DETROIT (WWJ) - The Detroit Pistons are inching closer to setting a new NBA record on Tuesday night as they take on the Brooklyn Nets -- but it's not a record any team wants to be remembered for.
Detroit has fallen in 26 straight games and is currently tied with 2010's Cleveland Cavaliers and 2013's Philadelphia 76ers for the most consecutive losses in the league.
And if they they lose tonight against Brooklyn, it will mark the 27th straight loss for the Pistons and set a new record for futility.
"Everybody feels down when you lose this many in a row," Head coach Monty Williams said. " You have to allow people to be human..."
"The message is you got to stay with it. You got to keep fighting," Williams continued. "All of our young guys got to keep growing and losing is awful in this league and we've had a lot of it."
Despite not winning a single game since Oct. 28. -- and in between their own fans chanting "sell the team" -- Williams praised his players, crediting them with continuing to battle game after game.
"The way that they come back the next day is something," Williams said. "I've been around a lot of teams and not many teams have that type of resilience."
The Pistons tied for the record after the Nets edged out Detroit 126 to 115 on Saturday, December 23rd. The Pistons will have a chance to end the losing streak on Tuesday when they play the same Brooklyn Nets team at Little Caesars Arena.
Center Isaiah Stewart expressed his disappointment after Saturday's loss, stating, "none of us went through this, ever. This is the hardest thing probably all of us went through, especially being in the pros."
The Pistons are now 2-27 in their first season under Williams, who was the NBA Coach of the Year in Phoenix in during the 2021-22.
While Williams shouldered the blame for the Pistons' most recent loss, critics have taken into consideration the average age of the team's roster, which is just under 25 years old, making the Pistons one of the youngest teams in the NBA.
As reported by ESPN, Nets forward Cam Johnson -- who played under Williams in Phoenix -- said he believed his former coach can mold a contenting team in Detroit -- but it's going to take time and it won't come easy.
"I told them, some of the young guys on the team after the game, that sometimes you got to lose before you can win," Johnson told ESPN. "Sometimes you got to fall before you crawl, walk before you can run."
Guard Cade Cunningham cut right to the heat of the issue on Saturday night, stating, "everybody wants to win, everybody hates losing."
"We've got to be realistic as well," Cunningham continued. "Can't just keep saying the same things over and over, like we'll get the next one. There has to be like a plan of action, so we're just trying to figure that out."
The Pistons and the Nets tip off Tuesday at 7 p.m. You can hear the game tonight on our sister station 97.1 The Ticket.