 1963; and did so again in 1966, 1968 and 1969, with Chamberlain and the 76ers finally breaking through in 1967, beating the San Francisco (now Golden State) Warriors.

Havlicek would be a member of 8 NBA Championship teams with the Celtics, the last in 1976. The current version of the NBA Championship Trophy, now named for former Commissioner Larry O'Brien, was introduced the following year, so "Hondo" never won the trophy he's holding in this photo. The predecessor Trophy, and this trophy until O'Brien's retirement as Commissioner in 1984, was named for the Celtics' founder and owner, Walter Brown.

Havlicek was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame, and named to the NBA's 50th and 75th Anniversary Teams. The Celtics retired his Number 17. He died in 2019. I don't know if he ever met Mays. 

The Failure Of Laker LeBron

Last night, the Denver Nuggets, the defending NBA Champions, beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 108-106 at the Ball Arena (formerly the Pepsi Center) in Denver. The Nuggets thus won the Playoff series, 4 games to 1, and ended the Lakers' season.

Nikola Jokić of the Nuggets has clearly been the best player in the NBA the last 2 years. Steph Curry of the Golden State Warriors has been the best player over the last 10 years. And LeBron James, now with the Lakers, has been the best player over the last 20 years. 

LeBron might not have been the better all-around player than Steph. But there is no question that he "had a greater impact" than anyone. He has become the ultimate user of "player power." Some players became "coach killers." But LeBron did something even Michael Jordan didn't do: For the Lakers, he became, for all intents and purposes, all at the same time:

1. Star Player

2. Team Captain

3. Head Coach

4. General Manager

5. Public Relations Director

He has been those things, regardless of who the actual head coach and GM have been.

And yet, in 6 seasons with them, what has he led them to? One NBA Championship, and that in the COVID-interrupted season of 2019-20; one other trip to the Conference Finals, 2 1st Round exits including this one, and 2 flat-out Playoff misses. The Lakers' win, this season, in the NBA's 1st-ever in-season tournament was a big story, but, ultimately, didn't help them achieve real success. It's another notch on LeBron's record. It might be the NBA's "FA Cup," but, so far, it doesn't really mean anything.

A head coach with that record, with that franchise, would be fire. A GM? Certainly.

If Lakers owner Jeanie Buss had the power that an NFL team owner had, she wouldn't have given LeBron anything beyond the captaincy. If she had the mindset of an NFL team owner, then, after the 2022 Playoff miss, she would have told LeBron, "You wanna play on an NBA team with your son? Go ahead, try it, but try it somewhere else: You're gone. We have higher standards than any other NBA team, and you have failed them."

And she would have done what it took to sever ties with him. If that meant messing up salary cap space for the next three seasons, so what? They wouldn't have won anything over the next 3 seasons, anyway.

Next season, 2024-25, the Los Angeles Clippers will be moving into a new arena, where they won't have to look over their shoulders for the Lakers.

LeBron is 40. He is already looking over his shoulder at Father Time, who can be beaten many times, but only needs to win once.

One title in six years. By Laker standards, that's not good enough. He'll get his number retired. Heck, Kobe Bryant got two numbers retired, and LeBron could, too. He'll get a statue.

But that doesn't mean that he hasn't failed in Los Angeles. Will he come back next season? Almost certainly. With the Lakers? Probably, but it's not a given. Does he have to win one more title to make his Los Angeles tenure no longer a failure? In my opinion, yes.

Maybe he should stick to politics, and leave sports out of it. 

LeBron James Needs to Quit... As Coach and GM

The NBA begins its 78th season tonight. It will be the 21st season for LeBron James. He will open the season with its 1st regular-season game, as his Los Angeles Lakers travel to play the defending Champions, the team that knocked the Lakers out of last season's Playoffs, the Denver Nuggets.

In the game in which the Lakers bowed out of the 2023 Playoffs, James, age 38, played 47 minutes and 56 seconds out of the available 48 minutes. That sounds like another piece of evidence of the greatness of LeBron James the player.

It is not. There are other things that can do that. It is an indictment of LeBron James the head coach and the general manager.

And let's not kid ourselves: Regardless of Darvin Ham and Rob Pelinka holding the actual positions, LeBron James is the head coach and the general manager of the Los Angeles Lakers. He led this team, and he put it together.

He is no more qualified to do either job than was Michael Jordan, than was Magic Johnson, than was Larry Bird, than was Willie Reed, than was Bill Russell, than was Bob Cousy. Those men won nothing without themselves on the court. (Cousy, the first of these, infamously made his team even worse in his brief comeback with the 1969-70 Cincinnati Royals.) Yes, I put Jordan in the past tense, because the Charlotte Hornets ain't never gonna do nothin' with him in charge. These men couldn't coach, and they couldn't build teams.

