How It Compares to Worst Stretches in Sports

Detroit Pistons fans may have to wait forever for their free Wingstop wings.

The downtrodden franchise fell to the Brooklyn Nets, 118-112, at home on Tuesday night, and in the process set the NBA single-season record with its 27th consecutive loss.

The team’s Wingstop promotion, which offers five free boneless wings after a Pistons win, continues to go unused. Detroit (2-28) hasn’t won a game since October 28. And not even a 41-point performance from Cade Cunningham at Little Caesars Arena against the Nets could get the Pistons back in the win column.

“You have to be real about where we are,” Pistons coach Monty Williams told reporters after Tuesday’s loss. “Nobody wants something like this attached to them, and the bottom line is it is my job. Coaches are graded on their records.”

And the Pistons are just one loss away from entering even worse territory. With a loss to the NBA-best Boston Celtics (23-6) on Thursday, the Pistons will tie the overall league record with 28 straight losses.

But the ineptitude doesn’t stop there. The formerly proud franchise, which hoisted the Larry O’Brien trophy in three straight decades, is now carving its place in sports history with one of the worst losing streaks among any team in the four major North American sports leagues.

Here’s a look at the record-holders in all four sports or, in other words, the company Detroit could soon be joining.

NBA—Philadelphia 76ers (2014-15, 15-16), 28 Straight Losses

Ah yes, the days when Philly fans still had to “Trust the Process.”

The 76ers lost 10 consecutive games to close out the 2014-15 season, then another 18 in a row to open the 2015-16 campaign. This putrid entry into Philadelphia sports history did land the Sixers their future MVP Joel Embiid, so at least it wasn’t all bad. Though the “Process” has yet to lead to anything beyond being eliminated in the conference semifinals.

The Pistons can tie the 76ers on Thursday and, if they lose that game, go for the undisputed title against the Toronto Raptors on Saturday. And there’s some bonus Detroit history at stake over the rest of the 2023-24 NBA season. Since 2000, a Motor City team owns the worst season in MLB (2003 Tigers), and co-owns the worst NFL (2008 Lions) and NHL (2020 Red Wings) campaigns, via the Athletic.

The Pistons are currently on pace for roughly six wins this season, which would be the fewest in NBA history. At least the Lions just won the NFC North?

NFL—Chicago Cardinals (1942-45), 29 Straight Losses

Any Chicago Cardinals fans in the early 1940s must have been loyal.

The franchise, now located in Arizona, lost six consecutive games to end the 1942 season. Back-to-back 0-10 campaigns in 1943 and 1944 (though during this season the team merged with the Pittsburgh Steelers because of World War II-induced player shortages) followed, as did three straight losses to start the 1945 schedule. On the bright side, the Cardinals bounced back to win the NFL Championship (in the pre-Super Bowl days) in 1947.

In terms of more recent history, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost 26 straight games from 1976-77, the most of any team in the Super Bowl era.

NHL—Two Teams Tied With 18 Straight Losses

The 2003-04 Pittsburgh Penguins and 2020-21 Buffalo Sabres hold the unfortunate titles of being the NHL teams with the longest all-time losing streaks.

Pittsburgh’s barren spell began on January 13, 2004, with a 3-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning and lasted more than a month until the team beat the Phoenix Coyotes 4-3 in overtime on February 25 of that year.

The franchise returned to the playoffs two seasons later and has won three Stanley Cups in the years since. And in similarly good news, the Penguins were no longer the sole losing streak record holders when the Sabres matched their effort in 2020-21.

MLB—Louisville Colonels (1889), 26 Straight Losses

Talk about a record that has stood the test of time.

Led by the likes of Chicken Wolf, Farmer Weaver, and Red Ehret—surely household names a little over a century ago—the Colonels finished the 1889 season 27-111-2, with a month-long losing streak along the way. The 1961 Philadelphia Phillies lost 23 straight games and are still the modern-era MLB team that has come closest to dethroning the Colonels.