Every NBA Team That Almost Went Undefeated
Three real seasons define “closest to undefeated” in NBA history — and they’re closest in two genuinely different ways.
2015-16 Golden State Warriors: 73-9, the best record ever
The Warriors’ 2015-16 regular season remains the single best in NBA history: 73 wins against just 9 losses, a .890 winning percentage. It broke a record that had stood for 20 years and remains, as of this writing, the only 73-win season the league has ever seen.
1995-96 Chicago Bulls: 72-10, the record before it
For two decades, the standard was the 1995-96 Bulls at 72-10 — Michael Jordan’s return season, and a team many still argue was the more complete roster of the two, even if its raw winning percentage sits just behind Golden State’s. Their 10th loss came on April 16, 1996, against the Miami Heat.
1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers: a different kind of record
The 1971-72 Lakers finished 69-13 — a clearly lower win total than either the Bulls or the Warriors — but they own a separate, arguably more remarkable record: a 33-game winning streak, still the longest in any of the four major North American professional sports leagues (NBA, NFL, MLB, or NHL), more than five decades later. It’s a reminder that “closest to undefeated” isn’t a single ranking — a historic streak and a historic full-season record measure two different kinds of dominance.
Why none of them finished the job
All three rosters are among the most talent-dense teams basketball has ever fielded, and all three still lost close to 10 games or more across a full season. That’s not a coincidence — it’s the direct result of how win probability compounds across a long schedule, even for a team that’s a heavy favorite most nights. Our companion piece on the real odds of going 82-0 walks through the actual math.
What these seasons have in common
Every one of these teams had the two traits that separate a great record from a merely good one: genuine two-way play (elite offense paired with elite defense, not just scoring) and real depth, so a single injury or an opponent’s hot shooting night couldn’t swing the whole season. That’s the same combination this site’s own game rewards through its chemistry and era-fit system — a lineup with real positional balance and no exploitable hole consistently outperforms one that’s simply stacked with individually great, redundant pieces.
See how close your own roster can get
82-0 simulates an era-accurate season for whatever five-player lineup you draft — including, if you land in the right decade, a shot at building something that plays like these historic teams did. Free, no account required.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best regular-season record in NBA history?+
The 2015-16 Golden State Warriors, at 73-9 — the only 73-win season in NBA history, breaking the record previously held by the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls.
What team held the record before the 2015-16 Warriors?+
The 1995-96 Chicago Bulls, who finished 72-10. That record stood for 20 years until Golden State broke it.
What is the longest winning streak in NBA history?+
33 consecutive games, set by the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers — still the longest winning streak in any of the four major North American professional sports leagues, not just the NBA.
Did the 1971-72 Lakers have the best record of the three teams?+
No — they finished 69-13, a lower win total than either the Bulls or Warriors. Their historical significance comes specifically from the 33-game streak, a different kind of record than best full-season winning percentage.
Has a shortened NBA season ever been closer to a perfect record?+
Shortened, lockout-affected, or otherwise irregular seasons exist in NBA history, but this guide focuses on full, standard-length regular seasons, since that's the fairest like-for-like comparison to a normal 82-game record.
Why has no team ever actually gone undefeated?+
Across 82 games, even a historically dominant team faces enough combined variance — back-to-backs, injuries, an opponent's one hot night, simple fatigue over six-plus months — that avoiding a single loss the entire way is a statistically enormous ask. See our companion piece on the actual odds for the full math.