You might think that Jerry West is the exception. As a GM, he was, the 2nd-greatest in the history of the sport behind Red Auerbach. But not as a head coach, where he did a lousy job. Among coaches, the exception is Bill Sharman, one of Auerbach's early Celtic stars, who coached West to his only title as a player in 1972.

But even that was more than half a century ago. Both the job of an NBA head coach and the job of an NBA GM have changed tremendously since then. Magic's brief tenure as coach of the Lakers was in 1994. Bird was last coach in 2000, and last a GM in 2017, in both cases not with the team for whom he played, the Boston Celtics, but with his home-State team, the Indiana Pacers. And he may have left the front office because he realized how much the game had changed, and rendered the business of basketball that he once understood obsolete.

Note my choice of words: The way the game is played hasn't changed that much, but the business of it has, a lot.

Let this be a lesson to Steph Curry, in case he's thinking about trying it. Before Curry, Sharman and West were the 2 greatest shooters in NBA history. I'm not including Wilt Chamberlain in this discussion: He had just 1 season as a coach, and it was in the ABA, and he did get them into the Playoffs. Then he lost interest in coaching, and quit. So we don't have a reliable sample on him.

The best head coaches have included mediocre players, like Auerbach, Jack Ramsay, Pat Riley, Chuck Daly, Phil Jackson, Gregg Popovich and Larry Brown; and even some very good ones, like Red Holzman, Tom Heinsohn, Lenny Wilkens, K.C. Jones, Rudy Tomjanovich and Steve Kerr. But not great players.

LeBron has proven, thus far, to not be an exception. And he is smart enough to figure that out. But his stubbornness, which has served him so well as a player, may be blinding him to this essential truth.

LeBron has changed the sport in many ways. He has made the NBA the ultimate players' league: The players there have much more power than in MLB, and exponentially more than in the NFL and the NHL, where the players' unions have been tamed by the team owners.

But, like Magic and Jordan before him, LeBron wants to be the team owner. That isn't going to happen as long as Jeanie Buss and her family own the Lakers. LeBron can be said to be, as West and Magic were before him, the operator of the Lakers, which might be better: It's not his own money he has to put up.

But he's not the right choice. He knows basketball. What he doesn't seem to know -- it was Dwyane Wade who put together the 2010-14 Miami Heat superteam -- is chemistry. Or, more accurately, the chemistry between people, which is part of psychology.

And this is one way in which going straight from high school to the NBA, skipping college and the coursework it offers, has served him very poorly. In many ways, it's worked out for him. But not in this way.

How Do the Warriors Compare to Other NBA Dynasties?

The Golden State Warriors won a dramatic Game 2 of the NBA Western Conference Finals last night, 114-111, at home to the Portland Trail Blazers.

It has often been noted that no Playoff series is truly over until the home team has lost at least once. And, to their credit, the Blazers have pushed the Warriors very hard. They are a very good team going up against an even better team.

But the Warriors are a better team. Keep in mind, they've won their last few games with Kevin Durant being injured. How great are the warriors, in a historical context? If they win the championship again this year, that will be 4 titles in 5 seasons. And, for 1 game in the 2016 Finals, they would be going for 5 straight.

The Celtics of the 1960s won 8 straight, though the level of their competition can be called into question. The Celtics of the '80s won 3 titles in 6 years. The Lakers of the '80s won 5 titles in 9 years. The Bulls of the '90s won 6 titles in 8 years. The Lakers of the early 2000s won 3 straight titles. And the Heat of the early 2010s made 4 straight Finals, but only won 2 of them.

1. 2000-02 Los Angeles Lakers, 3 straight Championships: 45-13, .776

2. 2015-19 Golden State Warriors, 5 years, 4 Finals, 2 Championships, and counting? 73-24, .753

3. 1991-98 Chicago Bulls, 8 years, 6 Championships: 102-36, .739

4. 1980-89 Los Angeles Lakers, 10 years, 8 Finals, 5 Championships: 115-44, .723

5. 1949-53 Minneapolis Lakers, 6 years, 5 Championships: 45-19, .703

6. 2011-14 Miami Heat, 4 years, 4 Finals, 2 Championships: 59-28, .678

7. 1957-69 Boston Celtics, 13 years, 12 Finals, 11 Championships: 111-59, .645

8. 1981-87 Boston Celtics, 7 years, 5 Finals, 3 Championships: 73-43, .629

9. 1970-73 New York Knicks, 4 years, 3 Finals, 2 Championships: 40-24, .625

Before I compiled this list, I said on Twitter that the 2010s Warriors are even more dominant than the 1990s Bulls. I decided to look at the numbers, to see if I was right, or if I was just making a wild guess that turned out to be very wrong. As it turned out, I was, at least for the moment, ever-so-slightly, right.

And while the early 2000s Lakers look like the best of these teams, record-wise, 3 seasons is a comparatively small sample. Extend it to a 4th season, and they didn't do as well in the 2003 Playoffs. Extend it to a 5th season, and they made the Finals again, but the "superteam" got embarrassed by the more workmanlike, team-oriented, so far no players in the Basketball Hall of Fame Detroit Pistons.

