Longest losing streaks in NBA history

Highlights

• Losing streaks in the NBA can have profound negative effects on team morale and franchise perception.
• Extensive losing streaks hinder team momentum and can significantly impact their standings in the league.
• Several of the longest losing streaks in NBA history have occurred within the last few seasons.

Every team in the NBA strives for success, but in some instances, the opposite occurs. In the high-stakes world of professional basketball, losing streaks represent a significant challenge for teams striving for success. These streaks, defined as consecutive losses in games, can have profound negative effects on the morale of a team, and the perception of the franchise as a whole.

Not only do extensive losing streaks dent confidence and erode team cohesion, but they also hinder momentum and can significantly impact a team’s standing in the league. In a league where competition is at its highest, standings often shift each day, and a losing streak can be detrimental to a team’s chances at finishing at a decent spot in the standings, as too much ground has been lost.

From diminishing fan support to creating pressure on players and coaching staff, losing streaks are widely recognized as detrimental to a team’s overall goals. Similar to a winning streak, when a losing streak reaches monumental levels, it often makes headlines, as was the case recently with the Detroit Pistons in 2023. These are the longest regular-season losing streaks in NBA history.

8 2012 Charlotte Bobcats – 23 games

Bobcats lost 23 straight games across two seasons from March 19 to November 2, 2012

Several of the NBA’s longest losing streaks stretch across multiple seasons, and the 2012 Charlotte Bobcats (now Hornets) are no exception. The team lost 23 straight games in 2012, tied with two other teams for the sixth-most in NBA history. The team is widely considered to be one of the worst in NBA history.

The Bobcats began the streak in the 2011-12 season, in which they already possessed an abysmal record of 7-37. The season was shortened that year to 66 games due to a lockout resulting from disagreements regarding the then-new CBA. On March 19, 2012, the Bobcats lost their first of 23 straight to the Philadelphia 76ers in a 105-80 blowout. The streak would last for the rest of the season, including an April in which the Bobcats went 0-16.

Their final loss of the season, a 104-84 loss to the New York Knicks on April 26, cemented the 2011–12 Bobcats as the worst team of all time in terms of winning percentage, at only .106 (a record of 7-59). Since the Bobcats ended the season with the loss, the streak technically did not end until the first game of the next season, when Charlotte barely beat the Indiana Pacers by a score of 90-89.

7 1997-98 Denver Nuggets – 23 games

Nuggets lost 23 straight games from December 9, 1997, to January 24, 1998

The 1997-98 Denver Nuggets were simply not a good basketball team. They started the season with a 12-game losing streak until coach Bill Hanzlik. However, the worst was yet to come. On December 9, 1997, the Nuggets lost the first of what would be 23 games, a 92-83 loss to the Detroit Pistons.

The streak would last for the rest of the calendar year and extend into the new year, finally ending with a 99-81 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers. Regardless, the Nuggets possessed an abysmal 2-38 record after the streak ended. They would finish the season at 11-71, the worst record in franchise history, and last place in the Western Conference.

6 1995-96 Vancouver Grizzlies – 23 games

Grizzlies lost 23 straight games from February 16 to April 3, 1996

The Vancouver Grizzlies joined the NBA as an expansion team in 1995. Unfortunately, their first season would be earmarked by a 23-game losing streak which would go down in the basketball history books. On February 16, 1996, the Grizzlies would lose the first of 23 straight games, with a 110-100 loss to the Atlanta Hawks.

The streak would last until April 3, when they notched a narrow 105-103 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. In the end, though, it would not be enough as the Grizzlies would finish their inaugural season at 15-67 and last in the Western Conference. The streak included a 0-17 record in March.

5 1982 Cleveland Cavaliers – 24 games

Cavaliers lost 24 straight games across two seasons from March 19 to November 10, 1982

The Cleveland Cavaliers of the early 1980s often struggled for wins. These troubles culminated in 1982, when the Cavs would experience a losing streak that would stretch across two seasons.

Their first loss of the streak occurred on March 19, 1982, exactly forty years before the Bobcats’ streak began. On that day, the Cavs lost to the Milwaukee Bucks by a score of 119-97, and the streak would last for the rest of the season including an April in which they went 0-11.

