Biggest One-Hit Wonder Teams of the Last 20 Years

After seeing the San Antonio Spurs clinch their fifth trip to the NBA Finals in the past 14 seasons, it's obvious that the franchise has been doing something right, not only drafting and developing the right players each year, but having the continuity and patience on the bench too.

But not every team can enjoy the constant success that teams like the Spurs or Patriots seem to have each year, so we're giving you the ones that just teased their fanbases by having a good year, only to follow it up with a dud.

These are the one-hit wonder sports teams.

2003-04 Los Angeles Lakers

Boasting four future Hall of Famers—Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant, Karl Malone and Gary Payton—the Lakers were stacked heading into the '03 season, expected by many to run away with a title.

After finishing the regular season with 56 wins and the West's No. 2 seed, the team got ousted in five games by the Pistons in the Finals.

Following the debacle, L.A. endured a ton of changes, returning just Bryant to their '04 team, while welcoming in new head coach Rudy Tomjanovich—who lasted just half the season.

L.A. missed the playoffs, going 34-48, while having the serious threat of seeing Kobe walk away during the offseason.

2010-11 Dallas Mavericks

The 2010-11 Mavericks might be best known as the team that beat the Heat's 'Big Three,' but after capturing the franchise's first NBA title, they weren't able to follow it up with more great memories.

Coming off one of the best playoff performances in recent memory, Dirk Nowitzki never really got a chance for an encore presentation due to some unfortunate injuries that cost him and his Mavs team a chance to contend.

Falling from a team that won 57 games in their championship season to a 36-30 record during the lockout season, Dallas failed to keep the celebration going.

2011 Detroit Lions

Shouldn't Detroit sports fans know better by now?

Never trust your football team.

Just three seasons removed from going winless, the Lions made a huge splash in 2011 by becoming one of the more exciting offenses in the league thanks to Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson.

Nabbing a Wild Card berth after a 10-6 regular season made fans assume this was a team on the rise, but after slipping back to their old ways, the team missed out on the postseason for the twelfth time in 13 seasons after going just 4-12.

2005-06 Los Angeles Clippers

Though the 2005-06 Clippers didn't have huge names—though they did feature former All-Star Elton Brand—they had a steady balance of contributors like Sam Cassell, Corey Maggette, Cuttino Mobley, Chris Kaman and Vladimir Radmanovic, who all averaged over 10 points per game in the regular season.

Stretching their second round matchup against the favored Suns to seven games, Clippers Nation thought this was an up-and-coming squad who could challenge in the West.

But the following the year saw them regress to 40-42, missing out on the postseason for the twelfth time in 14 seasons before the franchise's recent success.

2007 Cleveland Sports Teams

As a Cleveland sports fan, this one was tough to swallow.

I remember writing a piece back in the summer of 2007 to fellow fans about how it was time to take notice of the sports teams in the city, and how all the bad sports luck was going to change.

What happened?

The Cavs reached the NBA Finals—only to get swept by the Spurs.

The Indians won their division and found themselves a win shy from the World Series—only to blow a 3-1 series lead in the ALCS and lose to the Red Sox in Game 7.

The Browns went 10-6, narrowly missing out on a playoff spot—and then returned to being the Browns.

The point? 2007 was the most successful sports year in a long time in Cleveland, and we probably all know what has happened since.

2009 Arizona Cardinals

The Arizona Cardinals in both 2008 and 2009 were one of the most exciting offenses in the entire league, having a former MVP quarterback in Kurt Warner and stud receiver Larry Fitzgerald on the same side of the ball.

After a narrow Super Bowl loss in 2008 and a 10-6 finish and first round win in 2009, the team dipped to just five wins in 2010 without Warner under center, and have struggled to reach the success they had in those two seasons since.

2001 Seattle Mariners

No one would have ever imagined the 2001 Mariners would go out and set a MLB-record by winning 116 games, but after doing so—and failing to even reach the World Series—expectations were high in the Pacific Northwest going into 2002.