Add the 19-15 Playoff record of the 2003 and '04 Lakers, and the 2000-04 Playoff record becomes 64-28: .696. That's still a fantastic percentage, ahead of either Celtic dynasty, but below the 2010s Warriors, the 1990s Bulls and the 1980s Lakers -- and it moves the 2010s Warriors to the top spot.

*

Another thing about the 2010s Warriors: People who hate them, and especially those who hate Kevin Durant for bolting the Oklahoma City Thunder for the Warriors, just so he could get his ring, seemed to have no problem with:

* LeBron leaving Cleveland twice, first to join Dwyane Wade in Miami, then going back, and then again to build another title winner with the Lakers (which is now incredibly unlikely to happen).

* Kevin Garnett leaving Minnesota to join Paul Pierce and Ray Allen in Boston.

And, if they go back far enough...

* Karl Malone leaving Utah to join Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant in L.A., which didn't work.

* Shaq leaving Orlando for L.A., and them for Miami.

* Allan Houston leaving Detroit and...

* Larry Johnson leaving Charlotte, both to join Patrick Ewing in New York, and it didn't work.

* Dennis Rodman leaving San Antonio and...

* Ron Harper leaving Cleveland to join Michael Jordan in Chicago.

* Clyde Drexler leaving Portland to join Hakeem Okajuwon in Houston.

* Bill Walton leaving the L.A. Clippers and...

* Dennis Johnson leaving Seattle, both to join Larry Bird in Boston.

* Moses Malone leaving Houston to join Julius Erving in Philadelphia.

* Bob McAdoo leaving New Jersey and...

* Jamaal Wilkes leaving Golden State, both to join Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson in L.A.

* Earl Monroe leaving Baltimore and...

* Jerry Lucas leaving San Francisco, both to join Willis, Clyde, Double D and Dollar Bill in New York.

* Oscar Robertson leaving Cincinnati to join Kareem (then still Lew Alcindor) in Milwaukee.

* Wilt Chamberlain leaving San Francisco to join Hal Greer in Philadelphia, and then leaving them to join Jerry West and Elgin Baylor in L.A.

* Bailey Howell leaving Baltimore to join Bill Russell and John Havlicek in Boston.

In other words, lots of players have done exactly what Durant did, some successfully, some not. I can understand hating him if you hate all the Warriors. But don't hate him for doing what your favorite player (especially if it's LeBron) may have already done.

*

Days until the New York Red Bulls play again: 2, on Sunday afternoon at 1:00, home to defending MLS Champions Atlanta United.

Days until Arsenal play again: 12, on Wednesday, at 2:45 PM New York time, against fellow Londoners Chelsea, but at the Olympic Stadium (not that the Olympics will every be scheduled for there) in Baku, Azerbaijan, in the UEFA Europa League Final. If Arsenal, who new manager Unai Emery guided to a 5th place finish in the Premier League, when just a little less stupid stubbornness on his part would have gotten them to 3rd, win the game, they qualify for next season's UEFA Champions League. If they lose, they don't, unless UEFA does what it's threatening to do, and ban Manchester City from the competition for a year due to financial irregularities.

Days until the next Yankees-Red Sox series begins: 13, on Thursday, May 30, at Yankee Stadium II.

Days until the next Women's World Cup kicks off: 21,  on Friday, June 7, in France. Just 3 weeks. The U.S. team is 3-time and defending Champions.

Days until the Red Bulls next play a "derby": 22, on Saturday night, June 8, against the Philadelphia Union, at Talen Energy Stadium in Chester, Pennsylvania. The next game against New York City FC will be on Sunday night, July 14, at Red Bull Arena. The next game against the New England Revolution will be on Saturday night, August 17, at Red Bull Arena. The next game against D.C. United will be on Wednesday night, August 21, at Audi Field in Washington.

Days until the U.S. national soccer team plays again: 32, on Tuesday, June 18, against the South American nation of Guyana, at the brand-new Allianz Field in St. Paul, home of Minnesota United, in the opener of the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup. A little over a month.

Days until the Yankees and Red Sox play each other in London: 43, on June 29. A little over 6 weeks.

Days until Arsenal play in America: 59. Under 2 months. On July 15, they will visit the Denver suburbs to play the Colorado Rapids. On July 17, they will visit the Los Angeles suburbs to play Bayern Munich. On July 20, they will visit Charlotte to play AS Roma. And on July 23, they will visit the Redskins' stadium in the Washington suburbs to play Real Madrid. This almost certainly means no Emirates Cup this Summer.

Days until the next North London Derby: Unknown, as both Premier League matches, and a League Cup match, have been played this season. The next season starts on August 10, which is 85 days from now, but the PL never puts a Derby on the opening weekend. The Gunners and Spurs usually play each other in N5 in October or November, and then in N17 in February or March.

