Why Fans of Struggling NBA Teams Can Take Inspiration from the NFL
February 4th, 2026
The mainstream media has been calling it the “Underdog Super Bowl,” with others using similar names like “the Long Shot Super Bowl.” It, of course, refers to Super Bowl LX, where the New England Patriots will clash with the Seattle Seahawks in the climax of the NFL season.
The reasons for the nomenclature should be pretty apparent. Absolutely nobody would have picked these two to be the two Super Bowl teams at the start of the season. The Patriots were tagged as +8000 shots and the Seahawks +6000 to win the championship game with sportsbook football odds at the start of the season. It’s the biggest combined longshot Super Bowl in history.
The Patriots’ turnaround was historic
It was for good measure, too. The Patriots won four games across the 2024 NFL season; while the Seahawks won ten, they were not seen as elite. The latter added Sam Darnold and Cooper Kupp to the ranks, but few envisaged a run to the Super Bowl. The Patriots’ main change came in the coaching setup, with head coach Mike Vrabel, who was appointed in January 2025, showing that roster overhauls are not needed to transform losing teams into top contenders.
A lesson for some NBA fans? Maybe. Sports history is littered with examples of teams coming from nowhere to start winning again. The Celtics from 2006-2008, the Suns 2003-2005, and the Nets from 2000-2002 are examples of that. Of course, you can also argue that some of those teams added talent to the rosters to make the difference – certainly adding KG and Ray Allen was a dial-turner for the Celtics – but there were also tactical changes that made it possible.
Roster overhauls are not always necessary
Of course, nobody is saying that the Washington Wizards will suddenly become all-conquering ballers next season. The Wizards, like several other teams, require major surgery, but the NFL in 2025 taught us a lot about how patience with coaching plans and, indeed, front office tactics for acquisitions and roster-building paid off for several teams.
Indeed, the Super Bowl teams weren’t the only ones bouncing back from tough seasons. Others, ike the Chicago Bears and Jacksonville Jaguars, topped their divisions, making the postseason when it was fashionable to dismiss them at the beginning of the season.
What’s remarkable in our view is that there weren’t massive roster changes across the board, yet plenty of preseason favorites fell by the wayside early on. The Ravens, Chiefs and Lions had most of the same pieces in place as the 2024 season, with MVP-caliber quarterbacks, but they were swotted aside by teams who stuck to their plan and who stuck with their coaches.
It remains to be seen how much of a “fluke” the 2025 NFL season was. Perhaps those teams that rose up to the challenge will fall away again, and those big preseason favorites for the Super Bowl may show us that 2025 was just a blip, but it feels like a lesson that any team can turn their fortunes around with the right tactics, mindset and coaching.
