And on the 18th try, the Philadelphia 76ers finally snapped their losing streak, beating the Minnesota Timberwolves 85-77 on Wednesday.
Yes, they managed to right the ship to avoid tying the record for worst start to an NBA season and, yes, a win is a win.
But it wasn't pretty. Dead Spin notes that the 76ers may now be 1-17, but they are still "a cynical and indescribably awful fraud," or, put simply, the "grossest team in the NBA."
"For an actual NBA team, this would not be a victory to be all that proud of. The Sixers won 85-77 and shot 39 percent from the floor against the second-worst defensive unit in the league. (The T-Wolves are allowing 109.6 points per game.) Philadelphia also turned the ball over 18 times, shot 5-of-24 from behind the three-point line, and somehow managed to score just nine points in the second quarter."
Not only that, but perhaps as a symbol of what was to come, the game got off to a bizarre start, where the teams shot at the wrong basket. Seventeen-seconds into the game, the refs decided to just start over.
Here's video:
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