I was sipping my morning coffee yesterday when a random question popped into my head: what’s the absolute worst scoring performance by a player in NBA playoff history? Like, someone who just couldn’t buy a basket. Grabbed my laptop and started digging.
Step 1: Hunting for Clues
First, I went straight to Basketball-Reference’s playoff stats. Filtered by points scored, sorted from lowest to highest. Saw tons of guys with 0 points, but that didn’t count – lots of bench warmers played 2 minutes and didn’t shoot. I needed someone who actually tried and failed miserably.
Step 2: Setting Ground Rules
Decided on my criteria:
- Must have played at least 20 minutes (no garbage-time scrubs)
- Took minimum 10 shot attempts (gotta be actively trying to score)
- Post-merger era only (sorry, 1940s stats are too messy)
Step 3: The Usual Suspects
Expected to find Ben Wallace or Dennis Rodman here. Scrolled through the 90s and 2000s. Found some stinkers – like Tony Allen’s 2-for-11 in 2013. But nothing record-breaking. Started checking box scores manually, game by game. Felt like digging through a dumpster with chopsticks.
Step 4: The Big Revelation
Finally hit paydirt in the 2011 playoffs. Game 4, Chicago vs Atlanta. Keith Bogans – starting for the Bulls – went 0-for-10 from the field in 32 minutes! ZERO points! Double-checked the play-by-play: dude took wide-open threes, layups, everything. Bricked ‘em all. Felt secondhand embarrassment just reading it.
Kept scrolling and found his “competition”:
- Charles Jones: 0-for-9 in 33 mins (1985)
- Andre Roberson: 0-for-7 in 38 mins (2016, but only 7 attempts)
Bogans still takes the crown – nobody missed more shots while scoring zilch.
Final Thoughts
Took me three hours and cold coffee, but worth it. Moral of the story? Even NBA starters can have Chernobyl-level meltdowns. If Bogans sees this post – man, I still respect your defense, but that game haunts my nightmares.