Days until Rutgers University plays football again: 106, on August 31, home to the University of Massachusetts. About 15 weeks.

Days until East Brunswick High School plays football again: Unknown, because the 2019 schedule hasn't been released yet. Usually, the next season begins on the 1st Friday in September, which would be September 6, which would be 112 days. It has been announced that East Brunswick and its arch-rivals, Old Bridge, will no longer play each other on Thanksgiving Day. In fact, many of the local Thanksgiving rivalries have been moved back to the opening night, September 6. Whenever the Big Green play the Purple Bastards, it will be under a new head coach, because Bob Molarz, in charge for the last 6 seasons, has resigned.

Days until the New Jersey Devils play again: Unknown. Traditionally, a new NHL season begins on the 1st Thursday in October, which would be October 3, which is 139 days from now. Under 5 months. The new schedule is usually released around June 20 or so. We shall see.

Days until the New Jersey Devils next play a local rival: Unknown. But the Devils never open against either the New York Rangers, a.k.a. The Scum; the New York Islanders; or the Philadelphia Flyers, a.k.a. The Philth.

Days until the next Rutgers-Penn State football game: 197, on Saturday, November 30, at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania. A little over 6 months.

Days until my 50th Birthday, at which point I can join AARP and get discounts for travel and game tickets: 215, on December 18, 2019. A shade over 7 months.

Day until the premiere of the final Star Wars film, Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker: 217, on December 20, 2019.

Days until the Baseball Hall of Fame vote is announced, electing Derek Jeter: 249, on January 21, 2020. A little over 8 months.

Days until the next Summer Olympics begins in Tokyo, Japan: 434, on July 24, 2020. A little over a year, or a little over 14 months.

Days until the next Presidential election, when we can dump the Trump-Pence regime and elect a real Administration: 536, on November 3, 2020. Under a year and a half, or under 18 months.

Days until a fully-Democratic-controlled Congress can convene, and the Republicans can do nothing about it: 597, on January 3, 2021. A little over a year and a half, or under 19 months.

Days until Liberation Day: 614, at noon on January 20, 2021. Under 2 years, or a little over 20 months. Note that this is liberation from the Republican Party, not just from Donald Trump. Having Mike Pence as President wouldn't be better, just differently bad, mixing theocracy with plutocracy, rather than mixing kleptocracy with plutocracy.

Days until the next Winter Olympics begins in Beijing, China: 994, on February 4, 2022. Under 3 years, or under 33 months.

Days until the next World Cup is scheduled to kick off: 1,284, on November 21, 2022, in Qatar. A little over 3 1/2 years, or a little over 42 months. The charges of corruption against Qatar may yet mean that they will lose the tournament, in which case it will be moved to a nation where it would not be too hot to play it in June and July.

How Long It's Been: The Knicks Won a Playoff Game

And now, I return to an occasional feature of this blog, "How Long It's Been."

On April 29, 2001, the New York Knicks defeated the Toronto Raptors, 97-89, at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto. This gave the Knicks a 2-games-to-1 lead in a Playoff series.

The Raptors won the next 2 games, including the deciding Game 5 at Madison Square Garden.

Okay, that's bad, but, hey, these are the Knicks, right? They're in the Playoffs every year.

That was 11 years and 3 days ago. Since then, in those 11 seasons (counting this one), the Knicks have appeared in the Playoffs 3 times, in a grand total of 10 Playoff games, and won exactly none of them.

How long has it been? Not long, you say? Certainly not as long as the 39 years it’s been since they last won a title?

How about this...

Since then, 3 NBA teams have moved: The Vancouver Grizzlies were in the process of moving to Memphis, the Charlotte Hornets moved to New Orleans, and the Seattle SuperSonics moved to become the Oklahoma City Thunder.

There is an NBA team that has been founded since then, the Charlotte Bobcats, and in 3 fewer seasons they are the only team besides the Knicks to have not won at least 1 Playoff game.

The Los Angeles Lakers have won 4 NBA Championships, the San Antonio Spurs 3, and 1 each has been won by the Detroit Pistons, Miami Heat, Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks. Keep in mind that the Heat and Mavs had never won one before.

The New Jersey Nets, who are moving within the Tri-State Area to become the Brooklyn Nets, were a joke franchise, having won just 1 Playoff series in their 24 NBA seasons, after being the signature franchise of the ABA. The Nets won the Eastern Conference Championship the next 2 seasons and won 4 Atlantic Division titles, before being broken up. Still... The Nets? The biggest joke franchise in the history of New York area sports? More so even than the Mets? They reached 2 NBA Finals? And the Knicks couldn't win one single solitary Playoff GAME?

The Philadelphia 76ers also reached the Finals -- something they hadn't done in 18 years. The Heat and Mavericks had never reached the Finals before, and each has now done so twice (each time, against each other). The Cleveland Cavaliers had never reached the Finals before, but did. The Orlando Magic also reached the Finals.

