The Washington Wizards looked as though they’d be the worst team in the NBA for the 2024-25 season. They were 2-18 back on December 6th, on pace for the worst record in the history of the league. But after a handful of wins to close out the calendar year, there is a new team at the bottom of the standings, as the New Orleans Pelicans now have the fewest wins of any team in either conference.
Pelicans Overtake Wizards As Worst Team In The NBA
Things were doomed from the start for the Pelicans. After they were able to post a respectable 3-3 record through the first six games, the injury bug began to ravage their roster. Dejounte Murray missed 17 of the first 18 games of the year, and CJ McCollum missed nearly a month beginning in late October. In what is becoming a consistent issue, Zion Williamson has played in just 6 of the team’s first 34 contests, and Brandon Ingram has played in just 3 games since mid-November.
The absences of their top players have resulted in the worst stretch that any NBA team has endured this season.
Since November 1st, the Pelicans have lost 26 of their last 28 games, including their last 11 for the longest current losing streak in the league. They are 1-15 on the road while posting the worst point differential in the Western Conference, and are already 12 games back of 10th place and 23 back of the #1 seed.
Pelicans have lost 20 out of their last 21.
They are 1-15 on the road.
— Justin (@ProPelsTalk) January 2, 2025
Until Wednesday night, they had some company. With the Wizards’ victory over the Chicago Bulls on the first night of the New Year, Washington notched their 6th win of the season (and third in their last seven) to pull themselves out of the NBA basement. The Pelicans are now alone as the only team with 5 or fewer victories through the first two-and-a-half months of the season, and are on pace to finish with one of the worst records in league history.
Sweeping changes are expected in New Orleans. Despite having the worst record of any team, the Pelicans still have the 12th-most expensive roster in the league, with Williamson, Ingram, McCollum, and Murray all earning north of $29 million this year alone. Each of them figures to become trade fodder for the team over the next six weeks leading up to the trade deadline, and it is likely that at least a couple of them will be playing in new cities by mid-February.
Interestingly, the two worst teams in the NBA will play each other twice over the next few days. The Wizards will visit New Orleans on Friday night before switching cities for another matchup on Sunday, which will feature meetings of teams with a combined record of 11-54.
