The 10 youngest teams in NBA history

The old NBA adage says that youth doesn't win games. Although we know this is largely true, we wanted to analyze the numbers to understand to what extent it holds. For this exercise, we reviewed all NBA rosters throughout history, calculating the weighted average age of each team. We considered players' ages as of February 1st (approximately midseason) and factored in their playing time. For instance, a 22-year-old player averaging 35 minutes per game would have a greater impact on the final result than one playing only 10 minutes.

Main Findings

The main conclusion is that indeed, the youngest teams in NBA history have had little to no success in the playoffs, with the exception of the Oklahoma City Thunder. Of the 25 youngest teams in NBA history, only three made it to the playoffs: the 2009-10 Thunder, the 2010-11 Thunder, and the 2023-24 Thunder. This speaks to OKC's impressive track record in draft building and bodes well for the team's future.

It is also worth noting that the 1956-57 Rochester Royals are the only team from the 20th century on the list. This is not surprising given that players enter the NBA at a younger age in the modern era.

Ranking of the Youngest Teams in League History

1. 2022-23 Houston Rockets
   Weighted Average Age: 22.69 years
   Regular Season Record: 22-60
   Playoffs: No
   Key Players: Jalen Green (20), Jabari Smith (19), KJ Martin (22), Alperen Sengun (20), Kevin Porter (22)

2. 2021-22 Oklahoma City Thunder
   Weighted Average Age: 22.97 years
   Regular Season Record: 24-58
   Playoffs: No
   Key Players: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (23), Darius Bazley (21), Josh Giddey (19), Luguentz Dort (22), Tre Mann (21)

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Las 10 plantillas más jóvenes de la historia de la NBA