The Worst NBA Defeats In The 21st Century: Memphis Beating OKC By 73 Points Is Clearly No. 1

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The Memphis Grizzlies had a sweet Thursday night, as they totally dismantled the young Oklahoma City Thunder team that had no response against a team that played without their biggest star. 

Ja Morant's absence wasn't an impediment for the Grizzlies, who beat OKC 152-79, a 73-point beatdown that made history. It was really a huge win for Memphis, who eclipsed what the Dallas Mavericks did last season against the Los Angeles Clippers. At the time, Luka Doncic and co. beat the Californians with a 51-point gap. 

After that incredible display, Redditor "displacedindavis" got to work and listed off the worst defeats in NBA in the 21st century (45 points or more). After that incredible performance, the Grizzlies sit atop of the list. 

During the 2000s, the league made changes to ensure the game was more entertaining, favoring offensive players over defenders. This led to higher scoreboards, but sometimes, big results come in the form of beatdowns, like the Grizzlies showed this week. 

Curiously, Memphis is part of the first two positions on the list, yet, they are in different zones in each of them. The Charlotte Hornets demolished them in 2018 in a 140-79 win at Spectrum Center. The Thunder is part of the top five twice. Contrary to Memphis, they've been the losing team both times, recording a 152-95 loss against the Indiana Pacers a couple of months ago. 

Whenever these defeats happen, fans are ready to compare them to prior ones, make memes about the losing team, and more. This list has a lot of teams on it, sometimes winning, sometimes losing, but that's how this league works. You're not bad or good forever.