The Race To The Bottom: Pistons & Wizards Both At The Bottom Of The Standings

There are currently six teams in the NBA that have 40 or more wins as of March 5.

They are the teams that are struggling to reach double digits in wins.

The worst NBA team of the 2023-2024 season is coming down to the Washington Wizards and the Detroit Pistons, who are both an abysmal 9-52 as of writing. Both teams are on track to finish with among the worst win-loss records in NBA history. How did both teams get here? Here’s how:

Washington Wizards

Washington wasn’t too awful to start the season – they were 2-5 in early November, albeit those two wins came against a Grizzlies team trying to figure out how to play basketball without superstar Ja Morant, and a Hornets team that is not much better than the Wizards. However, the team lost nine straight games after that win over Charlotte, a preview of a season that featured numerous long losing streaks, including a 15-game streak that has yet to end as of writing.

Small forward Kyle Kuzma is having a successful individual season, averaging 22.2 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game. The offense as a whole is ranked 15th in scoring, with Jordan Poole and David Avdija aiding in scoring buckets. However, the Wizards rank last in the league in points allowed, letting up 124.7 points per game. Washington also allows 120.1 points per 100 possessions, and if that stat lingers for the rest of the season would be the highest number since 1996-1997. One can only imagine if the defense was middle-of-the-pack like the offense.

Detroit Pistons

What more can be said about the 2023-2024 Detroit Pistons? The team has been so pitiful there is a treasure trove of social media memes about them – to the point where after a while you simply feel bad for coach Monty Williams and his squad. The most infamous has to be the record-setting 28-game losing streak earlier in the season, which grabbed the interest of NBA fans, wondering when the team would halt the futility.

Even more incredible is that the Pistons were 2-1 to start the year, recording wins over the Chicago Bulls and Charlotte Hornets before starting the 28-game slide.

Point guard Cade Cunningham is a star and does his best to give the Pistons a fighting chance in every game, averaging 22.2 points, 4.1 rebounds and 7.4 assists. Small forward and veteran Bojan Bogdanovic is putting up great offensive performances as well, averaging 20.2 points per game. However, the Pistons offense ranks 27th in points scored per game and is a poor free-throw shooting team. They are slightly improved since the historic losing streak, winning three games apiece in both January and February to catch up to the Wizards in the Eastern Conference and overall standings.