With the victory at home of the Cleveland Cavaliers against the Philadelphia 76ers by 106-114, those from Ohio achieved a spectacular balance of 13-0 in the season, which surpasses the 12-0 of the Bulls of Michael Jordan and Scotty Pippen in the 96/97. Donovan Mitchell once again confirmed his good form with 23 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists.
The initial streak of 13 wins and zero losses achieved so far by Kenny Atkinson’s team becomes a milestone only surpassed by five franchises throughout the history of the NBA.
Those from Cleveland are one game away from equaling the 14-0 of two of them. One is the Boston Celtics of the 57-58 season, with figures in their ranks such as Bill Sharman, Bob Cousy, Tom Heinsohn, Bill Russell, Frank Ramsey and Lou Tsioropoulos. Those from Massachusetts lost in the NBA Finals against the Atlanta Hawks.
Another team with a 14-0 record is the Dallas Mavericks from the 2002/03 season, with names like Dirk Nowitzki, Tariq Abdul-Wahad, Raja Bell, Shawn Bradley, Evan Eschmeyer, Michael Finley and Raef LaFrentz. The Mavs lost in the NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs.
With a balance of 15-0 at the beginning of the campaign, we find two franchises again. In this case, one of them is the Washington Capitols of the 1948-49 season, who reached the playoffs to reach the NBA Finals, in which they lost to the Minneapolis Lakers. The main stars were Bob Feerick, Kleggie Hermsen, Sonny Hertzberg, Leo Katkaveck and Bones McKinney.
Also with a start of 15 wins and zero losses, we find the Houston Rockets of the 1993-94 season, who qualified for the playoffs in second place in the Eastern Conference, to finally be proclaimed NBA champions, with their victory in the Finals against the New York Knicks, achieving the first title in their history. They had players like Hakeem Olajuwon, Otis Thorpe, Vernon Maxwell, Robert Horry and Kenny Smith on their roster.
More recently, in the 2015/16 season, the Golden State Warriors went a brand new 24-0, the initial streak that tops the list. The main architects of the milestone were Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Harrison Barnes, Marreese Speights, Shaun Livingston and Andre Iguodala. Those from San Francisco lost in the Finals against LeBron James’ Cavaliers, despite leading the series to seven 3-1.
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