Sixers can match NBA record for futile start ... held by themselves
The 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers were a historically atrocious team. In fact, the worst single-season team in NBA history in terms of wins and losses (the lockout-shortened Bobcats' season of 2011-12 produced a winning percentage of .106).
Those 76ers won nine games in total that year against 73 defeats. Over the past 40-plus years, a handful of franchises have challenged this record of ineptitude at various points. But ultimately, as spring dawned, none of them sucked enough.
That's why you want to root for this Sixers team to do it, because it was their own ancestors who laid down that track of basketball incompetence. For these Sixers, whether it is their point guard kicking out to a referee ...
... or just deciding to say "screw it, let him shoot" when one of the league's better 3-point marksmen sets up behind the arc ...
... these 76ers could be very special, in a very bad way.
On Wednesday night against the Brooklyn Nets, the Sixers could match the futile start of their '72-'73 counterparts with another loss to put them at 0-15 on the season. But there's some symmetry at play in this game, too. The 2009-10 Nets, one of those former challengers to that throne of deficiency, actually hold the record for worst start in NBA history: 0-18.
But keep this in mind: Those '72-'73 Sixers rebounded from that 0-15 start to notch win No. 1 in their next game. Then, they returned to form, losing six straight.