The Detroit Pistons put in a better effort in their 12th straight loss, but effort doesn’t matter in the win column.
A quick look at the schedule shows that if the Pistons don’t beat the Wizards at home on November 27th, they could have a winless month.
Sadly, this is nothing new, as the Pistons have had three losing streaks of 11+ games in the last calendar year alone, as they continue a record of futility that rivals the worst of “The Process” era 76ers.
If you are going to do something, lean into it, I’ve always said. And the Pistons have.
Over this steak they have continued to lead the NBA in turnovers, are shooting 46 percent from the field overall and just 34 percent from long range. They lead the league in fouls and have a margin of loss over 10, which is not good.
They did get Isaiah Livers and Killian Hayes back from injury last night, not that it mattered, as the Nuggets still won with a cast of former Pistons even though Jamal Murray was sitting out and Nikola Jokic got kicked out 15 mintues into the game.
I’d say the Pistons are at a low point as a franchise, but I don’t want to speak too soon, as if they lose to the Pacers on the road on Friday, it sets up a showdown with the Wizards with the worst record in the league on the line and the Pistons trying not to set the franchise record for consecutive losses.
Longest losing streaks in Pistons’ history
The 11’s: 2009-18, 2022-23, 2022-23
The Detroit Pistons have had 11-game losing streaks three times in franchise history. The 2009-10 Pistons, led by the leftovers of the Goin’ to Work era lost 11 straight on their way to a 27-win season. This was the beginning of the Ben Gordon/Charlie Villaneuva era and it showed.
The other two should be familar, as they both happened last season, as the Pistons put together two 11-game losing streaks in 2022-23, not surprising considering Cade Cunningham wasn’t playing (not that that has made a difference this season) and Detroit had two-way and G-League players on the floor for much of the home stretch.
Longest losing streaks in Pistons’ history
The long 12 (current): 2023-24
The 2023-24 Pistons current streak of 12 straight losses ranks 3rd all-time in team history, and the Washington Wizards may be the only thing stopping the Pistons from smashing the record.
Here are the Pistons next 10 games:
- @Indiana
- vs. Wizards
- vs. Lakers
- @New York Knicks
- vs. Cavaliers
- vs. Pacers
- vs. 76ers
- @Philadelphia
- @Milwaukee
- @Atlanta
Every team except the Wizards has at least a .500 record and would be in the play-in tournament or better if it started today. Detroit has two against the 76ers, face the Bucks and Knicks on the road and will travel to Atlanta, a team that beat them recently without Trae Young.
In other words, if the Pistons don’t beat Washington, you can forget about the franchise’s longest losing streak, they’ll have a chance to set the NBA record.
The Restoration, folks!
Longest losing streaks in Pistons’ history
The 13’s: 1979-80, 1993-94, 2009-10, 2014-15
The Detroit Pistons have managed to lose 13 games in a row on four separate occasions, and will try to avoid making it five in Friday’s game in Indiana.
The 1979-80 team was the worst in francise history, winning only 16 games and still a year away from drafting Isiah Thomas and turning it all around.
Somehow Thomas was still on the Pistons in 1993-94, when they again lost 13 in a row in his final year in the NBA. Detroit was trying to transition to the next stage and this was the final time we’d see Thomas and Laimbeer in Pistons’ uniforms. It’s too bad they had to go out on such a low note.
That awful 2009-10 team also lost 13 in a row to go along with their 11-game streak in the same season. The crazy thing is that they still won 27 games overall, which shows you just how bad the last three years have been.
Two of the players who killed the Pistons last night, Reggie Jackson and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, were playing for Detroit in 2014-15 during their 13-game losing streak. Both have won rings since, but were playing with Nikola Jokic at center instead of Andre Drummond. This team actually won 32 games that season, a mark this year’s squad would need a miracle to hit.
Longest losing streaks in Pistons’ history
The 14’s: 1979-80, 1993-94, 2021-22
The longest losing streak in Pistons’ history (so far) is 14 games, which has been done three times.
The first was that same 1979-80 team, which as I said, was the worst in franchise history with just 16 total wins, narrowly edging out last year’s Pistons.
Hey, the 1994-94 team makes an appearance again. They only won 20 games that season, which is how you end up with Grant Hill.
The final 14-game losing streak came in 2021-22, Cade Cunningham’s rookie season. Remember when there was hope? Even though Detroit only won 23 games that season, we had Cade! The #1 pick! The guy who was going to lead us out of the darkness!
I wish I could go back and warn myself that we were far from out of the tunnel.
So if you are keeping track, four of the longest losing streaks in team history have happened over the last three seasons, quite a feat and the reason the Pistons are 42-137 in that stretch.
Pistons fans have been patient, as their team racked up historic numbers of losses over the last four seasons, but unfortunately the wait for a competitive team continues.