The 50 Biggest On-Court Fails in NBA History

Image via Complex Original

Date: 10/29/2010

Chemistry is a very important part of success in sports. Judging by this small miscommunication, it probably makes sense why Kevin Love never made it to the playoffs as a member of the Minnesota Timberwolves. If Love and his teammates can't even get something as simple as a handshake right, how could they put together enough wins to make it to a postseason?

Date: 3/25/2014

Sometimes, you just can't ignore the urge to stunt on the competition. Nick Young frequently falls victim to his ego, which got the best of him when he tried to show off after what he thought was going to be a made jump shot. Too bad it clanked off the rim. But hey, it was still pretty memorable, even if it were for a completely different reason.

Date: 2009-Present

James Harden is one of the best scorers playing basketball today. He can shoot from long range and get to the rim with equal ability and is well deserving of his multiple All-Star selections. However, the man is also one of the worst defenders anyone has ever seen. Whether it's through sheer apathy or a genuine lack of skill, Harden is simply an abomination every time he sets foot on the defense end. The above compilation is only a taste of just how bad this guy can be on a nightly basis.

Date: 12/9/2013

No matter how terribly horrifically awful you are at basketball, it's damn near impossible to miss both the rim and the backboard while attempting a layup, possibly the most simple field goal you can attempt in basketball. Yet, that unique honor belongs to Nick Young who literally air-balled a layup in an actual game. The NBA … where amazing happens?

Date: 4/30/1992

Alton Lister had a very long career as a backup center in the NBA. By all accounts, he was a big success thanks to his longevity and knack for giving teams exactly what they expected. However, ask anybody who has watched the game, and the only thing they'll remember him for is getting humiliated by Shawn Kemp. Stepping in front of a cutting Kemp was never a good idea, and now Lister lives on in highlight reels as the guy with Kemp standing over him, pointing at his face.

Date: 2/20/2013

Known for his intensity when attacking the basket, Russell Westbrook isn't going to let up, especially when a wide-open dunk opportunity presents itself. So, even though Russ did miss the slam, that was probably the hardest clank off the rim you've ever seen. Half point for style? 

Date: 11/25/2012

Getting old is tough, guys. At the time of this clip, Paul Pierce was in his mid-30s, which equates to first-team NBA AARP in basketball years. His age showed when Pierce's ankles decided to peace out early in order to get that early bird special at the buffet down the street. 

Date: 3/3/2011

Chris Bosh has set up camp in the arena of NBA jokes, but this time, we feel bad for homie. LeBron James has no problem firing full-court passes to his teammates, so there's no doubt taking a pass right off the face from that close had to hurt like hell. 

Date: 1/11/2013

This is why certain players should stay in their lanes. Kendrick Perkins is an intense and aggressive player, but he sure as hell isn't flashy. If this doesn't prove that, there's nothing that will.

Date: 2/5/2013

Sonning Brandon Knight has become a time-honored tradition, and you can thank Kyrie Irving for that. During the 2013 Rising Stars Challenge, Kyrie obliterated Knight's ankles with a series of moves that sent the poor guy sprawling to the ground in an effort to save any dignity he had left. Unfortunately for Brandon, this wasn't even close to the most embarrassing moment of his career. 

Date: 1/30/2012

Perkins may be one of the meanest big men in the entire NBA. Perpetually wearing a snarl on his face, Perk has protected the rim with his intimidating glances for years. That work against Blake Griffin, though, who was far too high into the clouds to notice before throwing down this absolutely degrading slam right on the proud center's head.

Date: 11/19/2013

Amar'e Stoudemire playing that “your controller is disconnected” defense is nothing new to Knicks fans.

Date: 12/7/2012

After splitting two defenders with a fancy dribble, JaVale McGee was feeling himself a little too much. He followed that impressive handle by losing control of the rock and chucking it about 10 rows into the crowd. This is why big men (exception Joakim Noah) should leave the point guard duties to THE POINT GUARD? But look who we're talking about here. JaVale clearly marches to the beat of his own drum.

Date: 12/8/2014

Back in 2011, Nick Young made a reverse layup reminiscent of his failed attempt three years later with the Lakers. Swaggy P should've considered himself lucky for actually making the trick shot, but nooooooo. He tried it again and look what happened.

