The Worst Major U.S. Professional Sports Franchise
The ultimate bottom feeders
The other day my brother texted a group chat asking if a certain NFL team was the worst sports franchise of all time. It got me thinking and I thought it would be a fun exercise to find out for myself.
In April 2000, Sports Illustrated declared the Los Angeles Clippers the worst franchise in sports. I grew up with a cover of that issue framed on the wall of my dad’s office because he worked for the Clippers in the early 90s. Since those days, the Clippers have had some decent success led by Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, Paul George, Kawahi Leonard, and their newest owner Steve Ballmer.
I’m reopening the conversation by identifying the worst franchise in the NBA, MLB, NFL, and NHL. I decided to not include the MLS since the league is still new and doesn’t have the history or sample size needed. The following was my methodology for identifying the worst franchises in each league:
Franchises are only eligible for the crown if they’ve been around since at least the year 2000
I weighed winning a championship very favorably. I know this gives teams that have been around longer an advantage, but history has to be taken into consideration
I only considered on-court success – I didn’t account for the business side of sports, team owners, the fanbase, the city they play in, etc.
I only used teams that currently exist, so that eliminates the likes of teams such as the 1947 Pittsburgh Ironmen who won only 25% of their games
Team success is more important than individual success. I don’t care how many all-stars a franchise has, it’s all about wins and losses
I used win percentages over total wins and losses. I considered winning percentages of both the regular season and playoffs
Without further ado, let’s get into it!
NBA - Minnesota Timberwolves
Inaugural season: 1989
NBA championships: 0
NBA Finals appearances: 0
All-time record: 1,091-1,621 (.402) at the end of the 2022-23 season
Playoff appearances: 10
All-time playoff record: 21-42 (.333)
Notable players: Kevin Garnett, Kevin Love, Karl-Anthony Towns
The Timberwolves are the youngest team on this list with their inaugural NBA season in 1989. In its 34+ year history, they have only made the playoffs 10 times. They’ve won two playoff series, both of which came in the same year. It’s so rare the Timberwolves make the playoffs, that when they do, they celebrate like they just ended global poverty.
The Timberwolves have the worst winning percentage among all active NBA franchises and the fewest all-time playoff victories. LeBron James alone has over nine times as many victories in the playoffs than the lowly Timberwolves. Kevin Garnett led Minnesota to 17 playoff victories. If it wasn’t for him, the Timberwolves would have only four more playoff wins than Ronald McDonald.
To add insult to injury, Kevin Garnett and Kevin Love both won championships after being traded to new teams from the Timberwolves. The players they traded for didn’t get Minnesota any closer to hanging a banner.
NFL - Arizona Cardinals
Inaugural season: 1920
Championships: 2 (1925 and 1947)
Super Bowl wins: 0
Super Bowl appearances: 1
All-time record: 585-803-41 (.422)
Playoff appearances: 11
All-time playoff record: 7-10 (.412)
Notable players: Larry Fitzgerald, Larry Wilson, Charley Trippi
The Arizona Cardinals are the only team with a championship to their name–two of them actually. The first championship was in 1925 while their home was in Chicago. Their championship in the 20-team NFL was quite controversial. The Cardinals finished with the best record despite losing to the second-place Pottsville Maroons.
After winning the game, the Maroons were in first place and seemed on their way to the championship. However, Pottsville violated territory rights rules and was suspended from the league, which meant they couldn’t finish out their season. The Cardinals quickly scheduled two more games and regained the best record. The Cardinals owner at the time even refused the title stating his team lost to Pottsville fair and square. The second championship was in 1947 in a 10-team NFL.
Aside from two championships in a watered-down pre-Super Bowl NFL, the Arizona Cardinals have been abysmal. Between 1942 and 1945, the Cardinals lost 29 straight games, a record that still stands. Between 1949 and 1973, the Cardinals missed the playoffs 25 straight seasons.
The Cardinals have been a little better recently, having made the playoffs four times since 2008. They even were minutes away from winning a championship in their only Super Bowl appearance with Kurt Warner before losing the lead at the end.
The Cardinals have the third-worst winning percentage in the regular season and haven’t won a championship during the modern era. With being one of the oldest football teams in the NFL, you would think they would have more history and memorable moments. Instead, they are an afterthought without any real success. Their lack of success given how long they have been operating lands them on this list.
MLB - Seattle Mariners
Inaugural season: 1977
World Series titles: 0
World Series appearances: 0
All-time record: 3514-3873 (.476)
Playoff appearances: 5
All-time playoff record: 16-22 (.421)
Notable players: Ken Griffey Jr., Ichiro Suzuki, Edgar Martinez
Seattle tied the all-time single-season wins record with 116 in 2001. They then proceeded that historic regular season with a 21-year playoff drought, the longest in all the major sports leagues at the time.
The Mariners are in seventh place in a five-team division when it comes to AL West titles. One of the teams ahead of them joined the division 36 years after Seattle. Two other teams left the division after it was realigned 30 years ago.
Seattle is allergic to the playoffs. Their first MLB season was in 1977 and it took them 19 seasons to reach their first postseason. If it wasn’t for four playoff appearances between 1995 and 2001, Seattle’s first postseason baseball game would have been in 2022. They are the only current MLB franchise to have never reached the World Series.
The Mariners have completed 47 seasons and have gone below .500 in 30 of them. There are teams with a lower win percentage than the Mariners, but a lack of post-season appearances and success lands them as the worst franchise in baseball.
NHL - Arizona Coyotes
Inaugural season: 1979
Stanley Cups: 0
Stanley Cup Finals: 0
All-time record: 1,410-1,577-266-189 (.476) as of Jan. 20, 2024
Playoff appearances: 20
All-time playoff record: 45-83-0-0 (.352)
Notable players: Shane Doan, Jeremy Roenick, Keith Tkachuk
The Arizona Coyotes are dead last in win percentage in the NHL both in the regular season and the playoffs. They are one of 11 teams in the NHL to have never won a Stanley Cup, but only two teams have been around longer than the Coyotes. However, those two teams, the Vancouver Canucks and Buffalo Sabres, have each won about four times as many playoff series as the Coyotes.
Between 1979 and 1996, the Coyotes consistently made the playoffs but won just two series. Since then, they have only won three more playoff series, two of them coming in 2012 as they made their only run to the conference finals before bowing out.
Part of the reason for their lack of success has been their poor track record off the ice. They have lost money for 27 consecutive years and are playing in a borrowed arena that only sits around 5,000 spectators. There are constant talks about moving the franchise, which only creates uncertainty for players as they try to do their jobs. If this was a ranking for the worst front office in sports, the Coyotes would win in a landslide.
Honorable Mentions: Charlotte Hornets, Columbus Blue Jackets, Jacksonville Jaguars, San Diego Padres
Who takes the cake?
The Minnesota Timberwolves are taking home the win in this race to the bottom. Though they are the newest of the four teams mentioned, they are dead last in win percentage for both the regular season and playoffs compared to the other teams on this list. The NBA is also quite a bit easier to make the playoffs and rack up playoff wins compared to the MLB or NFL. The Timberwolves haven’t even been able to do much of that, especially without Kevin Garnett.
With that said, Minnesota currently sits tied for first place in the Western Conference with a chance to make a deep playoff run. A couple decent runs could move the Timberwolves off this list just like how the Clippers were able to do so in recent history.
What do you think? Let the debate begin.