What is the best start in NBA history? Cleveland Cavaliers remain undefeated originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Talk about a perfect start.
With the 2024 NBA regular season nearly three weeks old, the Cleveland Cavaliers remain undefeated, having won their first 12 games. Their latest victory came Monday with a 119-113 road win over the Chicago Bulls, making them just the eighth team in league history to start a season 12-0.
Of the seven previous teams to do so, five went on to advance to the NBA Finals that season, with two winning the championship, per NBA.com.
Impressive as the Cavs’ start has been, they are still only halfway to matching the league’s record for most consecutive victories to open a season.
Here’s a look back at the NBA’s best unbeaten starts.
What’s the best start in an NBA season?
It didn’t seem like the 2015-2016 Golden State Warriors would ever lose.
They won their first 24 games of the regular season, breaking the previous record of 15-0 starts set by the 1993-1994 Houston Rockets and 1948-1949 Washington Capitols.
How many NBA teams have started 11-0?
Here are the best starts to a season in NBA history, per Land of Basketball:
-
24-0 — Golden State Warriors, 2015-2016 (lost in Finals)
-
15-0 — Houston Rockets, 1993-1994 (won championship)
-
15-0 — Washington Capitols, 1948-1949 (Lost in Finals)
-
14-0 — Dallas Mavericks, 2002-2003 (Lost in conference finals)
-
14-0 — Boston Celtics, 1957-1958 (lost in Finals)
-
12-0 — Cleveland Cavaliers, 2024-2025 (TBD)
-
12-0 — Chicago Bulls, 1996-1997 (won championship)
-
12-0 — Seattle SuperSonics, 1982-1983 (lost in first round)
-
11-0 — Atlanta Hawks, 1997-1998 (lost in first round)
-
11-0 — Los Angeles Lakers, 1997-1998 (lost in conference finals)
-
11-0 — Portland Trail Blazers, 1990-1991 (lost in conference finals)
-
11-0 — Boston Celtics, 1964-1965 (won championship)
-
10-0 — Philadelphia 76ers, 2000-2001 (lost in Finals)
-
10-0 — Seattle SuperSonics, 1993-1994 (lost in first round)
-
10-0 — Boston Celtics, 1972-1973 (lost in conference finals)
What is the best record in NBA history?
The 2015-2016 Warriors also went on to set an NBA record for wins in a season, finishing 73-9. That topped the previous record of 72-10 set by the 1996-1997 Chicago Bulls.
Unlike the Bulls, however, the Warriors did not win the championship. They surrendered a 3-1 series led in the NBA Finals to LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers and lost in seven games.
What is the longest winning streak in NBA history?
The 1971-1972 Los Angeles Lakers hold the record for longest winning streak in NBA history at 33 games. Jerry West and Wilt Chamberlain guided the team to a 69-13 finish and an NBA championship.
The 2012-2013 Miami Heat came closest to reaching the record, winning 27 straight games during their championship season.
The only other NBA teams to win 20 or more straight games in a single season are the 2015-2016 Golden State Warriors (24 games), the 2007-2008 Houston Rockets (22 games) and the 1970-1971 Milwaukee Bucks (20 games).