Date: 1/29/2014

In the midst of all the anger coming from Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau and Joakim Noah, this horrendous attempt by Tony Parker kinda goes fairly unnoticed. Especially when you consider that the referees actually let Parker take a do-over. C'mon, there's no do-overs in real life! Right, TP? *cough Eva Longoria cough*

Date: 2/21/2014

If there were a way to sum up every Knicks season during the past decade or so, it would be this play by Tyson Chandler. Just when you think things couldn't get any worse, something completely abnormal and unexpected pops up and kills any vibes you had regarding a positive outcome. #knickstape

Date: 11/16/2007

It doesn't matter if you're on his team or not. If you're wide open, Lamar Odom is going to toss the rock to you. There's a drug use joke there, but we're going to take the high road. 

Date: 12/20/2007

It's bad enough to horribly miss one free throw, but Chuck Hayes accomplished the rare feat of doubling up on the embarrassment. What the hell happened, Chuck? That whole “if at first you don't succeed …” phrase just doesn't apply to you, fam!

Date: 2/14/2013

As his dreadful 42.5 career free throw percentage proves, DeAndre Jordan isn't a great shooter from the charity stripe, so seeing DeAndre missing a free throw isn't surprising. But damn, hitting the backboard, bruh? Levels.

Date: 1/28/2012

One can't help but wonder what Tyrus Thomas could've possibly told DeSagna Diop after such a terrible miss.

Date: 1/22/2014

The Knicks gave up a first round pick for Andrea Bargnani. They thought his combination of size and skill, not his athleticism or dunking ability, would be a major asset as they looked to make a championship push. But that didn't stop the Italian from trying to channel his inner Dr. J. This spectacularly bad "dunk attempt" basically epitomizes what Bargnani's tenure in New York has been like for both the player and fans.

Date: 2/6/2012

This is truly JaVale McGee being JaVale McGee, because there are few people to ever compete in the NBA with as many lapses in judgment as Pierre. As ridiculous as it seemed, we still admire McGee for playing the game his way … whatever way that is exactly.

Date: 5/12/1997

Kobe Bryant wasn't always a crunch-time assassin. As a rookie who simply wanted to excel on the big stage in 1997, he choked in a pretty epic way against the Utah Jazz. Bryant couldn't even find the basket, comically air-balling four shots in the fourth quarter and overtime as the Lakers dropped Game 5 of the Western Conference Semifinals. Needless to say, Bryant wouldn't have another game like this for the rest of his career.

Date: 12/21/2012

Tom Thibodeau is a great coach, but this "play" he drew up against the New York Knicks back in 2012 is questionable at best. It's crazy that in a play where the primary player in that position is the guy inbounding the ball, Chicago actually had no one inbounding the ball. SMH.

Date: 6/13/2008

The Lakers appeared a certainty to level the 2008 NBA Finals at two games apiece when they jumped out to a 24-point lead on the Boston Celtics in the third quarter of Game 4 at the Staples Center. However, they allowed the Celtics to waltz back into the game, thanks to a 21-3 run to end the third, and Boston finished its comeback in the fourth quarter to stun the home team with the largest comeback in an NBA Finals game since 1971. The Lakers were able to rebound and win Game 5, and the Celtics would blow them out of the building back in Boston in Game 6 to win the championship.

Date: 2/11/2012

Hey Corey, there's a reason teams wear jerseys. 

Date: 1/2/2013

It's understandable that you need to tie your shoes, but c'mon, man. You gotta know that tying them in the paint for longer than three seconds will lead to a call from the refs.

Date: 4/9/2013

Jermaine O'Neal must have had somewhere to go, right? Why in the world would someone in his right mind even get remotely close to touching a ball that could've easily gone to the rim with the game on the line?

Date: 6/1/1995

David Robinson won his first MVP during the 1995 regular season, and when he was matched up with Hakeem Olajuwon in the Western Conference Finals, fans expected an epic clash between two of the game’s best centers. What we saw instead was a complete and utter destruction. Olajuwon bullied the MVP, and, in the decisive Game 6, forced Robinson into a 6-17 shooting night as the Rockets dispatched the No. 1-seeded Spurs.

Date: 3/10/2013

You have to give Brandon Knight credit here. It takes a certain kind of person to throw himself in the way of a 6'10” DeAndre Jordan running full speed. It seems like Knight learned the hard way why that isn't a good idea. Jordan dunked on him about as hard as a human being can dunk on somebody.

Date: 5/27-6/12/1984

It might seem kind of inconceivable now, but there was a time when Magic Johnson was considered one of the biggest chokers in the NBA. The 1984 Finals earned him the derisive nickname “Tragic,” as he committed a number of truly head-scratching errors during the course of the series. He inexplicably dribbled out the clock in the fourth quarter of Game 2 when the game was tied, and the Lakers lost in overtime. He committed a bad turnover and missed two huge free throws in Game 4, and then had one final, backbreaking turnover in Game 7 that helped the Celtics win the championship.

