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List of all-time NBA win–loss records

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Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs, the team with the best all-time regular season win–loss record percentage in the NBA.

The National Basketball Association (NBA) was founded in 1946 and began operations as the Basketball Association of America (BAA). Following the BAA's merger with the National Basketball League (NBL), the BAA rebranded as the NBA. The 1949–50 NBA season marked the first season following the merger.

The NBA has kept a record of its win–loss statistics since its inception. These records include wins and losses recorded during a team's playing time in the Basketball Association of America (BAA).[a] Defunct BAA/NBA franchises are also accounted for, provided that they played at least one season in the BAA or NBA.[a] The records do not count wins and losses recorded by a team's playing time in the American Basketball Association (ABA), despite the 1976 ABA–NBA merger.[2]

The San Antonio Spurs have the highest win–loss record percentage, with 2,261–1,442 (.611).[3] The Minnesota Timberwolves have the lowest win–loss record percentage, with 1,049–1,581 (.399).[3] The Boston Celtics have recorded the most wins, with 3,514, the tied most chamionships with the Los Angeles Lakers, and the third winningest record with a .590 winning percentage

the Sacramento Kings have recorded the most losses with 3,187.[3] The Boston Celtics lead the association with the most played games, with 5,950.[3] Conversely, the Pelicans have played the fewest overall games, with 1,604.[3] Of teams established after the ABA–NBA merger, only the Dallas Mavericks and Miami Heat have a winning regular season record; the Heat are also the lone team founded post-merger to maintain a winning playoff record.

After the regular season, 12 teams (the top 6 seeds per conference) automatically clinch a playoff berth. Meanwhile, the 7th through 10th seeds in both conferences enter in a Play-in Tournament to determine both conferences' final two playoff seeds. Through the end of the 2022 Play-In Tournament, the Memphis Grizzlies have played the most Play-in games (3) and are tied with the Atlanta Hawks and New Orleans Pelicans for most Play-in wins (2). Five different teams have recorded the most Play-in losses (2), and have the lowest win–loss percentage with 0–2 (.000). Seven different teams are tied for the highest Play-in winning percentage (1.000), though only the Hawks and Pelicans have achieved that winning percentage with more than 1 Play-in game played.

As of the end of the 2022 NBA Finals, the Los Angeles Lakers have the most post-season games played (761), wins (456), and losses (305), as well as the highest post-season winning percentage with 456–305 (.599) of any NBA team.[4] The Minnesota Timberwolves have the fewest post-season wins (20) and the lowest post-season winning percentage with 20–38 (.345).[5] The New Orleans Pelicans have the fewest post-season games played (55).[6]

Active franchises

Regular season

Larry Bird, a notable player for the Boston Celtics, the team with the most recorded wins in NBA history.
Kevin Garnett dunking during his tenure with Minnesota Timberwolves, the team with the lowest all-time win–loss record percentage in NBA history.
Best win–loss record in division
Rank Team GP Won Lost Pct. First NBA season Division Notes
1 San Antonio Spurs 3,703 2,261 1,442 .611 1976–77 Southwest
2 Los Angeles Lakers 5,840 3,460 2,380 .592 1948–49 Pacific [b]
3 Boston Celtics 5,950 3,513 2,437 .590 1946–47 Atlantic
4 Utah Jazz 3,868 2,109 1,759 .545 1974–75 Northwest [c]
5 Phoenix Suns 4,361 2,335 2,026 .535 1968–69

Pacific

6 Portland Trail Blazers 4,198 2,238 1,960 .533 1970–71 Northwest
7 Oklahoma City Thunder 4,442 2,373 2,069 .534 1967–68 Northwest [d]
8 Miami Heat 2,721 1,431 1,290 .526 1988–89 Southeast
9 Milwaukee Bucks 4,361 2,282 2,079 .523 1968–69 Central
10 Philadelphia 76ers 5,777 3,000 2,777 .519 1949–50 Atlantic [e]
11 Houston Rockets 4,442 2,306 2,136 .519 1967–68 Southeast [f]
12 Chicago Bulls 4,516 2,304 2,212 .511 1966–67

