Take a look at the traditional powerful teams in the NBA that have fallen

There were many powerful traditional families in the history of the NBA, which attracted much attention for their brilliant history, deep championship background and huge fan base. However, due to management's decision-making mistakes, core aging, poor draft picks or changes in the times, some of these teams have now fallen into long-term troughs and are unlikely to be glorious. Here are some recognized representatives of traditional giants who have "declined":

New York Knicks

Glorious history: One of the earliest teams in the NBA, located in the Madison Square Garden, New York, the center of the world. With 2 championship trophys (1970, 1973), the legendary team led by Willis Reed and Walter Frazer. In the 1990s, he was a strong team in the Eastern Conference, and reached the division finals many times.

Reasons for decline:

Poor management: Long-term criticized for management chaos, short-sighted decision-making, high-priced contracts flying all over the sky (such as Eddie Curry, Alan Houston, etc.), and poor talent for drafts.

Star Black Hole: It is difficult to attract or retain top free agents (the Anthony era is a brief exception), and stars often develop less as expected here.

has a poor record: Since the 1999-2000 season, he has never reached the division final and has been on the edge of the playoffs or lottery zone for a long time. Although it has improved under the leadership of Thibodeau in recent years (to the Eastern Conference semi-finals in 2023), there is still a huge gap from the real championship level, and its stability is doubtful.

Current status: With the New York market, the team with the highest market value in the league is still the team with the highest market value, but the competitive level is far from being able to match the title of "gifty family", and has long been regarded as a representative of "silly people and more money". The road to revival is long.

Chicago Bulls

Glorious History: The Michael Jordan era (1991-1993, 1996-1998) has forged two three-game championship dynasties and is one of the greatest and most globally influential teams in NBA history. The Bulls in the 1990s were synonymous with basketball. Reason for the decline: The complete collapse of the post-Jordan era: After Jordan retired, Pippen left the team, and Zen master left, the team quickly disintegrated and entered a long reconstruction.

Draft and Training Ups and downs: Although he selected Derek Ross (the youngest MVP) and returned to the Eastern Conference Finals briefly, Ross' devastating injury brought the revival to an abrupt end. The subsequent core selection (such as Jimmy Butler) also eventually left the team.

Management controversy: Management (especially former general manager Gal Foreman) has been criticized for building a team around Butler and choosing a coach (Hoiberg), and is considered to have wasted Butler's peak period.

Lack of absolute core: After Rose, the team has never found a real, healthy superstar who can lead the team to compete for the championship.

Current situation: It has stars such as DeRozan, Raven, Vucevic, etc., but the team's ceiling is not high. In recent years, it has struggled in the play-offs and is very far from competing for the championship. The glory of the Jordan era has become a distant memory. Philadelphia 76ers

Glorious History: Deeply Concrete, with 3 Championships (1955, 1967, 1983). Legendary superstars such as Chamberlain, Julius Irving, Moses Malone, Charles Barkley, Allen Iverson have shined here. Iverson Times (2001) led the team to the finals. Reason for the decline: The length and controversy of the "process": Under the leadership of Sam Sinki, the team carried out the most radical and public performance in NBA history ("Trust The Process"). Although they accumulated a large number of high-ranking draft picks (selected Embiid and Simmons), they also experienced years of terrible records and huge public pressure.

The injury and development bottlenecks of core players: Embiid is talented (MVP), but the hidden dangers of injury always exist. Ben Simmons left the team due to projection and psychological problems.

Playoffs have been repeatedly set: Embiid's team became a strong team in the Eastern Conference, but it was unable to break through the Eastern Conference semi-finals (until 2023), collapsed disappointingly in key battles many times, and was labeled as "soft-footed shrimp".

Current Situation: With MVP Embiid and Maxi, the strength on paper is still the strongest team in the Eastern Conference, but the weak performance in the playoffs and Embiid's health problems cast a shadow on the prospects for the championship. From a historical perspective, they have not yet truly walked out of the pain period after the "process", and the glory of the 1980s or Iverson era remains to be proved.