Unfortunately for Cleveland, the Cavs’ woes would cross over into the new season. They would drop the first five games of the 1982-83 season, finally getting their first win on November 10 against the Golden State Warriors (a 132-120 offensive affair). Therefore, the streak encapsulated 19 losses in the 1981-82 season, and then five in the 1982-83 season.

4 2014 Philadelphia 76ers – 26 games

76ers lost 26 straight games from January 31 to March 29, 2014

The Philadelphia 76ers of the early-to-mid 2010s were statistically some of the worst teams basketball has ever seen. While the franchise has turned it around as of late, becoming increasingly competitive by the end of that decade and into the current one, this Philadelphia team experienced multiple periods of extensive losing.

The 76ers almost went winless in two calendar months across the early portion of 2014. On January 31, they dropped the first of many successive games to the Atlanta Hawks, in a 125-99 blowout. The streak would include a 0-11 record in February and a 1-15 record in March. Philadelphia avoided going two straight months without a win by notching the final game of March, a 123-98 victory over the Pistons.

However, the damage was done. The team was 14-31 before the streak, but the Sixers would finish the season going 5-32 in their last 37 games. This was ultimately good for a 19-63 record and second-to-last in the Eastern Conference (the Bucks were actually worse with a 15-67 record).

3 2010-11 Cleveland Cavaliers – 26 games

Cavaliers lost 26 straight games between December 20, 2010, and February 11, 2011

Prior to the Cavaliers’ dominant era consisting of LeBron James and Kyrie Irving, which culminated in the franchise’s first championship, the team endured dark days. In the 2010-11 season, the Cavaliers would lose 26 straight games, a streak tied for the third-longest in NBA history.

The streak started on December 20, 2010, with a 101-90 loss to the Utah Jazz. The period of gloom would extend into the next calendar year, finally concluding on February 11, 2011, with a 126-119 victory over the Clippers. In the end, the Cavs finished a 19-63 record, including a January in which they went 0-16.

2 2015 Philadelphia 76ers – 28 games

The 76ers lost 28 straight games across two seasons between March 27 and December 1, 2015

The 76ers did not leave their losing ways in 2014. Rather, they would cross over into the next two seasons and arguably become worse. Fresh off a 26-game losing streak the previous season, the Sixers would eclipse that with a 28-game losing streak the following season, which would span across multiple seasons.

The streak began on March 27, 2015, with a 119-98 loss to the Clippers. The Sixers would go winless through the remainder of the 2014-15 season (10 games) and finish with a record of 18-64. Their woes would cross into the 2015-16 season, as they would lose their first 18 games, a streak which would finally end with a 103-91 win over the Los Angeles Lakers.

The streak ultimately ended at 28 games, with 10 losses in the first season and 18 in the second. It would set a precedent for the remainder of the 2015-16 season as the 76ers would finish with an awful record of 10-72, the second-worst record in NBA history (and only the second-worst in franchise history, as Philadelphia also owns the worst record in league history: 9-73 in 1973).

1 2023 Detroit Pistons – 28 games

The Pistons lost 28 straight games from October 30 to December 30, 2023

The NBA has seen a plethora of winning teams over the last few seasons, but that period has also seen plenty of losing teams. The four longest losing streaks in NBA history have all occurred within the last thirteen years, including the one tied for longest in league history: the 2023 Detroit Pistons.

As recently as October 30, 2023, the Pistons would embark on their historic 28-game losing streak. That day would see the Pistons lose 124-112 to the Oklahoma City Thunder, and from there on, a lot of losing would occur. The Pistons went winless in November (0-15) and would not get their third win of the season until the last game of December: a narrow 129-127 victory over the Toronto Raptors.

The streak was historic for several reasons. Detroit only had two wins prior to the streak’s emergence, which culminated at the TD Garden in Boston where the 2-29 Pistons took the 24-6 Boston Celtics to overtime, almost beating them. The Pistons were one loss away from going winless the entire rest of 2023, including two full calendar months.