The best NBA regular-season teams that didn't win the title

The best NBA regular-season teams that didn’t win the title originally appeared on Basketball Network.

NBA teams play an 82-game regular season to determine the seedings for the playoffs. However, when the postseason comes, it’s back to square one as teams are matched up in a best-of-seven playoff series. The best regular-season teams get home-court advantage in the playoffs, but that does not guarantee winning a championship.

In the NBA’s history, nine teams that won at least 65 regular-season games, including six that had the best record in the league that season, failed to win the Larry O’Brien trophy.

We listed these teams below and wrote down their stories.

1. 2016 Golden State Warriors, 73-9

Fittingly, the best regular-season team in the history of the NBA is on top of this dubious list. Fresh off winning their first NBA championship in 2015, the Steph Curry-led Golden State Warriors shattered the Chicago Bulls’ record of 72 regular-season wins set in 1996. But while Michael Jordan’s Bulls won the chip that year, the Dubs did not, although they were that close.

During the regular season, Golden State shattered 25 NBA records and over ten franchise records en route to the first time an NBA team lost fewer than 10 games in an 82-game season. Steve Kerr was named Coach of the Year, while Curry won his second consecutive MVP award, becoming the first unanimous MVP in the league’s history.

After dropping only one game each in the first and second rounds of the playoffs, the 2016 Dubs struggled to beat Kevin Durant’s Oklahoma City Thunder team in a Western Conference Finals that went the full seven-game route. In the 2016 NBA Finals, they took a 3-1 series lead over the Cleveland Cavaliers, but LeBron James and Kyrie Irving had other plans as the Cavs became the first team to come back from a 1-3 deficit to win the NBA Finals.

2. 2016 San Antonio Spurs, 67-15

There were only two 60-win teams during the 2015-16 NBA season, and neither team won the NBA championship that campaign. The first was the 73-win Dubs, whom we talked about earlier. Impressively, the San Antonio Spurs also won 67 games that year, but because of Golden State’s record-breaking year, they were only the No.2 seed in the Western Conference.

With the addition of LaMarcus Aldridge and David West, the Spurs set the record for most wins in a single season and the best winning percentage in a season in franchise history. San Antonio also tied the record of the 1986 Boston Celtics with a 40-1 home record. The Spurs actually won its first 39 games at the AT&T Center before losing to the Warriors on April 10th.

San Antonio opened its postseason campaign on a strong note, sweeping the Memphis Grizzlies 4-0 in the first round of the playoffs. However, they were stunned by the KD-led Thunder 2-4 in the conference semifinals. That early exit made them the first team since the 2007 Dallas Mavericks, who were upset by the “We Believe” Warriors, to win 67 regular season games and not advance to at least the conference finals.

3. 2007 Dallas Mavericks, 67-15

The Dallas Mavericks entered the 2006-07 campaign, coming off the best season in their then-26-year history. In 2005-06, the Mavs posted a 60-22 regular-season record, advanced to the NBA Finals for the first time ever and took a 2-0 series lead before losing the next four games in an epic collapse. Dallas looked like a team on a mission in 2007, as they won a franchise-best 67 regular-season games and were the top seed in the entire playoffs.

German superstar Dirk Nowitzki finally won the NBA MVP award after finishing third in the MVP voting in each of the previous two seasons. With forward Josh Howard earning the first and only All-Star Game selection of his NBA career, the Mavs were easily the best team in the NBA during the regular season.

Unfortunately, the Mavericks were shocked in the first round of the playoffs by the 8th-seeded Golden State Warriors. The “We Believe” Dubs became the first 8th seed to beat a No.1 seed in a best-of-seven playoff series. Overall, the 2006-07 Mavs were the third first seed to be eliminated in the first round, after the 1994 Seattle SuperSonics and the 1999 Miami Heat.

4. 2009 Cleveland Cavaliers, 66-16

After LeBron James led the Cleveland Cavaliers to the 2007 NBA Finals, they had a down year in 2007-08 with just 45 regular-season wins and a first-round playoff exit. The following campaign, LeBron was back and better. The Cavs posted a 66-16 regular-season record, which was not only the best in the league that year but also shattered their franchise record of 57 wins.

That year was the coronation of the king as James won his first MVP award after finishing in the Top 5 in the previous three years. LeBron had a very dominant year in 2008-09 as he was named to the All-NBA and All-Defensive first teams while finishing second behind Dwight Howard in the Defensive Player of the Year balloting.

The Cavs were dominant to start the 2009 NBA Playoffs as they swept the Detroit Pistons in the first round, ending their impressive run of six consecutive appearances in the Eastern Conference Finals. In the second round, LeBron and co. also blanked the Joe Johnson-led Atlanta Hawks 4-0. Unfortunately, the Cavs were beaten 2-4 by the Orlando Magic in the 2009 Eastern Conference Finals, in a loss that LeBron regretted because he failed to do his part in setting up a Finals showdown with Kobe Bryant.

5. 2018 Houston Rockets, 65-17

The Houston Rockets‘ 2017-18 NBA season began with the acquisition of point god Chris Paul from the L.A. Clippers in a blockbuster trade that shook up the entire league. Houston gave up seven players, one first-round pick and cash considerations to pair CP3 with emerging superstar James Harden.

