According to Sam Quinn of CBS Sports on Wednesday, the Detroit Pistons have fired head coach Monty Williams of Fredericksburg, Virginia. The firing is noteworthy because at the time of his hiring by the Pistons on June 2, 2023, he signed a six-year deal worth $78.5 million. Williams was the highest paid coach in the entire National Basketball Association, and will still be owed a staggering $65 million over the next five years doing absolutely nothing.
This could go down as the worst coaching contract not just in NBA history, but worldwide professional sports history. The Pistons were simply dreadful this past season, and did not progress whatsoever in their rebuilding. You could make the argument that they actually went a zillion times backwards with Williams as the head coach.
The Pistons were the worst team in the NBA with a record of 14 wins and 68 losses for a pitiful winning percentage of .171. It was also the worst record in Pistons franchise history. Detroit’s 14 wins were the fewest they have ever had in a single season.
Detroit also went through an historically bad stretch during the season. They actually went 28 straight games with a loss, which tied the 2015 Philadelphia 76ers record for the longest losing streak ever. Detroit was unable to win a game from October 30 to December 28. The 28th straight loss during the streak was memorable. That is because the eventual NBA Finals champion Boston Celtics were once trailing the Pistons by 21 points (66-45) with 15 seconds left in the first half, before the Celtics came back to win 128-122 in overtime on December 28.
For FREE!
