Best Starts in NBA History Through 20 Games

This page ranks the best starts in NBA history through exactly 20 regular-season games. Every team to open a season with a record of 17-3 or better is included.

The table also includes each team's point differential through its first 20 games, final regular-season record and postseason result. This makes it possible to compare not only how teams started, but how those historic seasons ultimately ended.

The 2015-16 Warriors remain alone at 20-0. Four teams have reached 19-1 through 20 games: the 1969-70 New York Knicks, 1990-91 Portland Trail Blazers, 1993-94 Houston Rockets and 2025-26 Oklahoma City Thunder.

Only five teams have reached the 20-game mark with one loss or fewer. Golden State stands alone at 20-0, while New York, Portland, Houston and Oklahoma City each reached 19-1.

The 1969-70 Knicks and 1993-94 Rockets converted their 19-1 starts into NBA championships. Portland reached the Western Conference Finals in 1991, while Oklahoma City reached the Western Conference Finals in 2026.

Win-loss record tells only part of the story. Point differential shows how decisively a team performed during those first 20 games.

The 2025-26 Oklahoma City Thunder produced a +317 point differential through 20 games, the largest figure on this list. That narrowly surpassed the 2015-16 Warriors' +308 and the 1969-70 Knicks' +303.

That makes Oklahoma City's 2025-26 opening especially unusual: the Thunder lost one of their first 20 games, but actually outscored opponents by more total points over those 20 games than the undefeated 2015-16 Warriors did.

2015-16 Golden State Warriors: Golden State owns the best 20-game start in NBA history at 20-0. The Warriors continued winning until reaching 24-0 and eventually finished 73-9, setting the NBA single-season record for victories. Their season ended with a seven-game loss to Cleveland in the NBA Finals.

2025-26 Oklahoma City Thunder: Oklahoma City became the newest team to reach 19-1 through its first 20 games. The Thunder also posted the best 20-game point differential on this list at +317. Oklahoma City finished the regular season 64-18 before reaching the Western Conference Finals.

1969-70 New York Knicks: New York opened 19-1 with a +303 point differential through 20 games. The Knicks finished 60-22 and defeated the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals.

1990-91 Portland Trail Blazers: Portland's 19-1 start helped propel the Trail Blazers to an NBA-best 63-19 record. Their season ended against the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals.

1993-94 Houston Rockets: Houston opened the season with 15 consecutive victories and stood 19-1 after 20 games. The Rockets eventually defeated the New York Knicks in seven games to win the first NBA championship in franchise history.

1993-94 Seattle SuperSonics: Seattle started 18-2 and finished 63-19, but the season ended with one of the most famous first-round upsets in league history when the eighth-seeded Denver Nuggets eliminated the top-seeded SuperSonics.

1966-67 Philadelphia 76ers: Philadelphia started 18-2 and ultimately finished 68-13. Led by Wilt Chamberlain, the 76ers ended Boston's championship run and won the NBA title.

1949-50 Syracuse Nationals: The Nationals' 18-2 start is one of the earliest entries on the list. Syracuse finished 51-13 and reached the NBA Finals before losing to the Minneapolis Lakers.

1948-49 Washington Capitols: Washington's 18-2 opening came during the final season of the BAA before the formation of the NBA. The Capitols reached the BAA Finals before losing to Minneapolis.

1995-96 Chicago Bulls: Chicago was 18-2 through 20 games and ultimately finished 72-10. That stood as the NBA's single-season wins record until Golden State won 73 games in 2015-16. Chicago completed its season by winning the NBA championship.

17-3 teams: A 17-3 start has occurred much more frequently than 18-2 or better, but the group contains some of the greatest teams in NBA history, including the 1970-71 Bucks, 1971-72 Lakers, 1982-83 76ers, 1991-92 Bulls, 2008-09 Lakers and 2016-17 Warriors.

The record column represents each team's win-loss record after exactly its first 20 regular-season games. Preseason and postseason games are not included.

PD stands for point differential and represents the number of points by which the team outscored its opponents during those first 20 games.

Teams with identical records are ordered by point differential. Historical team names are retained for the season in which the record occurred, including the Syracuse Nationals, Washington Capitols and Seattle SuperSonics.

The final record and final result columns show what happened after the team's historic opening, allowing the early-season performance to be compared with its eventual regular-season and playoff results.