Date: 5/6/2006

It was pretty obvious that Kobe Bryant wasn't happy with his team in 2006. The Lakers did not surround him with much talent, and despite a superhuman season, the petulant Bryant clearly knew that this was not a championship team. He certainly acted like it in their closeout Game 7 against Phoenix, where he took just three second-half shots and basically allowed his team to lose the game. Bryant apparently bristled at the notion that he was selfish in scoring 50 points in a losing effort in Game 6, so he tried to prove a point by showing what happened when he didn’t shoot. In a weird way, he did; he proved that at this stage in his career, showing that he was right was more important than winning.

Date: 12/15/2010

This fail is presented to you in NBA's Phantom video, so you can fully appreciate the levels of fail on this botched celebration with Paul Pierce by Nate Robinson. After all, Robinson jumped once and should've known that Pierce wasn't down for whatever Nate was trying to do. Krypto-Nate clearly didn't get the message, so he tried it again and splat!

Date: 5/4/2007

After a narrow loss in the Finals the previous year, the Mavericks proved that there was to be no letdown in the 2007 season. Buoyed by Dirk Nowitzki’s MVP campaign, Dallas entered the playoffs as the No. 1 seed and looked to take down inexperienced Golden State on its march back to the NBA Finals. The Warriors, however, had other plans. They shocked the Mavericks with their energy and enthusiasm, stunning them on the road in Game 1 and never looking back. The Game 6 blowout at Golden State cemented one of the most stunning collapses for a great player (Dirk was bad all series long) and his team in NBA history.

Date: 4/10/2012

Vince Carter is getting up there in age, and this is a cruel reminder about how our bodies just slowly break down over time. In his prime, Carter would've leapt from that same spot and thrown it down with ease. Nowadays, Vinsanity looks more like Linsanity when it comes to dunks. Did we mention how much it sucks to get old?

Date: 4/19/1968

Will Chamberlain is the most prolific scorer in NBA history. It made it so very strange, then, that he would take just one solitary shot in the second half of Game 7 of the 1968 Eastern Division Finals against his hated rivals, the Boston Celtics. For reasons known only to Wilt, he became entirely deferential on offense. That, in part, allowed the Celtics to complete their comeback in both the game and the series; Boston became the first team ever to rally from a 3-1 deficit, beating the 76ers and winning the NBA title shortly after.

Date: 2001-2003

The decision for Michael Jordan to come out of retirement and play for the Washington Wizards can best be described as “questionable.” It was clear from the moment he took the court that this was not the same guy, and although he was still able to score almost 20 points a night, it was an epic struggle for him to do so. Not only did it stunt the development of some players and take minutes away from guys who actually might have needed them, it was a sobering reminder for all of us that father time remains undefeated.

Date: 5/26/1987

Obviously, this was a tremendous play by Larry Bird equally as much as it was a bad play by Isiah Thomas. However, the Hall of Fame point guard seems like he simply fell asleep and forgot where Bird was, which enabled the Celtics legend to reach in for his famous steal-and-pass that gave the Celtics a Game 5 victory in the 1987 Eastern Conference Finals. The Celtics went on to win the series in seven games. Thomas would forever be on the wrong side of history in one of the NBA's iconic playoffs highlights.

Date: 11/20/2010

Timofey Mozgov has actually had a decent NBA career. With the Nuggets, he started to find his groove as a reserve big man who can score a little bit and grab key rebounds. For many years, though, he has just been the answer to the trivia question: Who is the first guy Blake Griffin abjectly humiliated with a dunk? And honestly, it will always be kind of tough not to think of him that way.

Date: 6/18/2013

Ray Allen's incredible series-saving three-pointer to tie Game 6 of the 2013 NBA finals would never have happened if somebody had just put a body on Chris Bosh. The Heat big man was allowed to wander into the paint unoccupied, as LeBron James missed his three-point attempt, easily grabbing the rebound and kicking it out to Allen, who only happens to be the greatest three-point shooter in NBA history. The result? Losses for San Antonio in both Game 6 and Game 7 and questions about what could have been. 

Date: 4/11/2011

Poor, Von Wafer. It doesn't matter what he did in the past or what he does in the future (if he manages to make a comeback). Wafer will always be remembered for the time he swore he threw down a vicious dunk. Except he didn't. Then he ran into teammate Jermaine O'Neal and caused a turnover in an overtime game. As you can see, Von was nearly moved to tears, because he knows. He knows.