Central

13 Dallas Mavericks 3,379 1,709 1,670 .506 1980–81 Southwest
14 Indiana Pacers 3,704 1,848 1,856 .499 1976–77 Central
15 Denver Nuggets 3,705 1,844 1,861 .498 1976–77 Northwest
16 Atlanta Hawks 5,773 2,850 2,923 .494 1949–50 Southeast [g]
17 Golden State Warriors 5,939 2,879 3,060 .485 1946–47 Pacific [h]
18 New York Knicks 5,941 2,877 3,064 .484 1946–47 Atlantic
19 Toronto Raptors 2,146 1,030 1,116 .480 1995–96 Atlantic
20 Detroit Pistons 5,834 2,796 3,038 .479 1948–49 Central [i]
21 Orlando Magic 2,639 1,234 1,405 .468 1989–90 Southwest
22 Cleveland Cavaliers 4,189 1,933 2,256 .461 1970–71 Central
23 New Orleans Pelicans 1,604 740 864 .461 2002–03 Southwest [j]
24 Sacramento Kings 5,841 2,654 3,187 .454 1948–49 Pacific [k]
25 Washington Wizards 4,923 2,222 2,701 .451 1961–62 Southwest
26 Charlotte Hornets 2,549 1,126 1,423 .442 1988–89 Southwest [j]
27 Memphis Grizzlies 2,147 920 1,227 .429 1995–96 Southwest [l]
28 Brooklyn Nets 3,704 1,577 2,127 .426 1976–77 Atlantic [m]
29 Los Angeles Clippers 4,196 1,748 2,448 .417 1970–71 Pacific [n]
30 Minnesota Timberwolves 2,630 1,049 1,581 .399 1989–90 Northwest
This list is accurate through the end of the 2021–22 NBA season.[9]

Play-in Tournament

Damian Lillard led the Portland Trail Blazers to the first Play-in tournament victory in NBA history.[10]

The NBA introduced a Play-in Tournament in the 2019–20 NBA season to compensate for the suspension of the regular season and a difference in the amount of games played between teams, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. For the 2019–20 season, if a conference's 9th seed was within 4 games of the 8th seed in the standings, a play-in scenario between the two seeds would be triggered.[11] The 8th seed would need to win one game, while the 9th seed would need to win two in the matchup.[11] Ultimately, the Western Conference's Portland Trail Blazers and Memphis Grizzlies would face off in a Play-in game.[11]

The future of the Play-in Tournament was then explored, with many reports concurring that it would indeed become a permanent fixture in the NBA.[12][13] Due to the success of the Play-in tournament and the COVID-19 pandemic persisting into the NBA's 2020–21 season, the league installed a Play-in tournament involving both conference's 7th- through 10th-placed teams in the regular season standings.[14][15] The format of the Play-in tournament involves the 7th-place team playing the 8th-place team with the winner clinching the 7th seed in the playoffs. The 9th-place team plays the 10th-place team with the loser being eliminated from playoff contention. The loser of the 7th-8th matchup will then play the winner of the 9th-10th matchup, with the winner clinching the 8th seed and the loser being eliminated.[16]

Best win–loss record in division
Team active in Play-in
Rank Team GP Won Lost Pct. App. Division
1
(tie)		 Atlanta Hawks 2 2 0 1.000 1 Southeast
New Orleans Pelicans 2 2 0 1.000 1 Southwest
Boston Celtics 1 1 0 1.000 1 Atlantic
Brooklyn Nets 1 1 0 1.000 1 Atlantic
Los Angeles Lakers 1 1 0 1.000 1 Pacific
Minnesota Timberwolves 1 1 0 1.000 1 Northwest
Portland Trail Blazers 1 1 0 1.000 1 Pacific
8 Memphis Grizzlies 3 2 1 .667 2 Southwest
9
(tie)		 Indiana Pacers 2 1 1 .500 1 Central
Washington Wizards 2 1 1 .500 1 Southeast
11
(tie)		 Cleveland Cavaliers 2 0 2 .000 1 Central
Charlotte Hornets 2 0 2 .000 2 Southeast
Golden State Warriors 2 0 2 .000 1 Pacific
Los Angeles Clippers 2 0 2 .000 1 Pacific
San Antonio Spurs 2 0 2 .000 2 Southwest
This list is accurate through the end of the 2022 Play-in Tournament.

