On Friday, the Washington Wizards welcome the Charlotte Hornets to the Capital One Arena for the final game of a quick two-game homestand. After suffering a 119-109 loss to the Orlando Magic earlier in the week, the Wizards are spiraling on the longest losing streak in franchise history.
The 16 consecutive losses for the Wizards tied the record set 14 seasons ago when the team went winless for nearly a month. The 2009-10 Wizards came out of the All-Star break with wins in four of the seven games scheduled during the back half of February. However, an 89-85 victory over the New Jersey Nets on the final day of the month was followed by 16 losses in a row in March.
On March 31st, the Wizards traveled to New Orleans in the second half of back-to-back road games, dropping a matchup with the Houston Rockets the night before. The losses piled up over the month as injuries and outside distractions riddled the Wizards' locker room.
How did the 2010 Wizards lose 16 games in a row?
In the months preceding the losing streak, the Wizards lost Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton for the season due to suspensions handed down by NBA Commissioner David Stern. Their altercation caused a media storm to cloud over Flip Saunders' team, who finished the regular season with a 26-56 record.
Following the suspensions, the Wizards made some significant moves ahead of the trade deadline, shipping out core pieces of the 2000s Wizards, such as Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood, Antawn Jamison, and current Monumental Sports broadcaster Drew Gooden. The trades effectively tanked Washington's season as the team finished behind only New Jersey for the worst record in the Eastern Conference.
Josh Howard, Randy Foye, and Al Thornton each missed the streak-ending win due to injury. Howard had suffered a torn ACL just four games into his stint with the Wizards while Foye dealt with a wrist injury that would require surgery by season's end.