Detroit Pistons set NBA record for longest losing streak in a season
(CNN) — The Detroit Pistons have set the NBA record for the longest losing streak in a single season with a loss Tuesday to the Brooklyn Nets.
The new single-season mark stands at 27 games after the Pistons fell 112-118 to the Nets at Detroit’s Little Caesars Arena. The Pistons’ loss came despite 41 points – the vast majority in the second half – from guard Cade Cunningham. Cameron Johnson and Mikal Bridges led the Nets with 24 and 21 points, respectively.
The Pistons briefly held a lead early in the fourth quarter Tuesday before relinquishing it, and a Cunningham drive cut the Nets’ lead to 2 with about a minute left. But the Nets’ Dorian Finney-Smith hit a 3-pointer from the corner in the next possession, and Brooklyn cruised from there.
Tuesday’s loss put Detroit one game beyond the 2010-2011 Cleveland Cavaliers and 2013-2014 Philadelphia 76ers, who shared the previous one-season mark at 26 games lost.
The 76ers hold the NBA’s overall losing mark at 28 straight games, spanning two seasons. That streak started at the end of the 2014-2015 season and continued into the following one.
Detroit could tie that overall mark Thursday, when they play the Celtics in Boston.
The Pistons’ last win came on Oct. 28, when they defeated the Chicago Bulls. The team’s record now stands at 2-28.
The losing streak is a disappointment for a team that has tried to rebuild through youth the last few seasons with high draft picks – including Cunningham with the No. 1 overall pick in 2021, and Ausar Thompson with the No. 5 pick this year – and by luring coach Monty Williams to the team this year with a hefty contract.
CNN’s Jacob Lev contributed to this report.