The New Jersey Nets were pummeled into the record books Wednesday night after their 117-101 loss to the Dallas Mavericks, marking not only their worst franchise start, but the crappiest beginning to a season for any NBA team, ever.

They passed the 1989 Miami Heat and 1999 Los Angeles Clippers, who both managed to lose their first 17 games. New Jersey may be off to the worst start in the history of professional basketball, but the most unacceptable streak belongs to the Memphis Grizzlies and Denver Nuggets, who both failed to win in 23 consecutive games.

It’s not like very many folks were in attendance to witness Kiki Vandeweghe’s team fail miserably once again. There were however, two guys sitting courtside donning Santa Claus hat-covered paper bags that read “0-18″ over their faces. They hung out into the fourth quarter while most everyone else dipped out early.

Will the Nets end this embarrassing streak this Friday at home against the 7-10 Charlotte Bobcats? Probably not, but we’ll be back with the odds for you to ponder later on this evening.