LeBron James is long gone, but the Cleveland Cavaliers are once again looking like an NBA championship contender. The Cavs moved to 10-0 on the young season after blasting the Golden State Warriors on Friday night in a showdown of former rivals who have reinvented themselves to become elite once again. Cleveland is now the 14th team in league history to start a season with ten straight wins, and nothing about it feels like a fluke.
The Cavs moved to 11-0 after beating the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday night. Cleveland moved to 12-0 after beating the Chicago Bulls on the road on Monday night.
The Cavs won 99 games over the previous two regular seasons, but were done in quickly in the playoffs because of scoring troubles. Cleveland didn’t make any big roster changes over the offseason, but replaced head coach JB Bickerstaff with Kenny Atkinson. So far, Atkinson is getting better results (and better health) out of the same group.
The Cavs are No. 1 in offensive efficiency with a scorching 122.7 points per 100 possessions. The defense is No. 8 in the league by forcing turnovers, protecting the rim with a twin-towers front court, and cleaning the defensive glass. Cleveland only ranks No. 16 in three-point rate (percentage of field goal attempts coming from three) but when they shoot, they don’t miss. The Cavs’ 42.7 percent three-point percentage is the best in the NBA by a mile.
The last time an NBA team opened the season 10-0 was the 2015-2016 Golden State Warriors that went on to win a record 73 games before falling to James’ Cavs in the NBA Finals. Of the 13 teams to ever begin a season with 10 straight wins, 10 of them have reached at least the conference finals, and three of them became NBA champions.
Here’s the full list of the longest undefeated starts in NBA history.
The longest undefeated starts in NBA history, now including the Cavs
- 2015-16 Warriors: 24-0 (lost in Finals)
- 1993-94 Rockets: 15-0 (NBA champions)
- 2002-03 Mavericks: 14-0 (lost in conference finals)
- 1957-58 Celtics: 14-0 (lost Finals)
- 1996-97 Bulls: 12-0 (NBA champions)
- 1982-83 SuperSonics: 12-0 (lost in first round)
- 2024-25 Cavaliers: 12-0 (active)
- 1997-98 Lakers: 11-0 (lost in conference finals)
- 1997-98 Hawks: 11-0 (lost in first round)
- 1990-91 Trail Blazers: 11-0 (lost in conference finals)
- 1964-65 Celtics: 11-0 (NBA champions)
- 2000-01 76ers: 10-0 (lost in Finals)
- 1993-94 SuperSonics: 10-0 (lost in first round)
- 1972-73 Celtics: 10-0 (lost in conference finals)
What does the Cavs’ upcoming schedule looking like?
How long can Cleveland’s season-opening winning streak go? There are a lot of winnable games on the upcoming schedule. Here are the Cavs’ next opponents:
- Nov. 13 @ Philadelphia 76ers
- Nov. 15 vs. Chicago Bulls
- Nov. 17 vs Charlotte Hornets
- Nov. 19 @ Boston Celtics
- Nov. 20 vs. New Orleans Pelicans
- Nov. 24 vs. Toronto Raptors
Are the Cavs actually a championship contender?
If I was re-ranking the NBA right now, I’d put Cleveland as the third or fourth best team in the league behind the reigning champion Celtics and the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Phoenix Suns also deserve to be included in Cleveland’s tier, and I would have put the Warriors there before they got blown out by the Cavs.
Cleveland has four All-Star caliber players in the starting lineup who are now playing together for the third straight season. Donovan Mitchell is Cleveland’s leading man, but his minutes and scoring production are both down this year as the Cavs move to a more egalitarian system. His backcourt mate Darius Garland looks phenomenal after struggling last season with a broken jaw. Garland is shooting the cover off the ball (48 percent from three on 7.5 attempts per game), and also gives the Cavs another gifted ball handler and playmaker.
The concern for the Mitchell/Garland backcourt has always been its size issues in playoff matchups. It remains to be seen how that will play out, but having two gifted 7-footers behind them sure is nice.
Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley are a rare twin-towers look in today’s NBA. Allen is a classic rim roller/rim protector at center who finishes plays on both ends. Mobley is taking a big leap in his fourth pro season as a more versatile offensive player, and that’s helping Cleveland’s offense go. Mobley is getting more on-ball reps to start this season, and looks more comfortable playing through contact. The former No. 3 overall pick has always been extremely talented, and now he’s finally going from prospect to player on the offensive end. Cleveland really could have three All-Stars this year.
The Cavs’ role players deserve praise, too. Caris LeVert and Ty Jerome have been unconscious from three. Isaac Okoro is a lockdown defender on the wing who looks more comfortable shooting from the outside so far. Dean Wade is a versatile forward on both ends, and Sam Merrill is a quick-trigger shooter who defenses need to pay full attention to.
The East still runs through the Celtics, but Cleveland looks like the obvious second-best team in the conference so far.
