The Boston Celtics enter this season because the NBA champions. And someday this season, the Celtics would possibly take excessive spot on one other league checklist.
Within the NBA’s all-time won-lost standings, amongst energetic franchises, the San Antonio Spurs enter this season with one of the best report. However the Celtics have a path to passing the Spurs for the highest spot within the coming months.
San Antonio’s successful proportion: .596. Boston’s successful proportion: .594.
Let’s assume San Antonio goes 41-41 this season. If that occurs, Boston would want to go solely 47-35 to leap the Spurs within the all-time standings.
The Los Angeles Lakers enter the season third amongst all-time groups with a .591 successful proportion, which means in addition they have a mathematical probability of attending to the No. 1 or No. 2 spot this season.
In some order, the Spurs, Celtics and Lakers will in all probability be the highest three groups for some time. Utah enters this season fourth on the all-time checklist with a .540 successful proportion.
The Spurs have ended every of the final 10 seasons — 2014-15 by means of 2023-24 — because the chief in successful proportion amongst energetic NBA groups.
Boston hasn’t ended a season atop the all-time standings since 1996-97. The Lakers took over the next yr and held that spot for 17 seasons, earlier than San Antonio climbed to No. 1.
Group milestones looming
Among the many workforce regular-season milestones which are inside attain this season:
— New York (26 wins shy) and Golden State (31 wins shy) are each closing in on 3,000 all-time victories. Solely Boston, the Lakers and Philadelphia have gotten to that mark.
— Indiana wants 45 or extra wins this season to get again to the .500 mark all-time. The Pacers enter this yr 1,930-1,938 (so, in the event that they ever get eight over .500 this season, they’d be at .500 all-time).
— Denver is 46 wins from 2,000.
— Memphis is 2 wins from 1,000.
— Detroit will play its 6,000th sport on Friday in Cleveland, its second sport of this season.
Jordan, Wilt inside Luka’s attain
Dallas’ Luka Doncic averaged 33.9 factors in 70 video games final season. That pushed his profession common as much as 28.7 per sport, third-best in NBA historical past.
He would possibly transfer nearer to the highest spots this season.
If Doncic duplicates his numbers from final season once more in 2024-25, he’ll inch nearer to No. 1 Michael Jordan (30.12 per sport) and No. 2 Wilt Chamberlain (30.07 per sport).
And if he stays ultimately season’s tempo, he’ll move Jordan and Chamberlain for one of the best scoring common someday within the 2026-27 season.
KD, 30K
Kevin Durant of the Phoenix Suns is closing in on 30,000 factors in his profession, needing 1,076 factors to succeed in the milestone. He can be the eighth participant in NBA historical past to get there.
And he can be essentially the most environment friendly 30,000-point scorer ever.
Durant enters this season averaging 1.46 factors per shot try, which is healthier than every of the seven gamers forward of him on the all-time scoring checklist — LeBron James, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Dirk Nowitzki and Wilt Chamberlain.
His true capturing proportion (the superior stat that measures capturing effectivity) of 61.9% is nicely forward of the seven gamers forward of him as nicely.
Glad twentieth, CP3
Chris Paul is getting into his first season with the San Antonio Spurs and twentieth season total. LeBron James will tie Vince Carter for the most-seasons-played mark with 22, and Paul will develop into the eleventh participant in NBA historical past with not less than 20 seasons.
“It’s surreal, really,” Paul mentioned. “It is an unbelievable blessing. … I imply, a number of my teammates are head coaches now. So, I’m grateful to not solely nonetheless be taking part in, however taking part in at a excessive stage. It is enjoyable.”
Paul is No. 3 on the all-time assists and steals checklist. He is inside attain of Jason Kidd, No. 2 on each these lists. Kidd retired with 12,091 assists and a couple of,684 steals; Paul enters this season with 11,894 assists and a couple of,614 steals.
