The 2024-25 NBA season is nearly at the halfway point, with many teams approaching 40 games played. In just under a month, the Feb. 6 NBA trade deadline will arrive, giving teams one last chance to tweak their rosters.
Several teams have not lived up to expectations, and they may want to make changes. Here are the ten most disappointing NBA teams of the 2024-25 season so far.
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Miami Heat
The Miami Heat are supposed to be NBA Finals contenders with Jimmy Butler. Yet, after Miami got bounced in the first round of last year’s NBA Playoffs, they haven’t been the same since. Now Butler’s upset and wants a trade, and the Heat are hovering just above .500.
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Indiana Pacers
What happened to the Indiana Pacers that reached the Eastern Conference Finals with the NBA’s best scoring offense a season ago? Now the Pacers are just outside the top ten in scoring, averaging eight fewer points per game. They’re still on pace to make the playoffs, but they no longer look like a top threat to win it all.
Milwaukee Bucks
While their overall season has been disappointing, the Milwaukee Bucks deserve some credit for turning around a horrid 1-6 start. They’re now well above .500 and firmly back in the playoff picture, with Giannis Antetokounmpo playing at a near MVP level. Still, after winning 49 games last season, the Bucks are underachieving, but the arrow is pointing up.
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Phoenix Suns
The Phoenix Suns’ All-Star trio continues to underwhelm. This isn’t anything sudden, but after making a coaching change from Frank Vogel to Mike Budenholzer, the Suns have only gotten worse. That’s obviously a big disappointment for a team that’s all-in.
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Sacramento Kings
The Sacramento Kings have been hovering as a team that could break into the next tier as a top contender for the past three seasons. They won 48 and 46 games and now are hovering around .500. However, the shift from Mike Brown to Doug Christie has been positive, with the new coach going 7-1 compared to 13-18 under Brown. Perhaps they can ride that wave for the rest of the season.
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Dallas Mavericks
Luka Doncic is injured right now, and he could miss up to a month. Last year, the Mavericks won 50 games and reached the NBA Finals. After finding their groove, some would expect Dallas to maintain that pace to start the season, but we just haven’t seen that consistency yet.
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Golden State Warriors
With future Hall of Famer Stephen Curry on board, the Golden State Warriors should always be a Finals contender. They just won the Finals in 2022 and reached the Western Conference Semifinals in 2023 despite winning just 44 games. Last year, the Warriors got up to 46 wins. However, this year, we’ve seen Golden State hover around .500 with no signs of a breakthrough coming any time soon.
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New Orleans Pelicans
Heading into the season, the New Orleans Pelicans looked like a team ready to become elite for years to come. Yet, now we’re seeing a bottomfeeder that has been derailed by injuries to their biggest stars. While getting Zion Williamson back should help restore balance, it’s likely too little too late for the Pels.
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Philadelphia 76ers
Even on paper, the Joel Embiid-Paul George pairing felt risky. Embiid’s been limited to just 13 games this season. Just when first-round rookie Jared McCain started showing star potential, the 16th overall pick suffered a season-ending knee injury that threw a wrench in the 76ers’ plans. Sitting well below .500, the 76ers have easily been one of the NBA’s most disappointing teams this year.
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Minnesota Timberwolves
The Minnesota Timberwolves took a major leap forward last season, reaching the Western Conference Finals after having one of the NBA’s best records all year long. They were expected to maintain that pace, if not improve, heading into a new season with young superstar Anthony Edwards leading the charge. However, we’ve seen this team take a major step back since the Karl-Anthony Towns trade and now they’re downright disappointing.
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