Break down the best starts to a season in NBA history

On November 15, 2024By Littum

Flying out of the gate to begin an NBA season is no easy feat.

Basketball is a sport that discourages maintaining momentum for long periods of time—a sport that demands MLB patience from fans with NFL impatience. There will be frustrating back-to-backs and no-shows against lesser opponents. October’s winners will not be November’s winners; more often than not, none of June will win.

Sometimes, though, a team gets just the right amount of fire to make it through the early season stretch unscathed. That’s what’s happening with the Cleveland Cavaliers right now, placing them in rare NBA company.

Here’s a look at the 10 best starts in NBA history.

LENGTH (GAME)	TEAM	PLAYOFF RESULTS
24	2016 Warriors	Lost 4–3 to the Cavaliers in the NBA Finals
15	1949 Capitols	Lost 4–2 to the Lakers in the BAA Finals
15	1994 rockets	Won 4-3 over the Knicks in the NBA Finals
14	1958 Celtics	Lost 4-2 to the Hawks in the NBA Finals
14	2003 Mavericks	Lost 4–2 to the Spurs in the Western Conference Finals
13	2025 Cavaliers	TBD
12	1983 SuperSonics	Lost 2–0 to the Trail Blazers in the Western Conference first round
12	1997 Bulls	Won 4–2 over Jazz in NBA Finals
11	1965 Celtics	Won 4-1 over the Lakers in the NBA Finals
11	Trail Blazers from 1991	Lost 4–2 to the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals
11	1998 Hawks	Lost 3-1 to the Hornets in the Eastern Conference first round
11	1998 Lakers	Lost 4–0 to the Jazz in the Western Conference Finals

1. Golden State Warriors 2016

In 2016, the Golden State Warriors started the season by ripping off 24 straight wins en route to a 73-9 regular season. Their first loss came on December 12, 2015, in prime time against the Milwaukee Bucks – whose fans boldly printed up t-shirts in anticipation of the occasion.

As Cavaliers fans reading this article undoubtedly know, the Warriors went on to lose the NBA Finals to Cleveland in seven games.

T-2. Washington Capitol in 1949

Washington DC’s long-forgotten original NBA team. The Washington Capitols played their home games at Uline Arena, which still stands as an office complex in the city’s NoMa neighborhood. Their coach was Red Auerbach, 31.

The Capitols’ 15-0 run was nearly halted two games into the season when Washington survived a three-overtime thriller against the Providence Steamrollers on Nov. 4, 1948. The team’s first loss came at the Indianapolis Jets on Dec. 7.

T-2. Houston Rockets from 1994

This is the longest streak to begin a season by a team that ended up winning the NBA title. The one overtime game the Houston Rockets played during their run came against the Utah Jazz, who they would go on to beat in the Western Conference Finals. The Rockets’ streak ended on December 3, 1993 at the hands of the Atlanta Hawks.

Ironically, despite their hot start, Houston finished the second seed in the Western Conference at 58-24. The first seed, the 63-19 Seattle SuperSonics, were upset by the Denver Nuggets in the first round.

Where do the Cleveland Cavaliers rank?

At 13-0, the Cavaliers are two games away from tying the Capitols and Rockets. They should beat the Chicago Bulls Friday and Charlotte Hornets Sunday in a pair of winnable games before a dramatic meeting with the Boston Celtics on Tuesday.

If we want to look far, far ahead – inappropriately far – Cleveland could theoretically tie Golden State’s mark on Dec. 7 against the Hornets and break it on Dec. 8 against the Miami Heat.