Longest losing streaks in U.S. sports history: Will Detroit Pistons break record for all pro leagues?

The Detroit Pistons have achieved infamy.

With a 118-112 loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday, the Pistons extended their losing streak to 27 straight games. That's now the longest single-season streak in NBA history, breaking a three-way tie with the 2010-11 Cleveland Cavaliers and the 2013-14 Process-era Philadelphia 76ers, which each lost 26 straight.

Up next: The all-time longest losing streak, regardless of season. They're only a loss away. With the Eastern Conference-leading Boston Celtics up next Thursday, all signs point to the Pistons etching their names further into the lore of losers.

A 28th consecutive loss would tie the Pistons for the longest losing streak of any kind in NBA history. After that, the record would be theirs alone.

Which inspired us to take a look at longest losers in U.S. sports history — the teams whose streaks have stood the test of time alongside wishes for their version of the 2023-24 Pistons to step up ... errr, down — and take the mantle. When the Pistons are done, they could very well surpass them all.

Up first: The team the Pistons look poised to replace.

Longest losing streaks in U.S. sports history

NBA: Philadelphia 76ers (2014-15 to 15-16 season), 28 games

The Process-era 76ers are among the greatest losers in the pantheon of sports. General manager Sam Hinkie built his team to lose, and boy, did it get the job done.

As previously noted, the 2013-14 76ers held the record for the longest single-season losing streak in league history until Tuesday night. They lost 26 straight en route to a 19-63 record that wasn't actually the league's worst. That honor belonged to the 15-67 Milwaukee Bucks. But it did net the 76ers the biggest prize of the Process when they drafted future MVP Joel Embiid third overall, behind Andrew Wiggins (Cavaliers) and Jabari Parker (Bucks).

Injuries sidelined Embiid for his first two NBA seasons and most of his third, meaning the Process was still in full effect. And from the end of the 2014-15 season through the start of the 2015-16 campaign, the 76ers lost like no others, piling up 28 defeats in a row. Those teams produced 18-64 and 10-72 records, the latter of which is the second worst of all-time. The 1972-73 76ers finished 9-73.

Unfortunately for the 76ers, that streak didn't produce dividends via the draft. Jahlil Okafor (No. 3 overall, 2015) was a bust. Ultimately, so was Ben Simmons (No. 1 overall, 2016). Near the conclusion of the 10-win campaign and just months before drafting Simmons, the 76ers parted with Hinkie. The post-Hinkie 76ers would go on to trade up with the rival Boston Celtics to select Markelle Fultz No. 1 overall in 2017 ahead of Jayson Tatum.

NFL: Chicago Cardinals (1942-45), 29 games

Finding the NFL's longest losers requires a trip in the wayback machine.

That dishonor belongs to the Chicago Cardinals, who lost 29 consecutive games over the course of four seasons, one of which (1944) saw them merge with the Pittsburgh Steelers because of a World War II-induced player shortage. Regardless of the team's makeup, these Cardinals were historically inept.

They produced two 0-10 seasons in 1943 and 1944. Those were bookended by a 3-8 campaign in 1942 and a 1-9 season in 1945. They lost their last six games of the 1942 season before the consecutive winless campaigns. Only a Week 4 win (16-7) over the crosstown rival Bears in 1945 stopped the streak from extending to 37 games and into the 1946 season.

The 1976-77 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (26 straight losses) and 2020-21 Jacksonville Jaguars (20 straight losses) have come closest to matching those Cardinals in the Super Bowl era.

MLB: Louisville Colonels (1889), 26 games

We're staying in the wayback machine for MLB's most notorious losing streak. That record belongs to the 1889 Louisville Colonels, who lost 26 straight games en route to a 27-111-2 finish. That was good for the worst record baseball that year, well behind the first iteration of the Washington Nationals, who finished with baseball's second-worst record at 41-83-3.

The losing streak spanned from an 11-2 loss to the Baltimore Orioles on May 22 to a 3-2 loss to the St. Louis Browns on June 22.

The Colonels scored the fewest runs in baseball with a 4.5 average. They also allowed the most with a generous 7.8 served up per game. Five different pitchers logged loss tallies in double digits. John Ewing lost 30 games (6-30) while posting a 4.87 ERA. Red Ehret lost 29 (10-29) with a 4.80 ERA. Guy Hecker posted the best win percentage (.278) among starters with a 5-13 record.

In the modern era, the 1961 Philadelphia Phillies come closest to the Colonels with a 23-game losing streak in 1961.

NHL: Pittsburgh Penguins (2003-04) and Buffalo Sabres (2020-21), 18 games

The Pittsburgh Penguins boast 36 seasons since 1984 with two of the greatest players in hockey history in Mario Lemieux and Sidney Crosby, a span that includes five Stanley Cup championships. But at the nexus of those two legends comes hockey ignominy.

With Lemieux sidelined all but 10 games of his penultimate NHL season, the Penguins put together the longest losing streak in NHL history. From Jan. 13 to Feb. 22 of the 2003-04 season, the Penguins lost 18 straight games. They picked up a single point in the standings during that stretch, thanks to forcing the St. Louis Blues to overtime on Feb. 14. Lemieux didn't play a game during the streak, having been sidelined since November with a season-ending hip injury.

There was a considerable silver lining to the Penguins' poor play that season that resulted in a 23-47-8-4 record. Pittsburgh selected seven-time All-Star Evegni Malkin with the No. 2 pick in the following draft. And thanks in part to the lockout-canceled 2004-05 season, the Penguins maintained premium lottery odds for the 2005 draft. They won that draft lottery, allowing them to select Crosby first overall. Crosby and Malkin went on to win three Stanley Cups together and remain teammates to this day.

The 2020-21 Buffalo Sabres went on to match Pittsburgh's streak with 18 straight losses from Feb. 25 to March 29 of that season. They scored a 6-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on March 31 to avoid claiming the record as their own. Their poor season also netted a No. 1 overall pick, which they used to select Owen Power.

WNBA: Tulsa Shock (2011), Indiana Fever (2022-23), 20 games

Like in the NHL, two WNBA teams share the longest losing streak in league history.

The 2011 Tulsa Shock lost 20 straight games from June 21 to Aug. 25. That's more than two months without a victory, which was extremely hard to come by in Tulsa. The Shock finished 3-31 that season for the worst winning percentage (.088) in league history.

Sadly for the Shock, their ineptitude didn't secure the No. 1 pick. Tulsa landed the fourth pick in the draft despite having the best odds in the lottery. The Los Angeles Sparks instead picked first overall and selected eight-time All-Star and 2016 MVP Nneka Ogwumike. The Shock took two-time All-Star Glory Johnson and ultimately left town to become the Dallas Wings four seasons later.

The Indiana Fever joined the Shock with their 20th straight loss in May of this year. That span included an 18-game losing streak at the end of the 2022 season that ended with a 5-31 record. The Fever were luckier than the Shock. They did secure the No. 1 pick, which they used to select consensus top prospect Aliyah Boston.

Sadly for Boston she's tied to the losing streak as part of the 2023 team that lost its first two games. But she'll be just fine. She went on to make the All-Star team and win Rookie of the Year honors unanimously. She has all the makings of a franchise cornerstone.