Houston Rockets

Glorious History: The Olajuwon Times (1994, 1995) won two consecutive championships during the break between Jordan's retirement. During the Yao-Mao combination, he had unprecedented popularity in China and was a pioneer in the Asian market. Harden Times (2012-2020) is a long-time Western Conference powerhouse. In 2018, he entered the Western Conference Finals and fought the Peak Warriors 7 games.

Reason for the decline: The end of the Harden era: Harden seeks to leave the team in a trade marking the end of a Rockets era. The pain of

reconstruction: After trading Harden, he entered the reconstruction completely and went to the bottom of the league after several seasons.

Growth and uncertainty of the new core: Although potential new stars such as Jaylen Green, Shin Kyung, and Jabbarry Smith were selected, the team lacked a clear cornerstone for team building, and the growth rate and ceiling of young players were questionable.

Insufficient competitiveness: It is still in the middle stage of reconstruction, and its record is hovering in the lower reaches of the West, and it is still far from returning to the ranks of contenders in the playoffs.

Current Situation: In the rebuilding of youth, future potential depends on the growth rate of rookies and subsequent operations. The grand occasions and championship competitions of Yao and McGrady and Harden in the past are no longer there.

Los Angeles Lakers - Relatively Declined

Glorious History: One of the most successful giants in the NBA, tied for the most all-time championships (17 seats) with the Celtics. It has countless legendary eras such as George McCann, Jerry West/Chamberlain, Jabbar/Magic, OK combination, Kobe, LeBron/Hyper Brow. Almost every ten years, the championship has been recorded.

The reason for the decline of "relative" (mainly from the post-Kobe era to before LeBron's arrival):

Kobe's trough after a ruptured Achilles tendon: Kobe's condition declined until his retirement after a serious injury, and the team fell into a dark period for many years (2013-2018), with a bleak record and a worst record in team history.

Management chaos and draft: Jim Bass/Kupchek's management was chaotic during the period and the signings were not effective (Howard and Nash failed). Although Randall, Russell, Ingram, Ball Brother and other potential stocks were selected, the training and trading decisions were controversial.

The fluctuations in the LeBron era: LeBron and Davis successfully won the championship in 2020, but in the following years, due to injuries (especially Davis), unreasonable lineup construction (Westbrook failed in the 2021-22 season), coach changes, etc., the team performed extremely unstable, often struggling for playoff spots and even missing the playoffs (2022). After entering the Western Conference Finals in 2023, he was eliminated in the first round in 2024.

Current Situation: With two superstars, LeBron and Thick Brows, they always have the ability and attention to attracting stars, so strictly speaking, it cannot be considered "complete decline". However, compared with its historical standards (long-term championship competition) and fans' expectations, its performance in recent years (except in 2020) is far from reaching the stable dominance that a "giant family" should have, and is full of uncertainty and struggle. In contrast to the Celtics' stable championship competition trend in recent years.

Summary:

Knicks: The decline is the most thorough and the longest time, and management problems are the root cause.

Bulls: The post-Jordan era has not really revived and lacks top stars.

76ers: After a painful and long "process", although Embiid has failed repeatedly in the playoffs and has not yet realized its championship potential.

Rockets: Harden entered the reconstruction period after leaving the team and was experiencing the pain of transformation.

Lakers: After Kobe retired, he experienced a deep trough. He had a championship in the LeBron era but was unstable in the future. Compared with his brilliant history and extremely high expectations, his performance in recent years has not been able to continue to meet the "big family standards".

The common point among these teams is that their brilliant historical heritage is in sharp contrast with the current struggle. Their path to revival is challenging, requiring excellent management, successful drafts, the health and growth of the stars, and some luck. Fans are all looking forward to these former giants being able to stand up again and shine in the NBA stage again.