The Detroit Pistons have had one of the worst seasons in NBA history, making NBA betting sites buzz. It took them more than 30 games to win at least three games this season.
Detroit finally ended the misery on December 30, 2023, and hopes to start 2024 off with a new slate. But it took a full two months for the Pistons to finally get back in the win column.
This reminded us that it would be fun to look at the first worst losing streaks in NBA History.
5. 1981-1982 / 1982-1983 Cleveland Cavaliers (24 Losses)
The Cleveland Cavaliers lost 19 straight games to close out 1981-1982. However, it took another five losses before the Cavaliers were able to add a win in the 1982-1983 season.
The Cavaliers finished with just 15 wins in that first season. Head coach Don Delaney was fired after starting the season 4-11. But it got much worse when he left.
The Cavaliers hired Bob Kloppenburg as the interim head coach. But after he lost three straight games, Cleveland went with Chick Daly for 41 games. But after he won only nine games in those 41 matchups, the Cavaliers canned him for Bill Musselman.
Musselman was the second interim coach of the season and finished 2-21, losing the last 19 games of that season.
The 1982-1983 season saw Tom Nissalke as head coach. While the Cavaliers lost the first five games that season, Cleveland turned things around and at least won 23 games in that season.
4. 2013-2014 Philadelphia 76ers (26 Losses)
The Philadelphia 76ers finished the 2013-2014 season with only 19 wins. The stretch of 26 straight losses began against the Atlanta Hawks on January 31. It then carried over to March 29.
The 76ers didn’t win for nearly two months.
The roster was filled with a bunch of no-name players who never made a name for themselves. Thaddeus Young and Michael Carter-Williams were the two big names. Meanwhile, Nerlens Noel and Jason Richardson were injured during that season.
Funny enough, the 76ers didn’t even have the worst record in the NBA or the Eastern Conference. Milwaukee had just 15 wins in that season.
3. 2010-2011 Cleveland Cavaliers (26 Losses)
The Cleveland Cavaliers went just 19-63 in the 2010-2011 NBA season.
This was the season after LeBron James left Cleveland for Miami.
It left the Cavaliers in shock and they had no plan for this season. They hired Byron Scott as head coach, but their best player scored just 18 points per game. That was Antawn Jamison, who was a terrific player, but never really a No. 1 option.
Cleveland’s losing streak began on December 20, 2010, against the Jazz and it carried over into February, when the Cavaliers finally earned a win against the Clippers on February 11.
2. 2014-2015 / 2015-2016 Philadelphia 76ers (28 Losses)
The Philadelphia 76ers ended the 2014-2015 season with ten losses.
After a poor 2014-2015 season, you’d expect the 76ers to want to change things to get better. Instead, the 76ers came into the 2015-2016 season and lost 18 straight games to begin the year.
It took Philadelphia from March 27, 2015, to December 1, 2015, to win its next game.
Just like in 2013-2014, Brent Brown was the head coach of the 76ers. He led Philadelphia to an 18-64 record in 2014-2015, but that wasn’t the worst record in the NBA that year. The Knicks had just 17 wins that season.
However, in 2015, the 76ers finished with only ten wins under Brett Brown. It got so bad that general manager Sam Hinkie resigned in the middle of the season.
Bryan Colangelo took over as the general manager for the time being.
This year, the 76ers were easily the worst team in the NBA. They whiffed on the No. 3 pick with Jahlil Okafor and didn’t get much help from their five second-round selections.
1. 2023-2024 Detroit Pistons (28 Losses)
Most recently, the Detroit Pistons ended a 28-game losing streak in the 2023-2024 season.
While the season hasn’t concluded yet, it took the Pistons from October 30, 2023, to December 30, 2023, to win one game.
The Pistons are led by Cade Cunningham. However, the rest of the squad leaves a lot to be desired. Detroit is young and talented, but under head coach Mont Williams, none of the players, other than Cunningham and maybe Jaden Ivey, have developed significantly.
The record for the least amount of wins in a season is six, held by the Providence Steam Rollers. At the time of writing this, the Pistons have just three wins through the first 33 games. We’ll see if the Pistons struggle enough to hold the record for the least amount of wins in a season this year.
