For the Detroit Pistons, their long, loss-filled nightmare — and everyone else’s punchline — has come to an end as the team snapped its 28-game losing streak against the Toronto Raptors.
And the Pistons did it just in time, too. At least if they wanted to avoid going down as the team with the longest losing streak in the four major sports.
It was the first win for Detroit since a victory over the Chicago Bulls on October 28, its third game of the season.
𝙁𝙄𝙉𝘼𝙇!! pic.twitter.com/ICfuESuVyn
— Detroit Pistons (@DetroitPistons) December 31, 2023
The Pistons took their first W in just over two months on their home court with a 129-127 victory over the Toronto Raptors.
That is to say, it was close.
They’ll surely take it. But you’ve got to think they all wanted to snap the streak Thursday night against the conference-leading Boston Celtics. It almost happened, but the Pistons came up short in overtime to lose, 128-122.
Losing 28 games ties them with the Philadelphia 76ers, who lost 28 straight games between the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons. Not letting that streak get to 29 was huge. It kept the Pistons from tying the record for the longest losing streak in major North American sports history.
Now, they’d prefer that streak be fairly recent. It isn’t. According to The New York Post, the 29-game losing streak belongs to Chicago Cardinals who lost 29 straight from 1942 to 1945.
WWII was as bad a time for the Cardinals as it was for anyone.
So, the Pistons aren’t record holders. But that still makes them one of the worst teams the majority of people can remember.
As sad as it is, fewer and fewer people will have the ’42 to ’45 Chicago Cardinals as their reference point for a terrible team.
For those of a new generation, when they think of a terrible team, they’ll think of the 2023-24 Detroit Pistons.
Follow on X: @Matt_Reigle