Dallas Mavericks and the 15 Worst Post-Championship Starts in NBA History

With the unimpressive start of the 2011-12 season by the defending NBA champions Dallas Mavericks, they join a list of former champs to struggle out of the gate the following season.

Dallas is 0-2 and have lost both of their games by double-digits, but there have been far worse starts in NBA history.

The Mavericks aren't the first to struggle and certainly won't be the last, but here are the top 15 post-championship struggles in NBA history.

15. 1972-73 Los Angeles Lakers

After defeating the New York Knicks to cap the 1971-72 season, the Lakers didn't come out of the gates strong the following year.

It wasn't a total disaster, as they only began the season 1-2.

After a season-opening win, the Lakers were beaten by the Boston Celtics and then destroyed by the Knicks, 125-100.

But Jerry West, Wilt Chamberlain and company reeled off five straight wins after that and made another trip to the NBA Finals, this time falling to the Knicks in five games.

14. 1991-92 Chicago Bulls

This Bulls were fresh off their first championship and came out slowly the following season with a 1-2 start. The losses came at the hands of the Milwaukee Bucks and Golden State Warriors before Michael Jordan decided to take over.

Chicago won its next 14 in a row en route to a 67-15 record and a second NBA championship.

13. 1974-75 Boston Celtics

Coming off their 12th championship in franchise history, John Havlicek, Dave Cowens and the rest of the 1974-75 Boston Celtics ended up winning 60 games, but didn't reach the NBA Finals and got off to a very slow start.

They lost their opener to the Buffalo Braves and then rotated wins and losses en route to a 3-4 start to the season.

12. 2000-01 Los Angeles Lakers

A tad bit of a championship hangover after Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant's first championship together. They only went 3-3 out of the gate, but won 56 games and another championship at the end of the season.

11. 1997-98 Chicago Bulls

The 1997-98 Chicago Bulls would win another NBA championship, but just like the first time after their first three-peat, they would start slowly after their first championship.

They wound up winning 62 games, ultimately turning it on after a 4-4 start to the season.

10. 2003-04 San Antonio Spurs

The Spurs defeated the New Jersey Nets for the 2003 NBA Championship and won their opener the following season, but proceeded to drop four of their next six games.

They would rebound to go 57-25 on the season before losing to the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Finals.

9. 1953-54 Minneapolis Lakers

The Lakers lost their first two games to the Milwaukee Hawks and the New York Knicks by a combined 38 points.

George Mikan and company eventually got it together and finished 46-26 and won their fourth NBA championship in the first five years of the league.

8. 1950-51 Minneapolis Lakers

After winning the first championship in NBA history, the Lakers got off to a 1-3 start to the following season. They ended up finishing 44-24 and didn't reach the NBA Finals.

7. 1956-57 Philadelphia Warriors

The Warriors beat the Fort Wayne Pistons for the 1956 NBA championship, but couldn't follow suit the following season, finishing with a 37-35 record.

Some of that likely had to do with the 2-5 beginning to the 1956-57 season.

6. 1979-80 Seattle Supersonics

Jack Sikma and the Sonics didn't come out well after their one and only title in franchise history, as they began the 1979-80 season by going 3-5 out of the gates.

Eventually they rebounded to win their next five in a row before finishing the season with a 56-26 record, though they lost in the Western Conference Finals to the Los Angeles Lakers.

5. 2002-03 Los Angeles Lakers

Somehow the 2002-03 Lakers won 50 games, but it was no thanks to the miserable start of the season they got off to.

Bryant and company began the season 0-2 before winning their next two games. after that they would win only one of their next eight games.

There would be no four-peat in Lakerland as the Lakers lost in the Western Conference Semifinals.

4. 2006-07 Miami Heat

The 2006-07 season for the Miami Heat got off to a very rocky start with a 48-point drubbing at the hands of the Chicago Bulls.

They would win their next game, but then lost seven of their next 10, most in blowout fashion, and won only 44 games during the 2006-07 campaign.

3. 1993-94 Chicago Bulls

This Bulls team had to learn on the fly what it was like without Michael Jordan in a Bulls uniform for the first time.

They started the season 1-1 after getting thumped by the Miami Heat and actually won their next two games before losing six of their next seven.

They figured things out after the slow start and won 55 games before losing in the Eastern Conference Semifinals to the New York Knicks.

2. 1998-99 Chicago Bulls

Here we go again with no Michael Jordan. There is also no Phil Jackson on this Bulls squad either, as Tim Floyd took over the reigns.

They lost their opener and rebounded to win their next game before dropping seven straight to sit at 1-8 before eventually finishing the season at 13-37.

1. 1969-70 Boston Celtics

This particular Celtics team defeated the Lakers to capture the 1969 championship but came out of the gates horribly in 1970.

They finished a disappointing 34-48 on the year and seemed doomed from the beginning after losing their first four games.

Boston did win their next three but proceeded to lose their next eight contests, which pretty much set the tone for the season.