Short answer: The best start to an NBA season is widely regarded as the Golden State Warriors’ 24-0 start to the 2015-16 season, though other notable undefeated opens include the Houston Rockets (15-0 in 1993-94) and the 1948-49 Washington Capitols (15-0). The Cavaliers’ 15-0 start in 2024-25 also ranks among the top early-season streaks in league history. The all-time longest season-start winning streak is 33 games by the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers, which remains unchallenged. Details and context
- Historical top starts
- Golden State Warriors: 24-0 to begin the 2015-16 season, ultimately finishing 73-9 for the best regular-season record in NBA history. This undefeated stretch is often cited as the pinnacle of a start to a season [web results context].
- 1948-49 Washington Capitols: opened 15-0 under Red Auerbach, a record for the era that stood for decades [web results context].
- 2002-03 Dallas Mavericks and 1957-58 Boston Celtics both opened 14-0, among the best starts in their respective eras [web results context].
- Notable modern comparables
- 2024-25 Cavaliers: began 15-0, placing them among the best starts in recent history and among the top undefeated opens in modern NBA, though they did not surpass the all-time 24-0 mark set by the Warriors [web results context].
- Longest overall win streak to start a season
- The record for most consecutive wins to start a season is 24-0 (Warriors, 2015-16) after 30 games; the overall longest win streak in any context is 33 consecutive wins by the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers, which is a separate metric from the season-start record but often discussed together in debates about great starts [web results context].
If you want, I can pull the exact official game-by-game start records and provide a short ranked list with dates and records for the top starts across different eras.
