Records for the NBA All-Time Longest Losing Streak

There have been many bad teams in the NBA but some of them took losing to another level and their losing streaks seemed endless. Some teams have suffered within one season but many have taken their talents, or more precisely the lack of it, into the next year.

The reasons for these streaks are many, bad roster, the rebuilding process, injuries, tanking. Anyway, there have been 7 teams that have lost 23 or more consecutive games in the history of the NBA and these are their stories.

1. Philadelphia 76ers – 28 games (2014-15; 2015-16)

These were the bad days of the Sixers trusting their process. Philadelphia ended up the 2014-15 season with 10 consecutive losses but that series went on into the next season. They had a 0-18 start of 2015-16, matching the record for the worst start of a season and setting a new one for most consecutive losses to 28.

However, on the first day of December, Kobe Bryant came to his hometown to play his last game there. The Sixers fans were very excited to say goodbye to the legend, but they witnessed their team winning for the first time since March 27^th that year. The Sixers however win the sport at the top spot on our NBA All-Time Longest Losing Streak list.

2. Cleveland Cavaliers – 26 games (2010-11)

After LeBron James’ famous decision to take his talents to South Beach, the Cleveland Cavaliers started the next season heartbroken and with a mess of a roster. During that season they had a 26-game losing streak which in that time was the worst streak ever. Luckily they beat the Knicks in an overtime game in mid-December, otherwise, they would connect 37 losses. Antawn Jamison was the team’s top scorer with 18 points per game.

3. Philadelphia 76ers – 26 games (2013-14)

This was right before the time the Sixers fans were told to trust the process. The team didn’t win a single game between January 31^st and March 29^th and finished the season with a 19-63 record. The Bucks were even worse with 15-67. The only positive thing for the Sixers that season was Michael Carter-Williams winning the Rookie of the Year award.

4. Cleveland Cavaliers – 24 games (1981-82; 1982-83)

The Cavaliers lost their last 19 games of the 1981-82 season. They employed 23 players and four coaches that season. They began the 1982-83 season with five straight losses before finally ended the streak at 24 games with a 132-120 overtime victory over the Golden State Warriors.

5. Vancouver Grizzlies – 23 games (1995-96)

The 1995–96 NBA season was the Grizzlies’ first season in the league. In the Expansion Draft, the team selected veteran players like Greg Anthony, Blue Edwards, and Byron Scott but things didn’t go well. During the second half of the season, they went on a dreadful 23-game losing streak and finished their inaugural season with an NBA worst record of 15 wins and 67 losses.

6. Denver Nuggets – 23 games (1997-98)

LaPhonso Ellis was the only player left on the team from the squad that made one of the biggest upsets in the Playoff history defeating the top-seeded Seattle Supersonics in the 1993-94 season. Since that point, things went downfall for the Nuggets and they soon reached rock bottom starting the 1997-98 season with a 2-38 record including 23 consecutive losses.

7. Charlotte Bobcats – 23 games (2011-12)

In a shortened season due to the lockout, the 7-56 record gave the Bobcats the lowest winning percentage in NBA history – .106%. They won the first game of the season, then went 6-56, including a 23 game losing streak.

NBA All-Time Longest Losing Streak