The Detroit Pistons are no stranger to losing streaks.
They set the NBA record for a single season last year by losing 28 straight in a streak so bad it didn’t look like they’d ever win again.
When you only win 94 games total in five seasons combined, there are bound to be a few lengthy losing streaks splashed in, and when you look at the head-to-head matchups, Detroit has active winless streaks against most of the NBA.
But there are five teams that have beaten up on the Pistons for years, most of them conference rivals that Detroit will eventually have to overcome if they ever want to be good or even competitive.
Here are their five longest active losing streaks.
Boston Celtics: 9 games
It’s not surprising that the Pistons have a losing streak against the defending champion Boston Celtics, who have beaten Detroit in nine straight games.
The Pistons have had some competitive games against the Celtics, but haven’t beaten them since a one-point victory back in 2022 which was led by Cade Cunningham, Jerami Grant and Kelly Olynyk.
Cory Joseph was in the starting lineup for Detroit, so I am not sure how this streak isn’t longer.
Cleveland Cavaliers: 9 games
The Pistons also have a 9-game losing streak to the Cavaliers that dates back to 2022.
The last win came in February of that year, when Hamidou Diallo exploded for 21 points off the bench for Detroit.
Since then, the Cavaliers have dominated, holding Detroit under 100 points four times in that streak and under 90 in two of them.
JB Bickerstaff hopes to change this early, as he’ll get a shot at his old team in the 2nd game of the season.
Milwaukee Bucks: 9 games
Few teams have dominated the Pistons in recent history like the Bucks, who own a 9-game active winning streak against Detroit.
The last time Detroit beat the Bucks it was 2022 and they were led by monster games from Saddiq Bey and Josh Jackson.
It’s been quite a theme that most of the team leaders from the Pistons’ most recent wins against these teams are no longer on the roster or even in the NBA.
But this one gets worse.
The Pistons have won just three of their last 30 meetings against Milwaukee and just seven of their last 40.
You’d have to go back to 2015-16, when the Pistons beat the Bucks four games in a row, to even find a two-game winning streak against Milwaukee.
Los Angeles Clippers: 10 games
The LA Clippers have also dominated Detroit of late, winning the last 10 meetings.
You have to go all the way back to 2019 to find a win for the Pistons vs. Clippers, an embarrassing streak to say the least.
Here was the Pistons’ starting lineup the last time they beat the Clippers:
-Andre Drummond
-Reggie Jackson
-Blake Griffin
-Reggie Bullock Jr.
-Bruce Brown
They had guys like Luke Kennard, Stanley Johnson and Jon freaking Leuer coming off the bench, that’s how long ago it was.
Keep in mind that not a single player mentioned above is still on the roster, some are retired and others are getting close.
Andre Drummond had a 20/20 and three steals in the win.
New York Knicks: 15 games
Yikes.
The worst part about this one is that the Knicks are only recently good, so this streak extends back to when they too were terrible.
This streak goes back to 2019 when the Pistons dominated the awful Knicks (they won 21 games that season, one more than Detroit) behind another monster game from Drummond in which he narrowly missed a triple-double.
This starting five was hilarious, as you had Bruce Brown, Tony Snell, Luke Kennard and Markieff Morris flanking Drummond with guys like Thon Maker and Jordan Bone coming off the bench.
This is one the Pistons would like to snap this season, as losing 15 straight to any team is disgraceful.