Since the Knicks last won a Playoff game, the following franchises in the other 3 major league sports all won their 1st World Championship: The Arizona Diamondbacks, the team currently known as the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, the New England Patriots, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the New Orleans Saints, the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Carolina Hurricanes and the Anaheim Ducks.

The Diamondbacks, the Houston Astros, the Colorado Rockies, the Tampa Bay Rays and the Texas Rangers each won their 1st Pennant. The Bucs, the Saints, the Carolina Panthers, the Seattle Seahawks and the Arizona Cardinals advanced to their 1st Super Bowl. The Hurricanes, the Ducks, the Lightning, advanced to their 1st Stanley Cup Finals.

The Boston Red Sox won their 1st World Series in 86 years, the Chicago White Sox their 1st in 88, and the Giants their 1st in 56, or their 1st since moving to San Francisco. The Colts won their 1st Super Bowl in 36 years, or their 1st since moving to Indianapolis. The Chicago Blackhawks won their 1st Stanley Cup in 49 years, and the Boston Bruins their 1st in 39.

In 2001, the Knicks were coached by Jeff Van Gundy. Since then, counting him, they've gone through 7 head coaches -- 6 if you don't count Herb Williams as a permanent coach, 8 if you count his 2 interim stints separately. The last 2001 Knick still with the team continuously was Allan Houston, in 2005. The last 2 2001 Knicks still playing in the NBA were Marcus Camby and Kurt Thomas, who both returned to the Knicks for one last shot in 2013.

Charlie Ward, the 1993 Heisman Trophy winner who led Florida State to the National Championship, was arguably the best quarterback in New York at the time, ahead of Kerry Collins of the Giants and Vinny Testaverde (the 1987 Heisman winner with Miami) and Chad Pennington of the Jets.

The Knicks are still playing in Madison Square Garden, but, just 11 years later, 8 of the 30 NBA teams will not still be playing in their 2000-01 arena in 2012-13: The Charlotte/New Orleans Hornets, the Dallas Mavericks, the Houston Rockets, the New Jersey/Brooklyn Nets, the Orlando Magic, the San Antonio Spurs, the Seattle SuperSonics/Oklahoma City Thunder and the Vancouver/Memphis Grizzlies.

Basketball pioneers Hank Luisetti and George Mikan were still alive. Of the men who were named in 1997 to the NBA's 50th Anniversary 50 Greatest Players, Scottie Pippen, Charles Barkley, Hakeem Olajuwon, Karl Malone, John Stockton, David Robinson, Shaquille O'Neal and (barely) Patrick Ewing were still active. Michael Jordan was just about to make his ill-advised 2nd comeback. With Shaq's retirement a few weeks ago, now all 50 are retired.

Shane Battier had just led Duke to the National Championship over an Arizona team that included Gilbert Arenas and Luke Walton. LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Carmelo Anthony were still in high school. Stephen Curry and Brook Lopez were 13 years old, Kevin Durant was 12.

The defending World Champions were the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA, the St. Louis Rams in the NFL, and local boys the Yankees in baseball and the Devils in the NHL. Hasim Rahman had knocked Lennox Lewis out a week earlier to become Heavyweight Champion of the World.

The Olympic Games have been held in America, Greece, Italy, China and Canada. The World Cup has been held in Japan, Korea, Germany and South Africa -- and had never previously been held in Asia and Africa, or in a joint venture (2002 in Japan and Korea).

The European Cup/Champions League soccer tournament has been won by Bayern Munich (who are in this year's final as well, against London's Chelsea), Real Madrid, AC Milan (twice), Porto, Liverpool, Barcelona (3 times), Manchester United and Internazionale Milano.

Current Knicks coach Mike D'Antonio was coaching Bennetton Treviso in the Italian league. Avery Johnson of the Nets was playing for the San Antonio Spurs. Tom Coughlin of the Giants was the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars. John Tortorella of the Rangers was the head coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning. Jacques Lemaire of the Devils was the head coach of the Minnesota Wild. Terry Collins of the Mets was managing in the Los Angeles Dodgers' minor-league system. Jack Capuano of the Islanders was the general manager of the Pee Dee Pride, a minor-league hockey team in Florence, South Carolina. Rex Ryan of the Jets was the defensive line coach for the Baltimore Ravens. Joe Girardi of the Yankees was catching for the Chicago Cubs.

George W. Bush had just been inaugurated as President. Bill Clinton had just left the office. George H.W. Bush, Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford and their wives, and Lady Bird Johnson were all still alive. (Reagan, Mrs. Johnson, and Mr. and Mrs. Ford have since died.) Barack Obama was a State Senator, and Mitt Romney was a failed one-time U.S. Senate candidate who busy trying to keep the next year's Winter Olympics from falling apart.

