These "TRASH" NBA Teams Became Contenders

Описание: Some teams are built to be super.
Some teams are built to survive the season. . And others– find a way to shock the world.
No superteams. No hype. Just grit, belief, and perfect timing.
So how did these underdog squads flip the script?

Let’s start with the original chaos agents — the 2007 We Believe Warriors.


This team beat expectations and galvanized the whole NBA community, even if you weren’t a fan of them!
Let’s rewind.
Coming into the season, no one — and I mean no one — had the Warriors in their playoff bracket.
Most projections had them winning maybe 35 games. At best, a fringe lottery squad. At worst, another rebuild. Again.
Why?
For starters, Golden State hadn’t made the playoffs in 12 straight seasons — the longest drought in the NBA at the time.
They had a brand new coach — or rather, an old one returning: Don Nelson, the mad scientist of small-ball basketball, brought in mid-offseason after the Warriors fired Mike Montgomery.
The roster? A mix of question marks, misfits, and guys other teams had given up on.
No true superstar. No real rim protector.
They didn’t have the length, they didn’t have the pedigree, and according to analysts… they didn’t have a shot.
And midway through the year, it looked like the predictions were spot on.
The Warriors were 26–35. Dead in the water.
Then came the trade that quietly flipped everything.
They sent Mike Dunleavy, Troy Murphy, Ike Diogu, and Keith McLeod to Indiana…
In return, they got Stephen Jackson and Al Harrington — two gritty, physical players who instantly changed the team’s identity.
Golden State went 16–5 to finish the season.
They were fast, small, and played fearlessly.
The “We Believe” shirts started popping up in the crowd.
And somehow — somehow — they clawed into the playoffs as the 8th seed.
And their reward?
The 67-win, #1-seeded Dallas Mavericks.
The same team that had gone to the Finals just one year earlier.
The team with Dirk Nowitzki, the soon-to-be league MVP.
A veteran team, coached by Avery Johnson, that played methodical, efficient basketball.
Everything Golden State wasn’t.
And that’s where it got interesting.