10 longest losing streaks in NBA history

T-6: 1997-98 Nuggets: 23 games

The Nuggets were far out of the playoff race in 1996-97, posting a 21-61 record. During the offseason, they made a couple of big moves.

The Nuggets traded promising big man Antonio McDyess to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for three first-round picks and two second-round picks. McDyess was the second overall pick in the 1995 NBA Draft and averaged 18.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks in the prior season.

Secondly, they acquired 25-year-old small forward Eric Williams from the Boston Celtics. Williams was coming off a season, in which he averaged 15.0 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.0 steals.

Williams got off to a nice start. Over his first four games, he averaged a career-high 19.8 points per game. Unfortunately, he then suffered a season-ending knee injury.

The Nuggets struggled in his absence. They clearly missed the scoring ability of McDyess, as well. From December to January, the team lost 23 games in a row. On January 24th, they broke the streak with a 99-81 win over the Clippers. Guard Anthony Goldwire came off the bench and scored a game-high 20 points. It was one of only six times that Goldwire scored 20+ points in his eight-year NBA career.