Playoffs

Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers, who have recorded both the highest postseason win–loss percentage, and the most postseason wins in NBA history.
Best win–loss record in division
Most recent champion
Team active in play-in
Qualified for most recent playoffs
Team in playoff drought
Rank Team GP Won Lost Pct. Last playoff
appearance		 Titles Division
1 Los Angeles Lakers 761 456 305 .599 2021 17 Pacific
2 Boston Celtics 699 396 303 .567 2022 17 Atlantic
3 Miami Heat 267 149 118 .558 2022 3 Southeast
4 Golden State Warriors 371 206 165 .555 2022 7 Pacific
5 San Antonio Spurs 403 222 181 .551 2019 5 Southwest
6 Cleveland Cavaliers 229 125 104 .546 2018 1 Central
7 Chicago Bulls 349 187 162 .536 2022 6 Central
8 Philadelphia 76ers 471 241 230 .512 2022 3 Atlantic
9 Detroit Pistons 370 188 182 .508 2019 3 Central
10 Phoenix Suns 309 154 155 .498 2022 0 Pacific
11 Oklahoma City Thunder 331 164 167 .495 2020 1 Northwest
12 Milwaukee Bucks 301 149 152 .495 2022 2 Central
13 New York Knicks 380 187 193 .492 2021 2 Atlantic
14 Houston Rockets 322 158 164 .491 2020 2 Southwest
15 Indiana Pacers 241 115 126 .477 2020 0 Central
16 Toronto Raptors 123 57 66 .463 2022 1 Atlantic
17 Dallas Mavericks 227 105 122 .463 2022 1 Southwest
18 Utah Jazz 292 135 157 .462 2022 0 Northwest
19 Los Angeles Clippers 142 63 79 .444 2021 0 Pacific
20 Orlando Magic 133 59 74 .444 2020 0 Southeast
21 Portland Trail Blazers 274 119 155 .434 2021 1 Northwest
22 Atlanta Hawks 384 166 218 .432 2022 1 Southeast
23 Sacramento Kings 187 80 107 .428 2006 1 Pacific
24 Brooklyn Nets 167 70 97 .419 2022 0 Atlantic
25 Washington Wizards 237 99 138 .418 2021 1 Southeast
26 New Orleans Pelicans 55 22 33 .400 2022 0 Southwest
27 Memphis Grizzlies 92 36 56 .391 2022 0 Southwest
28 Denver Nuggets 210 82 128 .390 2022 0 Northwest
29 Charlotte Hornets 63 23 40 .365 2016 0 Southeast
30 Minnesota Timberwolves 58 20 38 .345 2022 0 Northwest
This list is accurate through the end of the 2022 NBA Conference Finals game played on May 21, 2022.

Defunct franchises

17 BAA/NBA franchises are now defunct, although only 15 played games.[3] Amongst defunct franchises, the Chicago Stags have the highest win–loss record percentage, with .612. The Denver Nuggets have the lowest win–loss record percentage, with .177. The Baltimore Bullets have the most games played (450), wins (158), and losses (292) for a defunct NBA franchise. The Cleveland Rebels, Detroit Falcons, Indianapolis Jets, Pittsburgh Ironmen, and Toronto Huskies are all tied for fewest games played (60).

Only teams that recorded playing time in the BAA/NBA are included, as the NBA does not recap NBL statistics nor does it officially count ABA statistics.

Regular season

Rank Team GP Won Lost Pct. First BAA/
NBA season		 Last BAA/
NBA season
1 Chicago Stags 237 145 92 .612 1946–47 1949–50
2 Washington Capitols 271 157 114 .579 1946–47 1950–51
3 Anderson Packers 64 37 27 .578 1949–50
4 Cleveland Rebels[o] 60 30 30 .500 1946–47
5 St. Louis Bombers 237 122 115 .515 1946–47 1949–50
6 Indianapolis Olympians 269 132 137 .491 1949–50 1952–53
7 Toronto Huskies[o] 60 22 38 .367 1946–47
8 Sheboygan Red Skins 62 22 40 .355 1949–50
9 Baltimore Bullets[p] 450 158 292 .351 1947–48 1954–55
10 Detroit Falcons[o] 60 20 40 .333 1946–47
11 Waterloo Hawks 62 19 43 .306 1949–50
12 Indianapolis Jets[o] 60 18 42 .300 1948–49
13 Providence Steamrollers[o] 168 46 122 .274 1946–47 1948–49
14 Pittsburgh Ironmen[o] 60 15 45 .250 1946–47
15 Denver Nuggets[q] 62 11 51 .177 1949–50

