The Detroit Pistons are involved in an epic NBA battle this season.
They are among a trio of teams fighting to be the worst and each one is doing their best to get there. The Pistons, San Antonio Spurs and Washington Wizards are an astounding 1-54 over their last combined 55 games, with the lone win being the Wizards' defeat of the Pistons.
The Wizards sit at 3-20 overall and have lost six straight, rookie numbers compared to the Pistons, who have lost 21 in a row and counting.
There wouldn't be much heat on the Wizards anyway, as they are in the first year of a rebuild and many of their fans have checked out. The team is about to move to Virginia and I don't think anyone noticed.
Nevertheless, they should thank the Pistons for providing 33 percent of their wins so far and for grabbing most of the negative headlines with their losing streak.
San Antonio should buy Detroit a beer
No team has benefitted from the Pistons' futility more than the Spurs, as they are on an 18-game losing streak of their own, the longest in franchise history.
The Spurs have a long history of competence to fall back on, not to mention Victor Wembanyama, so their fans aren't as apocalyptic as the Pistons faithful, but I am starting to hear rumblings of displeasure about Gregg Popovich, which I wasn't expecting. The Pistons provide a valuable service for Spurs fans to compare to and say, "At least we're not Detroit."
But I am starting to wonder if either team will win another game between now and when they meet on January 10th in a game someone has to win unless the NBA decides to assign simultaneous losses, which would be fair at this point.
The Pistons play the Wizards again on January 15th, which I am sure both teams are looking forward to, as it's their best chance for a win.
I can't remember the last time there were three teams this bad in the NBA, as the Pistons and Spurs, two of the most storied franchises in the NBA, have a collective 39-game losing streak. How did we get here?