‘Thank god’: Detroit Pistons finally snap record NBA losing streak

The Detroit Pistons can breathe a sigh of relief after they finally broke the longest losing streak in NBA history, but not without a nervous moment.

The Detroit Pistons ended their losing streak.

At long last, it’s over.

The Detroit Pistons have finally broken their 28-game losing streak with a nerve-racking 129-127 win over the Toronto Raptors on Sunday (AEDT).

Earlier this week, the Pistons had set the record for the longest losing streak in a season (27) before equalling Philadelphia’s 28-game skid that bridged the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons with a heartbreaking overtime loss to Boston.

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But Detroit is finally back in the winner’s column with their first win since October, ending a miserable run of form and ensuring they avoided another infamous milestone.

Young gun Cade Cunningham has starred in recent weeks and had 30 points and 12 assists to help recapture the winning feeling.

The Pistons led for most of the game before a three pointer from Toronto’s Gary Trent with a second remaining narrowed the deficit. But it was too late for a Raptors comeback.

The victory takes their season win-loss record to a dismal 3-29.

The Pistons finally ended their infamous losing streak. Photo: Gregory Shamus/Getty Images/AFP.

The only other team in North American pro sports history to have a worse losing streak than the 2023-24 Pistons are the Chicago Cardinals, an NFL franchise that now resides in Arizona.

The Cardinals had 29 straight losses across 1942-45.

Pistons head coach Monty Williams, who joined the team on a monster six year, AUD$114 million deal, said the scenes in the locker room after the win had been special.

“Guys were screaming, I was almost in tears. I’m just so happy for our guys, I’m happy for everybody in the locker room,” he said.

“I’ve been in a ton of locker rooms my whole life and that’s a first for me to have that kind of, it wasn’t relief, it was just like, ‘Thank God, finally’,” added Williams.

Williams, the 2022 NBA Coach of the Year, said he hoped the win would prove to be a turning point for his team.

“Sometimes it just takes a win like that to get things started and I just have so much respect for our team.

The drought is over! Photo: Gregory Shamus/Getty Images/AFP.

“I think people may have thought that they were okay with losing. But they came in every day with a great spirit, and they wanted answers. They came in wanting to learn and try to get better.

“So I just respect the heck out of our guys. Really happy that we finally got a win because it’s so hard to win in this league,” he said.

DETROIT PISTONS FANS WE HAVE A NEW BANNER LET'S GOOOOOOOOOOOOO pic.twitter.com/v63HZsJAtN

— Kofie.bsky.social (@Kofie) December 31, 2023

Pistons are the scariest team in the nba right now. No one wants to play em now and be the team to end the losing streak.
Toronto with the trade just gone through looks a perfect spot for the pistons to end it today

— Dane Swan (@swandane) December 30, 2023

Pistons were up 10 with 45 seconds left and that was barely BARELY enough.

— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) December 31, 2023

The Pistons eventually had to win a game and the Raptors were ripe for the picking after they traded star wing and championship player OG Anunoby earlier in the day.

Anunoby and big man Precious Achiuwa were traded to the New York Knicks in exchange for Immanuel Quickley and RJ Barrett.

With AFP