Teaching milestones
Miami’s Erik Spoelstra is getting into his seventeenth season as coach of the Warmth, the third-longest consecutive tenure with one workforce in NBA historical past behind solely San Antonio’s Gregg Popovich (getting into his twenty ninth yr) and Jerry Sloan (who spent 23 seasons with Utah).
Spoelstra is passing Purple Auerbach, who coached Boston for 16 seasons.
Amongst different milestones in play this yr:
— Milwaukee’s Doc Rivers is 41 wins away from tying Phil Jackson (1,155) for No. 7 on the all-time checklist.
— Indiana’s Rick Carlisle’s first win this season shall be his 944th, tying Invoice Fitch for eleventh all-time.
— Carlisle and Rivers are scheduled to have 4 conferences this season, which might push their whole to 92 head-to-head video games, together with playoffs. That may be the seventh-most by coaches in NBA historical past. Gene Shue and Purple Holzman confronted off 109 occasions, Rick Adelman and Sloan 104, Auerbach and Alex Hannum 100, Don Nelson and Sloan 98, Shue and Jack Ramsay 97, and Auerbach and Al Cervi 95.
— Spoelstra is 10 wins behind No. 18 Nate McMillan (760) and 34 wins behind No. 17 Shue (784).
— Phoenix’s Mike Budenholzer is 16 wins from 500.
— Popovich, the all-time wins chief, is 12 away from 1,400.
Talking of Pop …
There have been 350 head coaches all-time getting into this season, in keeping with Sportradar. Popovich has coached in opposition to 170 of them — almost half the checklist — and is about so as to add not less than three extra to his all-time teaching opponent matchup membership this season.
He’ll face the Lakers’ JJ Redick for the primary time (as a coach, anyway; Redick performed 29 regular-season video games and 7 playoff video games in opposition to Popovich’s Spurs) on Nov. 15. Popovich’s first sport in opposition to new Brooklyn coach Jordi Fernandez is a highway contest on Dec. 27, and he’ll go up in opposition to new Charlotte coach Charles Lee for the primary time on Feb. 7.
Transferring on up
A take a look at some gamers who may transfer up the all-time lists this season:
— James Harden, Los Angeles Clippers: He begins twentieth at 25,885 factors and he’s in all probability going to climb shortly towards the highest 10. With simply 826 factors this season, he would move No. 19 Kevin Garnett, No. 18 John Havlicek, No. 17 Paul Pierce, No. 16 Tim Duncan, No. 14 Dominique Wilkins and No. 13 Oscar Robertson. Harden can be 33 3-pointers away from No. 2 Ray Allen (2,973) on the all-time checklist.
— Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors: The all-time 3-point king is 1,332 factors from 25,000 for his profession. He can be the tenth participant to attain that many factors with only one franchise.
— DeMar DeRozan, Sacramento Kings: He’s 1,418 factors away from 25,000.
— Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks: The perennial MVP candidate wants 1,498 factors to hit the 20,000 mark.
— Klay Thompson, Dallas Mavericks: He wants 19 3-pointers for two,500 in his profession.
Who’s No. 1? It at all times modifications.
Within the Western Convention, good luck guessing which workforce will find yourself because the No. 1 seed within the playoffs.
That is unprecedented within the present playoff format: There have been seven totally different No. 1 seeds within the final seven seasons. Houston had that spot in 2018, Golden State in 2019, the Lakers in 2020, Utah in 2021, Phoenix in 2022, Denver in 2023 and Oklahoma Metropolis this previous season.
Westbrook 1 away from 200
Denver’s Russell Westbrook is one triple-double away from 200 in his regular-season profession. However to place how uncommon his triple-double report — he has 69 greater than new Nuggets teammate Nikola Jokic, the MVP in three of the final 4 seasons — is, contemplate these, nicely, nuggets.
— He has greater than each different NBA workforce does besides the Lakers (211). The Nuggets have 198 for No. 2 on the checklist.
— Westbrook has extra triple-doubles than gamers with Charlotte, Orlando, Atlanta, New York, Memphis and Utah have posted mixed (190).