The Governor of New York was George Pataki. The Mayor of New York City was Rudy Giuliani, and running to replace him were a dedicated Democratic public servant, Mark Green, and a playboy Republican billionaire, Michael Bloomberg. The Governor of New Jersey was Donald DiFrancesco, and running to replace him were former Jersey City Mayor Bret Schundler, who was so conservative he made the new "president" look like George McGovern, and Woodbridge Mayor and former State Senator Jim McGreevey, who seemed very popular with the ladies, and he seemed to reciprocate their feelings. If we only knew...

Antonin Scalia, Anthony Kennedy, Clarence Thomas, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer were on the U.S. Supreme Court then, and are still on it today. President Kim Dae-jung of South Korea was the holder of the Nobel Peace Prize. The Pope was John Paul II. The current Pope, Benedict XVI, then Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, was the Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

The Prime Ministers of Canada was Jean Chretien, and of Britain Tony Blair. The monarch of Britain was Queen Elizabeth II -- that hasn't changed. Manchester United was about to win the Premier League, Liverpool the FA Cup. There have since been 2 Presidents of the United States, 3 Prime Ministers of Britain and 2 Popes.

Major novels of 2001 included The Constant Gardener by John le Carre, Atonement by Ian McEwan, Life of Pi by Yann Martel, Empire Falls by Ricahrd Russo and The Bonesetter's Daughter by Amy Tan. J.K. Rowling published the 4th Hogwarts book, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire; and Eion Colfer published the 1st Artemis Fowl book. George R.R. Martin had published the 1st 3 A Song of Ice and Fire (Game of Thrones) books. No one had yet heard of Bella Swan, Lisbeth Salander or Katniss Everdeen.

Major films of the spring of 2001 included Blow, about a 1970s cocaine trafficker; the film version of Bridget Jones' Diary, the live-action version of Josie and the Pussycats, the 1st Shrek film, the 1st Spy Kids film, A Knight's Tale (in which Heath Ledger plays someone decidedly less creepy than the Joker), the Ben Affleck telling of Pearl Harbor, and the Nicole Kidman-starring not-quite-remake of Moulin Rouge.

Those films were your choices in the spring of 2001? What's the Worst That Could Happen? Oh yeah, there was also a very bad buddy picture with that title. Why was it bad? Because the "buddies" were Danny DeVito and Martin Lawrence.

Pierce Brosnan was still playing James Bond, Tom Welling was about to debut as a teenage Clark Kent, not yet Superman, in Smallville, and the voice Kevin Conroy, in animated series, was enough to tide Batman fans over between the disaster of George Clooney and the restoration with Christian Bale. Paul McGann was still the last man to play The Doctor.

Television shows that were about to air their final first-run episodes were Nash Bridges, Diagnosis: Murder, Walker: Texas Ranger (starring the incredibly overrated Chuck Norris), 3rd Rock From the Sun, Star Trek: Voyager, Moesha, and, after 33 years, Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. Debuting were The Fairly OddParents, Braceface, Six Feet Under and Fear Factor. Not sure if there's a pattern there.

Nathan Fillion was best known as Joey Buchanan on One Life to Live. He had not yet appeared in Firefly, let alone Castle. Stana Katic had been in exactly one role, as Annie in the film Acid Freaks. Mark Harmon was best known as Dr. Jack McNeil on Chicago Hope; David McCallum as Agent Illya Kuryakin on The Man From U.N.C.L.E., Michael Weatherly as Logan "Eyes Only" Cale on Dark Angel (with his then-girlfriend, Jessica Alba); Sasha Alexander as Gretchen Witter on Dawson's Creek; Sean Murray as Zane Grey Hart on Harts of the West; Lauren Holly as Deputy Sheriff Maxine Stewart on Picket Fences; Rocky Carroll as Joey Emerson on Roc. Pauley Perrette was still a blonde and mostly making commercials, but had recently begun to appear as Alice Cramer on Special Unit 2. Cote de Pablo had yet to appear on English-language television at all. Most Americans had never heard of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), much less expected to ever watch a TV show based on it.

Kourteney Kardashian had just turned 22, Kim Kardashian was 20, Khloe Kardashian was 17, Lady Gaga was 15, Rob Kardashian Jr. was 14, Rihanna and Kevin Jonas were 13, Joe Jonas and Daniel Radcliffe were 11, Emma Watson had just turned 11, Louis Tomlinson and Sarah Hyland were 9; Selena Gomez, Demi Lovato, Nick Jonas, Miley Cyrus and Zayn Malik were 8; Justin Bieber, Liam Payne, Niall Horan and Harry Styles were 7; Kendall Jenner was 5, Kylie Jenner and Ariel Winter were 3, and Rico Rodriguez and Nolan Gould were 2.

