Five NBA teams started 8-2 and three started 1-9, the most teams at both extremes after 10 games in 12 seasons

Boston’s 117-97 win in Milwaukee on Sunday did two things at once. It put the Celtics at 8-2 and dropped the Bucks to 1-9. Utah lost 115-100 at Minnesota and Sacramento lost 114-108 to Miami on the same night, so the Jazz and Kings are 1-9 as well.

That leaves five teams that won at least eight of their first 10 games, the Celtics, 76ers, Lakers, Thunder and Spurs, and three that won one. Eight teams at those two extremes after 10 games is the most in any of the last 12 seasons. The previous high was seven, in 2015-16 and again in 2025-26.

GOOD NIGHT 😄 pic.twitter.com/7CFMmYD6hS

— Boston Celtics (@celtics) November 9, 2026

The numbers that stand out

• Five teams went 8-2 or better through 10 games. That ties 2023-24 and 2024-25 for the most since 2014-15
• Three teams went 1-9. That ties 2015-16 and 2025-26 for the most in the same span, and no season had both five at the top and three at the bottom
• The top five were a combined 40-10 through 10 games and outscored opponents by 395 points. The bottom three were 3-27 and were outscored by 382
• Against the bottom four, counting the 1-8 Bulls, the top five are 13-0 and have won by an average of 15.7 points
• Of 37 teams that started 8-2 or better from 2014-15 through 2025-26, 36 finished at .500 or better and 31 won at least 50 games per 82
• Of 15 teams that started 1-9 or worse in that span, none won more than 36 games, and the group averaged 22.6 wins per 82

The top five and the bottom three

Philadelphia and the Lakers have since won an 11th game, but every team below is measured through its first 10. Boston and San Antonio have the best margins of the group. Philadelphia’s plus-28 is the softest, and would be the second-softest of the 38 8-2 starts in the sample, behind the 2024-25 Suns at plus-21.

Team	First 10 games	Margin, first 10	Record now
Celtics	8-2	+107	8-2
Spurs	8-2	+103	8-2
Thunder	8-2	+80	8-2
Lakers	8-2	+77	9-2
76ers	8-2	+28	9-2
Jazz	1-9	-117	1-9
Bucks	1-9	-132	1-9
Kings	1-9	-133	1-9

Each of the three 1-9 teams has a single win. Milwaukee beat Indiana 110-102, Utah beat New Orleans 120-119 and Sacramento beat Dallas 115-100. The Bucks have lost six straight since that win, with Giannis Antetokounmpo now in Miami, where he had 29 points and 14 rebounds in Sunday’s win at Sacramento.

Chicago is 1-8 and is being outscored by 16.7 points a game, the worst margin in the league. Its only win came against Milwaukee. The Bulls host San Antonio on Wednesday, and a loss would make them the fourth team at 1-9. No season in the sample had four.

How the split compares

Season	8-2 or better	1-9 or worse	Total
2014-15	4	2	6
2015-16	4	3	7
2016-17	4	2	6
2017-18	1	1	2
2018-19	4	1	5
2019-20	2	0	2
2020-21	0	0	0
2021-22	2	2	4
2022-23	2	1	3
2023-24	5	0	5
2024-25	5	0	5
2025-26	4	3	7
2026-27	5	3	8

The two groups have gone very different ways. The 8-2 starters averaged 56.4 wins per 82 games, with the 2015-16 Warriors at 73 and the 2024-25 Thunder at 68 at the top. The only one to finish below .500 was the 2024-25 Suns, who went 36-46 after starting 8-2 with a plus-21 margin.

The 1-9 starters averaged 22.6 wins per 82. The best finish belonged to the 2021-22 Pelicans, who went 36-46 and got into the playoffs through the play-in tournament. The 76ers of 2014-15 and 2015-16 both started 0-10.

What to watch

The Lakers visit Atlanta and the Spurs play at Phoenix on Monday. San Antonio then goes to Chicago on Wednesday. Records, margins and league standings are on the WhyNBA standings and stats pages.