Longest Losing Streak in NBA History All-Time Records
While winning streaks are always exciting, a long losing streak can take the life out of a fan base. The NBA has seen its share of long losing streaks by its teams, but what is the longest losing streak in NBA history?
The record for the NBA’s most consecutive losses is 28 straight, which was “accomplished” by two different franchises. The 2023-24 Detroit Pistons suffered 28 straight losses in one season, finishing with a 14-68 record.
Those 28 consecutive losses matched the worst losing streak in NBA history, held by the Philadelphia 76ers, who dropped 28 in a row over two seasons. The 2014-15 squad lost its last ten games of the season, and the 2015-16 team started 0-18 to set the mark for most consecutive losses.
But why did these teams have such horrible streaks? Let’s look at those and other teams approaching the record for most NBA games lost in a row.
What is the longest losing streak in NBA history?
For one season, the 2023-24 Detroit Pistons hold the record for most consecutive losses. The team was in its first season under head coach Monty Williams, who was well respected and expected to help the franchise turn things around.
The team had been bad for a while, managing 20 wins in 2019-20 and 2020-21, 23 in 2021-22 and 17 in 2022-23. Because of that, the team had a lot of high draft picks, including the No. 1 overall pick in 2021, guard Cade Cunningham from Oklahoma State.
Unfortunately, that also made the Pistons one of the youngest teams in the league, and the growing pains were plentiful. After a 2-1 start to the campaign, the losing streak began, running from Oct. 30 to Dec. 30, 2023. Detroit became the 13th team in NBA history to have a winless month, going 0-15 in November.
The NBA all-time losing streak finally ended with a win over the Toronto Raptors. Still, things didn’t get much better the rest of the way, with March’s 4-12 mark setting the team’s high for victories in a month for the season. The team’s struggles were part of the NBA betting news for the franchise, which is still trying to return to its winning ways.
The miserable season, including the losing streak, cost Williams his job. He had signed a huge six-year deal, but the team had had enough after just one season.
Philadelphia’s ‘Process’ Was Hard To Trust
We’ve all heard the term “Trust the Process.” It was the catchphrase of the Philadelphia 76ers of the mid-2010s as the team tried to build through the draft and preached patience.
Unfortunately for the 76ers, the draft wasn’t always good for the franchise. The team took a chance on Kansas center Joel Embiid in the 2014 draft, taking him with the No. 3 overall pick. But the future franchise center had surgery for a broken bone in his foot three days before the draft, wiping out his entire rookie campaign.
A second round of surgery also kept Embiid from playing in the 2015-16 season, taking away one of the major building blocks for the team in the seasons that it set the record for the longest losing streak in NBA history.
The team also had the No. 3 pick in the 2015 draft, taking Duke center Jahlil Okafor. He had a solid rookie campaign, averaging 17.5 points and 7.0 rebounds, but he couldn’t help the team from starting the campaign 0-18.
Over four years, from 2013-14 to 2016-17, the 76ers never won more than 28 games. Despite the struggles, coach Brett Brown, hired before the 2013-14 campaign, survived long enough to lead the team back to the postseason in 2017-18. Embiid stayed playing, and the 2017 No. 1 overall pick Ben Simmons out of LSU made an immediate impact, winning Rookie of the Year honors.
Since then, the team has been a perennial playoff team, but it has never lived up to the expectations put on it. However, making the postseason every year is a lot better than the period during which it set the record for the worst losing streak in NBA history.
Close Misses For NBA All-Time Losing Streak
When the 76ers of 2014-15 and 2015-16 set the record for the longest losing streak in NBA history, it broke a record the franchise shared with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The 2013-14 76ers lost 26 straight games, matching the NBA record for most consecutive losses set by the 2010-11 Cavaliers. Cleveland set that record in its first season after LeBron James left the franchise for the first time to go to the Miami Heat and make it one of the celebrities’ favorite NBA teams. The long losing streak allowed the team to get the No. 1 pick in the 2011 draft, used on Duke guard Kyrie Irving.
The Cavaliers also have the fifth-worst losing streak in the league’s history, dropping 24 in a row over two seasons in the early 1980s. Cleveland lost its final 15 games of the 1981-82 campaign, then started the 1982-83 season with a 0-5 mark before finally snapping the streak.
Surprisingly, none of these teams holds the record for the worst single-season record. The Charlotte Bobcats finished with just seven wins in a lockout-shortened season in 2011-12.
The record for the most losses in a season is held by the 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers, which finished with a 9-73 mark. The 2015-16 76ers came close to matching that, finishing with a 10-72 record.