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b BAA win–loss records are included, as the NBA claims the BAA's history as its own. For example, at NBA History online its table of one-line "NBA Season Recaps" begins 1946–47 without comment. NBL statistics are not included, as unlike with BAA statistics prior to the BAA-NBL merger, the NBA has not included NBL statistics when recapping their history.[1]
  2. ^ The Lakers played in Minneapolis from 1948–1960.
  3. ^ The Utah Jazz played in New Orleans from 1974–1979.
  4. ^ The Thunder played as the Seattle SuperSonics from 1967–2008.
  5. ^ The 76ers played as the Syracuse Nationals from 1949–1963.
  6. ^ The Rockets played in San Diego from 1967–1971.
  7. ^ The Hawks began their NBA play in 1949 as the Tri-Cities Blackhawks, before relocating and rebranding as the Milwaukee Hawks in 1951, and then again to St. Louis in 1955, before settling as the Atlanta Hawks in 1968.
  8. ^ The Warriors played in Philadelphia Warriors from 1946–1962, before relocating to San Francisco in 1962. They would rebrand as the Golden State Warriors to begin the 1971–72 season.
  9. ^ The Pistons played in Fort Wayne from 1948–1957.
  10. ^ a b The New Orleans Pelicans began play as the New Orleans Hornets in the 2002–03 NBA season, due to the original Charlotte Hornets (which began play in the 1988–89 NBA season) relocating to New Orleans. The city of Charlotte was then awarded the 30th NBA franchise, dubbed the Charlotte Bobcats, which began play in the 2004–05 NBA season. The New Orleans Hornets rebranded as the New Orleans Pelicans, with the 2013–14 NBA season being their first under the Pelicans name. The Bobcats then rebranded as the Charlotte Hornets, first playing under the Hornets name in 2014.[7] This second incarnation of Charlotte Hornets retained statistics and records of the original Charlotte Hornets franchise which played from the 1988–89 NBA season to the 2001–02 NBA season, as well as the statistics and records accumulated while playing as the Bobcats.[8] Meanwhile, the New Orleans Pelicans franchise was retroactively regarded as a 2002–03 season expansion franchise, maintaining the statistics and records accumulated from that season onwards, including during their temporary tenure as the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets from 2005–2007.
  11. ^ Predating the NBA, the Kings played their first NBA season in 1948–49 as the Rochester Royals, before relocating to Cincinnati where they played from 1957–1972. They then relocated, playing as the Kansas City–Omaha Kings from 1972–1975 and as the Kansas City Kings from 1975–1985. Finally, the franchise settled in Sacramento in 1985.
  12. ^ The Grizzlies played in Vancouver from 1995–2001.
  13. ^ Originally an ABA team, the Nets played their first NBA season as the New York Nets from 1976–77, before relocating to New Jersey in 1977. They moved back to New York and rebranded as the Brooklyn Nets in 2012.
  14. ^ The Clippers played as the Buffalo Braves from 1970–1978, before rebranding as the Clippers and relocating to San Diego, where they played from 1978–1984. They once again relocated to Los Angeles in 1984.
  15. ^ a b c d e f This team folded prior to the BAA–NBL merger and therefore its history occurred entirely prior to the BAA becoming the NBA.
  16. ^ This team's history and records are not affiliated with the current day Washington Wizards who played as the Baltimore Bullets from 1963–64 to 1972–73.
  17. ^ This team's history and records are not affiliated with the current day Denver Nuggets team.

References

  1. ^ "NBA Season Recaps". National Basketball Association. July 17, 2013. Archived from the original on July 17, 2013. Retrieved March 2, 2015.
  2. ^ Aschburner, Steve (September 5, 2013). "We All Count Numbers But Do All Numbers Count?". Hang Time Blog. National Basketball Association. Retrieved April 26, 2015.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "NBA & ABA Team Index". Basketball-Reference. Sports-Reference. Retrieved April 26, 2015.
  4. ^ "NBA Teams: Los Angeles Lakers Records Year by Year". landofbasketball.com. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
  5. ^ "NBA Teams: Minnesota Timberwolves Records Year by Year". landofbasketball.com. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
  6. ^ "NBA Teams: New Orleans Pelicans Records Year by Year". landofbasketball.com. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
  7. ^ Windhorst, Brian (July 19, 2013). "Charlotte Hornets back in 2014-15". ESPN. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
  8. ^ Feldman, Dan (May 20, 2014). "Charlotte Hornets assume historical records from New [Orleans] Pelicans". ProBasketballTalk. NBC Sports. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
  9. ^ "All-Time Team Records" (PDF). 2019–20 Official NBA Guide. NBA Properties, Inc. October 17, 2019. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
  10. ^ Stein, Marc (August 15, 2020). "Damian Lillard Gets Help Moving Portland Out of the Yacht Club". The New York Times. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
  11. ^ a b c "Everything you need to know about Trail Blazers play-in game(s) vs. Memphis Grizzlies". NBC Sports. August 13, 2020. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
  12. ^ Wimbish, Jasmyn (April 27, 2021). "NBA wants to adopt postseason play-in tournament permanently, per report". CBS Sports. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
  13. ^ Feldman, Dan (April 26, 2021). "Report: NBA expected to permanently adopt play-in tournaments". NBC Sports. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
  14. ^ "NBA 2020-21 season explainer: Schedule, COVID-19 protocols, playoff format and big questions". ESPN. December 6, 2020. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
  15. ^ "How does the NBA play-in tournament work? Dates, projections and rules explained". ESPN. May 17, 2021. Retrieved May 17, 2021. Since there is a chance for teams to finish with an uneven number of games played because of COVID-19 complications, the NBA will use winning percentage to determine the standings.
  16. ^ "FAQ: NBA Play-In Tournament". National Basketball Association. May 17, 2021. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
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