The Number 1 song in America was "All For You" by Janet Jackson. It succeeded "Angel," which Shaggy (not the Scooby-Doo character, this guy smoked even more marijuana) had ripped off the Merrilee Rush song "Angel of the Morning." It would be succeeded by the Moulin Rouge-inspired remake of Patti LaBelle's "Lady Marmalade," sung by Christina Aguilera, Lil' Kim, Mýa and Pink. Alicia Keys was about to release her debut album, Songs in A Minor. George Harrison of the Beatles was dying of cancer.

Inflation has been such that what $1.00 bought then, $1.30 would buy now. A U.S. postage stamp cost 34 cents, and a New York Subway ride $1.50. The average price of a gallon of gas was $1.44, a cup of coffee $2.02, a McDonald's meal (Big Mac, fries, shake) $5.67, a movie ticket $5.65, a new car $21,478, and a new house $211,000. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed on April 27, the preceding Friday, at 10,810.05.

The tallest building in the world was the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The leading home video game system was the Sony PlayStation 2. We had the Internet, but no Facebook, no Skype, no YouTube, no Twitter, no Tumblr, no Instagram and no Pinterest. Wikipedia had just been founded. DVDs hadn't yet replaced VHS videotapes as the home entertainment of choice. And a "smart phone" would have been one that fit in your pocket. There were no iPads or iPhones.

In the Spring of 2001, the Russian space station Mir fell from orbit. A U.S. spy plane and a Chinese fighter jet collided, forcing the American plane to make an emergency landing and be detained for 10 days. The Netherlands became the 1st nation to legalize gay marriage. Temba Tsheri, age 16, became the youngest person to climb Mount Everest, which is half in China and half in Nepal. Just 1 week later, the Crown Prince of Nepal killed his father (the King), his mother (the Queen) and several other members of the royal family, before shooting himself. Although brain-dead, he was King for 3 days. His uncle became King Gyanendra, but has since been deposed and the monarchy abolished. Timothy McVeigh was executed. And the World Trade Center still stood.

Robert Ludlum, and Anthony Quinn, and Perry Como died. So did John Lee Hooker, and "Papa" John Phillips, and Joey Ramone.

While people born in the Spring of 2001 would now be 11, and are unlikely to be famous, at the time of the Knicks' last Playoff win, there was a now-famous child about to be born: Natasha, a.k.a. Sasha, Obama. Willow Smith was 6 months old, Frankie Jonas (one of the younger Jonas brothers) was 7 months old, Dylan Michael Douglas (son of Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones) was 8 months old, Noah Cyrus (sister of Miley and daughter of Billy Ray) was 16 months old, and Malia Obama and Jaden Smith were 2 ½ years old.

UPDATE: We now know that David Mazouz, who went on to play the child Bruce Wayne on Gotham, was 2 months old at the time of the Knicks' 2001 Playoff win. And 2014 Little League heroine Mo'ne Davis was born 2 months later.

April 29, 2001. The New York Knickerbockers won a Playoff game. They have not done so since. Surely, they will again someday. After all, they have quite a bit of talent now. Of course, much of that talent is injured...

The Knicks. You never know what's going to happen next.

UPDATE: On May 6, 2012, the Knicks beat the Miami Heat, 89-87 at the Garden, to stave off elimination and end their 11-year drought of not having won a Playoff game. They would lose Game 5.

On May 3, 2013, they would beat the Boston Celtics at TD Garden in Game 6, to win a Playoff series for the 1st time since May 21, 2000.

NBA Playoff Game Wins since April 29, 2001

In the last couple of days, I participated in a Twitter hashtag game: #LastTimeKnicksWonaPlayoffGame. It was brutal.

NBA Playoff Game Wins since April 29, 2001

1. Los Angeles Lakers, 102
2. San Antonio Spurs, 89
3. Detroit Pistons, 73
4. Dallas Mavericks, 64
5. Boston Celtics, 60
6. Miami Heat, 53
7. New Jersey/Brooklyn Nets, 43
8. Cleveland Cavaliers, 42
9. Phoenix Suns, 38
10. Orlando Magic, 35
11. Sacramento Kings, 28
12. Philadelphia 76ers, 25
13. Indiana Pacers, 24
14. Chicago Bulls, 24
15. Utah Jazz, 22
16. Charlotte/New Orleans Hornets, 22
17. Seattle SuperSonics/Oklahoma City Thunder, 21
18. Atlanta Hawks, 18
19. Denver Nuggets 17
20. Houston Rockets, 16
21. Milwaukee Bucks, 15
22. Minnesota Timberwolves, 13
23. Toronto Raptors, 11
24. Portland Trail Blazers, 9
25. Washington Wizards, 8
26. Los Angeles Clippers, 8
27. Vancouver/Memphis Grizzlies, 7
28. Golden State Warriors, 5
29. Charlotte Bobcats, 0
30. New York Knicks, 0

Okay, technically, they're not 30th, they're tied for 29th. But since the Bobcats didn't even start play until the 2004-05 season... ouch.