Date: 6/1/1997

Michael Jordan MVP fatigue was very much a real thing in 1997, and it was very much stupid. Karl Malone ended up winning the award that year, despite the fact that Jordan was obviously a more deserving player. Justice was (somewhat) served in the NBA Finals, however, when the two teams met and Malone choked spectacularly.

The Bulls and Jazz were tied late in Game 1 when Malone stepped to the line with the chance to give Utah a victory in Chicago. Scottie Pippen famously met Malone before his key free throws and said, “just remember, the mailman doesn't deliver on Sundays, Karl.” Malone promptly went out and missed both free throws. Jordan then got the ball on the other end of the floor, nailed the game-winner at the buzzer, and led the Bulls to title No. 5.

Date: 6/2/1993

The name “Charles Smith” is one of the most notorious in Knicks history. The big man had four chances under the basket to beat the Chicago Bulls in the dying seconds of Game 5 of the 1993 Eastern Conference Finals, but Smith couldn't even get the ball to rim. Instead, he got blocked four times, and the Knicks lost their third game in a row after jumping out to a 2-0 series lead.

Date: 6/4/2000

The 2010 Eastern Conference Semifinals was yet another playoff clash between the Celtics and Cavaliers. LeBron James had already run into Boston in 2008 and came out on the wrong side then. This time, with rumors swirling that James was ready to leave Cleveland, he played one of the worst games of his career in what would turn out to be his final home game for five years. Appearing disinterested at times, James scored just 15 points as the Celtics blew out Cleveland by a final margin of 120-88, then watched as they took the series the following game back in Boston.

Date: 6/4/2000

The 2000 Western Conference Finals was a highly dramatic series that has now been shrouded in doubt thanks to the officiating work of one Tim Donaghy. However, what can't be denied is that the Blazers completely and utterly collapsed in Game 7, shady officiating or not. Heading into the fourth quarter with a double-digit lead, the team missed 13 straight shots and allowed the Lakers to mount an incredible comeback that was punctuated by the famous Kobe-to-Shaq one-handed alley-oop. Although the Lakers certainly had to play well to get back in the game, it was Portland's collapse that really deserves much of the credit for helping to lay the foundation that became the Lakers’ three-peat.

Date: 5/21/1995

In Game 7 of the 1995 Eastern Conference Finals, a legendary battle between the Knicks and Pacers had come down to one last possession. Hall-of-Famer Patrick Ewing got the ball the top of the key and had a chance to tie the game from point-blank range. Inexplicably, he went for an elegant finger roll, rather than trying to dunk it, and clanked his attempt off the back iron, losing the game and series for the Knicks. It was a truly baffling decision that still haunts New York fans today.

Date: 6/7/1995

Prior to the 1995 NBA Finals, Nick Anderson was actually a solid free-throw shooter. With the Magic up three points late in Game 1, there was no reason to think that Anderson wouldn't be able to sink a couple at the line and ice a victory for his team. Apparently, making one out of four attempts was too much to ask, and Anderson instead became an all-time goat by bricking all four of his attempts. Houston tied the game after all the misses, won in overtime, and then swept the series. The game clearly mentally stuck with Anderson, who became a shell of himself for several years before finally getting back on track.

Date: 6/22/1994

John Starks had become a folk hero among Knicks fans and was enjoying a really solid run in the 1994 NBA Finals leading up to Game 7. He had improved over the course of the series’ first six games and was averaging 19.3 points per game heading into the decisive final showdown in Houston. However, Starks laid one of the most epic stink bombs in closeout game history. He shot 2-18 for the game, including a horrific 0-10 in the fourth quarter, and the Knicks blew what has been their best shot at the title in the last 20 years.

Date: 3/16/2003

The career of Ricky Davis was full of ups and downs, and this was perhaps one of the lowest moments. Shooting on your own basket to complete a triple-double is about as ridiculous and selfish a move as you can pull. Fortunately for the sanctity of the game, despite his creativity, Davis was not given credit for a rebound, and thus completely humiliated himself and didn't even get a triple-double to show for it.

Date: 11/19/2004

The most notorious brawl in NBA history stemmed from an on-court altercation that quickly spiraled out of control. Simply put, it's one of the greatest collective failures the league has ever seen. Naturally, the temperamental Ron Artest was at the center of it, scrapping with Pistons forward Ben Wallace towards the end of a blowout win for the Pacers. Players punching fans and fans hurling objects at players is never a good thing for your public reputation, and both the players and the league took a long time to recover.