Though they did win 93 wins, they missed the playoffs after finishing third in the AL West, leaving their fans to wonder if the 2001 team was the best ever to never win a championship, and if or when another opportunity will come along like that again.

2005-06 Edmonton Oilers

Coming into the postseason as the West's No. 8 seed and facing the historic Detroit Red Wings in the first round, there wasn't too much to look forward to from the Oilers in 2006's playoffs.

But after stunning the Wings in six games, Edmonton went all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals—losing in seven games to the Carolina Hurricanes.

The following year saw them finish with just 71 points, finishing fifth in their division and obviously watching the postseason from home.

2006-07 Golden State Warriors

A team that goes 67-15 during the regular season and runs away with the top seed in the West just aren't supposed to lose to a team with 25 less wins.

But that's what sports fans were treated to during the 2006 playoffs when the eighth-seeded Warriors buried the Mavericks in six games, before losing in the second round.

With their high-octane offense and mix of young guys with vets, the hope was that Golden State would climb up the Conference.

Didn't happen—at least not then—as they missed the playoffs, even though they won 48 games.

With Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson now though, there's a good chance the long wait is over in Oakland for the team to stay competitive.

2011 Michigan Wolverines

Coming off an 11-2 season in which they beat Virginia Tech to capture the Sugar Bowl in 2011, the Wolverines were looked at as the best in the Big Ten and a dark-horse national title contender—as they found themselves at No. 8 in the 2012 preseason polls.

Stumbling out of the gate to defending champ Alabama in a primetime game set them back though, and saw the team finish at just 8-5, with a loss to South Carolina in the Outback Bowl.

2007 Colorado Rockies

This season saw the Wild Card-winning Rockies make it all the way to the '07 World Series—only to get swept by the Red Sox.

With budding stars Matt Holiday and Troy Tulowitzki returning for the '08 season, fans in the Mile High City may have hoped their baseball team would shoot up the standings and maintain their winning ways for awhile.

But that summer didn't go as planned, as Tulowitzki played just 101 games and the pitching staff couldn't maintain consistency, leading to a third place divisional finish and a 74-win season.

2003-04 Tampa Bay Lightning

Mentioning another former Stanley Cup Finals participant earlier (Oilers), the Lightning didn't just make the title round, they actually won the dang thing!

Thanks to a good mix of players who were led by captain Dave Andreychuk, the Lightning were able to finish the regular season with the second-most points in the league and earning the necessary 16 wins to capture the Cup.

Though they returned to the playoffs the following two seasons—losing in the first round both times—they finished with the least amount of points in the league in '07-08 and second-worst the following year.

2006 George Mason Men's Basketball

Most of us fans love nothing more than seeing a huge upset, often cheering for the underdog when a tight game comes down to the wire.

So when the George Mason Patriots ran all the way to the 2006 Final Four after beating four top-seven seeds, the sports world was in love with them.

After the shocking appearance in '06 though, they went just 18-15, failing to even make the Big Dance.

2012-13 Wigan Athletic

It was strange enough that a bottom-tier Premier League team would even challenge a top club like Manchester City for the F.A. Cup this year, but when Wigan Athletic actually won it, the feat became historic.

But because the squad was incapable of playing like champs throughout the entire season, Wigan actually got relegated from the Premier League, meaning they have zero chance to repeat next year.

Hopefully ownership wasn't looking to use the F.A. Cup win to garner more ticket sales next year.

1997 Florida Marlins

After an offseason in which the team spent nearly $90 million to build a title-contender in the 1997 season, the Marlins were able to collect the franchise's first World Series when they knocked off the Indians in seven games.

Winning 92 games during their title season, the front office had one of the biggest fire sales in sports history, trading away top talent and building for the future.

That future definitely didn't include 1998, when the defending champs went a paltry 54-108, boasting a lineup of 20-something players who were definitely not ready for The Show.