Most Playoff Appearances -- NBA Teams

This is the 3rd part of a series that began yesterday with the NFL.

As one of the 1946 charter franchises of the National Basketball Association, the New York Knickerbockers -- very few people call them anything other than the Knicks, unless, they're trying to insult them -- are one of the leaders on this list.

Marv Albert, longtime voice of the Knicks (and the Rangers, and the Jets) remembered a time in the late 1950s and early 1960s when the NBA had just 9 teams, and 8 made the Playoffs, and said the NBA regular season seemed to have no other purpose but to eliminate the Knicks from Playoff contention.

But that 8 out of 9 became a 16 out of 23. It's now a 16 out of 30, but teams with losing records have made it to the NBA Playoffs many times. In 1981, the Houston Rockets made the Finals with a losing record.

This makes the total times a team has reached the Playoffs much bigger than it would be in MLB and the NFL. And the amount of franchise relocations in the NBA makes the proportions much smaller as well. Indeed, while the Yankees lead MLB by making the Playoffs, on the average, every 2.14 seasons, 5 NFL teams can beat that, and fully 2/3 of the NBA does.

Lakers combined 58
1 Boston Celtics 49
2 Los Angeles Lakers 47
Nationals/76ers combined 46
Hawks combined 40
Pistons combined 40
3 New York Knicks 40
Chaparrals/Spurs combined 39
4 San Antonio Spurs 34
5 Detroit Pistons 32
6 Philadelphia 76ers 32
7 Denver Nuggets 31
8 Chicago Bulls 30
9 Phoenix Suns 29
10 Portland Trail Blazers 29
Royals/Kings combined 29
Warriors combined 28
11 Indiana Pacers 28
12 Atlanta Hawks 27
Rockets combined 26
13 Milwaukee Bucks 26
14 Houston Rockets 25
Bullets/Wizards combined 25
Sonics/Thunder combined 24
15 Utah Jazz 24
Jazz combined 24
Nets combined 23
16 Cleveland Cavaliers 18
17 Washington Wizards 18
18 Dallas Mavericks 17
19 Golden State Warriors 16
20 New Jersey Nets 16
21 Miami Heat 15
22 Orlando Magic 13
Hornets combined 12
23 Sacramento Kings 10
24 Minnesota Timberwolves 8
Braves/Clippers combined 7
25 Toronto Raptors 5
26 New Orleans Hornets 5
27 Los Angeles Clippers 4
28 Memphis Grizzlies 4
Grizzlies combined 4
29 Oklahoma City Thunder 2
30 Charlotte Bobcats 1

Here's the proportions. The 1st column to the right of the team is the number of times they've made the Playoffs. The next is their number of seasons. The last is, on the average, every how many years they make the Playoffs. This chart is less kind to the local teams.

1 Los Angeles Lakers 47 51 1.09
Lakers combined 58 63 1.09
2 San Antonio Spurs 34 38 1.12
Chaparrals/Spurs combined 39 44 1.13
3 Boston Celtics 49 65 1.33
Nationals/76ers combined 46 62 1.35
4 Utah Jazz 24 33 1.38
5 Portland Trail Blazers 29 41 1.41
6 Denver Nuggets 31 44 1.42
7 Phoenix Suns 29 43 1.48
8 Chicago Bulls 30 45 1.50
9 Oklahoma City Thunder 2 3 1.50
10 Philadelphia 76ers 32 48 1.50
11 Miami Heat 15 23 1.53
Jazz combined 24 37 1.54
12 Indiana Pacers 28 44 1.57
Hawks combined 40 63 1.58
Pistons combined 40 64 1.60
13 Houston Rockets 25 40 1.60
14 New York Knicks 40 65 1.63
15 Milwaukee Bucks 26 43 1.65
Rockets combined 26 44 1.69
16 Orlando Magic 13 22 1.69
17 Detroit Pistons 32 55 1.72
18 New Orleans Hornets 5 9 1.80
19 Dallas Mavericks 17 31 1.82
Sonics/Thunder combined 24 44 1.83
Nets combined 23 44 1.91
Hornets combined 12 23 1.92
Bullets/Wizards combined 25 50 2.00
20 Washington Wizards 18 38 2.11
Royals/Kings combined 29 63 2.17
21 New Jersey Nets 16 35 2.19
22 Cleveland Cavaliers 18 41 2.28
23 Atlanta Hawks 27 62 2.30
Warriors combined 28 65 2.32
24 Memphis Grizzlies 4 10 2.50
25 Sacramento Kings 10 26 2.60
26 Minnesota Timberwolves 8 22 2.75
27 Golden State Warriors 16 49 3.06
28 Toronto Raptors 5 16 3.20
Grizzlies combined 4 16 4.00
Braves/Clippers combined 7 41 5.86
29 Los Angeles Clippers 4 27 6.75
30 Charlotte Bobcats 1 7 7.00