The Detroit Pistons, with their recent loss against the Brooklyn Nets, slumped to what was their 27th straight defeat in the league. That is an NBA record, and the franchise is scaringly close to reaching the all-time consecutive losses record of 28, currently held by the Philadelphia 76ers. With this record, the Pistons have almost no chance of making it to the playoffs for the consecutive third season since acquiring Cade Cunningham, something which JJ Redick predicted on his podcast in 2021.
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On his Old Man and the Three, Redick claimed that he was certain Cunningham was not going to get to the Playoffs with the Pistons. However, the then 19-year-old said that Redick was crazy for thinking such a thing. Cunningham was sure of making it to the playoff, and he even made a ‘bet’ about it.
“You crazy. You crazy. I ain’t going for that. We making the playoffs for sure. That’s a bet. We are going to come back to this,” he said.
Redick seemed to be taken aback by the confidence and negotiated with his claim. He then suggested that Cunningham’s Pistons would get knocked out in the first round of the Playoffs, which the youngster seemed more comfortable with.
The Oklahoma State graduate even claimed he would be willing to return to the show, once he made the Playoffs with the Pistons.
“Put me back on, and we will talk about this. I wanna make the Playoffs. I wanna be in that race real soon,” Cunningham said.
Cunningham’s first two seasons resulted in 14th and 15th-placed finishes for the Detroit Pistons. This time around, they have had the worst imaginable start to an NBA season, and are again firmly lodged at 15th in the East with a 2-28 record.
While the young roster has threatened to improve in recent games, the win has still eluded them. Against the Nets, the Pistons started strongly before reverting to familiar patterns. Cade Cunningham was responsible for a one-man onslaught in the second half, getting 37 of his 41 points from the game during the two quarters. He finished with 15-21 from the field and was once again seemingly asked too much to do.
The loss will be especially heartbreaking considering the kind of ambitions Cunningham initially harboured with respect to the franchise.
Detroit Pistons are under threat of finishing with most losses in NBA Regular Season
The downfall of the Pistons might not even be directly related to Cade Cunningham. At just 22, he has been asked to lead a young roster out of a historic slump. The youngster himself is shooting at close to 50% and has 23 points and 7 assists per game.
The 41 points against the Nets was the second time in 5 games that he scored at least 40 points, but the rest of the roster has failed to respond, particularly the Pistons’ bench. With 28 losses already, the Pistons will be well on track to match some historic number of losses.
The current record is held by the Philadelphia 76ers, who finished with 73 and 72 losses in the 1972-73 and 2015-16 seasons, respectively, according to StatMuse. Hence, the Pistons’ slump might as well result in them claiming possibly one of the worst records that can be associated with an NBA franchise.
Regardless, the organization has other concerns as well. Fans had only recently been heard chanting at owner Tom Gores to sell the team. Only two losses away from tying the record for the most number of consecutive losses, the Pistons are also under threat of breaking the record for the fewest wins.
That one is currently held by the Charlotte Bobcats, who won a grand total of 7 games back in the 2011-12 season. (StatMuse) Even that number looks stellar when compared to the Pistons’ recent run.