Harden signed a four-year $160 million extension with Houston a month after the Paul trade. He rewarded the Rockets with his first 30-point season and the first of three years where he led the NBA in scoring. With a dominant scoring year, The Beard won the 2018 NBA MVP award after finishing as the bridesmaid to former Oklahoma City Thunder teammate Russell Westbrook in 2017. Meanwhile, the Rockets finished with the best record in the NBA for the first time ever.

With their deadly backcourt tandem, the Rockets easily dispatched the Minnesota Timberwolves and Utah Jazz in the first two rounds of the 2018 NBA playoffs. They faced the defending champions Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference Finals and had them on the ropes by taking a 3-2 series lead. However, Paul suffered a hamstring injury in Game 5 and the Rockets missed 27 consecutive 3-point shots in Game 7 as the Warriors won the series’ last two games.

6. 2025 Cleveland Cavaliers, 64-18

The latest team on the list is the 2025 Cleveland Cavaliers, who opened the 2024-25 NBA campaign with 15 consecutive wins under first-year head coach Kenny Atkinson. This makes them only the fourth team in league history to open a regular season with 15 straight victories. The Cavs had another long winning streak in March, when they set a new franchise record with 16 consecutive victories.

Those two long winning streaks would propel Cleveland to its best non-LeBron season ever, 64-18, and its first division title without King James on the roster. It also marked the first time Cleveland earned the top seed in the Eastern Conference without Bron’s help.

Cleveland began the 2025 postseason with a dominant display against the 8th-seeded Miami Heat, sweeping them in the most lopsided series in NBA playoffs history with an aggregate winning margin of 122 points, including 55 in Game 4. But shockingly, they lost the first two games of the second round at home against the Indiana Pacers. They never recovered and were eliminated 1-4.

7. 2022 Phoenix Suns, 64-18

The 2021-22 Phoenix Suns are another team on this list that was coming off an NBA Finals appearance the previous season. Phoenix won the first two games of the 2021 NBA Finals vs. Milwaukee but lost the next four games in a disappointing finish. With a chip on their shoulder, the Suns attempted to return to the NBA Finals for a second straight season.

It looked like they were going to do that after they won 64 regular season games, surpassing their previous franchise mark of 62 victories. Phoenix also clinched the top seed in the Western Conference for the first time since 2005 while also annexing the Pacific Division title. Devin Booker had the best season of his NBA career with 26.8 points per game while cracking the All-NBA First Team and finishing fourth in the MVP voting.

Phoenix defeated the New Orleans Pelicans in six games in the opening round of the 2022 NBA playoffs. However, they were upset by Luka Doncic and the 4th-seeded Dallas Mavericks in the second round, making them the third 64-win team in NBA history not to advance to the conference finals.

8. 2006 Detroit Pistons, 64-18

Again, the 2006 Detroit Pistons were another team that had just lost in the NBA Finals the previous season, with the Pistons losing in Game 7 to the San Antonio Spurs in the 2005 NBA Finals. After winning 54 in 2004-05, they won a franchise-best 64 games in 2005-06. Detroit won the Central Division titles and finished with the No.1 record in the Eastern Conference.

The Pistons had four All-Stars that season — Rip Hamilton, Ben Wallace, Rasheed Wallace, and Chauncey Billups. Hamilton led the team in scoring with a career-high 20.1 points per game, while Ben Wallace was named the league’s Defensive Player of the Year.

In the playoffs, the Pistons needed five games to defeat the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round. They had trouble against a 21-year-old LeBron in the second round and needed all seven games in the series to eliminate the young James and his Cavs. Playing in their fourth straight Eastern Conference Finals, the Pistons lost to a Miami Heat team led by Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O’Neal, which eventually won the 2006 NBA title.

9. 1997 Utah Jazz, 64-18

The 1996-97 season was the year the Utah Jazz changed their logo from the musical note to the purple mountains. It was also the year they made the first of two NBA Finals appearances during the Karl Malone and John Stockton era. The Jazz posted two 15-game winning streaks that year and finished the regular season with a 31-4 record, winning 19 out of their last 20 games.

Karl Malone won his first MVP award that season, although many felt that Michael Jordan should have taken home the trophy. Malone edged out Jordan 985-957 in the media voting, the closest race since 1990 when Magic beat Charles Barkley by 22 points. Meanwhile, it marked the first time in a decade when Stockton did not lead the NBA in assists.

Utah dropped only three total games in the first three rounds of the playoffs. However, they ran into Michael Jordan’s rampaging Bulls in the championship series. Stockton and Malone gave it their all, but it wasn’t enough to stop MJ’s team from winning a fifth NBA championship.

Aside from these nine squads, there are nine more NBA teams that won 62 to 64 regular-season games but did not go all the way to winning an NBA championship. Generally, regular-season success correlates with playoff success. But as these teams proved, regular-season win totals matter very little in the postseason.

This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jun 19, 2025, where it first appeared.

The best NBA regular-season teams that didn’t win the title

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