Scheduled
Washington Wizards at Atlanta Hawks
2026-27 · Regular season · Emirates NBA Cup
Interactive: Plus-101 at 6-3 vs plus-52 at 8-1 — the season’s biggest record-vs-margin gap, step by step
Minnesota leads the NBA in point differential at plus-101 while sitting 6-3. Philadelphia owns the best record at 8-1 and sits eighth in margin at plus-52. Blowout wins, close losses and the 49-point gap after nine games.
In this article
Anthony Edwards and the Timberwolves lead the NBA at plus-101 through nine games while sitting 6-3. Photo by All-Pro Reels, resized.Interactive · Minnesota Timberwolves
Plus-101 at 6-3 vs plus-52 at 8-1: the season’s biggest record-vs-margin gap, step by step
Minnesota leads the NBA in point differential with six wins. Philadelphia owns the best record and sits eighth in margin. Blowout wins, close losses, soft 8-1 history and the 49-point gap after nine games each.
Anthony Edwards and the Timberwolves lead the NBA at plus-101 through nine games while sitting 6-3. Photo by All-Pro Reels, resized.Chapter 1
The 49-point gap
The Minnesota Timberwolves are 6-3 and lead the NBA in point differential at plus-101, or plus-11.2 points a game. The Philadelphia 76ers have the best record in the league at 8-1 and sit eighth in differential at plus-52. After nine games each, the gap between the best record and the best margin is 49 points.
Minnesota has scored 1,069 and allowed 968. Philadelphia has scored 999 and allowed 947. Same sample size. Very different shapes.
+0Timberwolves point differential (6-3)
+076ers point differential (8-1)
0gap between No. 1 record and No. 1 margin
NBA point differential leaders after Nov. 5
Anthony Edwards with the Timberwolves in Washington, Dec. 1, 2021. Photo by All-Pro Reels, resized.Chapter 2
Four blowouts to open
Minnesota opened with four straight wins by 22, 23, 25 and 26 points over Miami, the Clippers, Orlando and Toronto. Those four nights alone deposited 96 points of differential. The Timberwolves own four victories by 20 or more — the most in the league — and their six wins average a margin of 19.7.
0-0record after the Toronto win
+0margin across the first four wins
+0average margin in six wins
Opening four win margins
- Wins by 22, 23, 25 and 26 built a plus-96 cushion before any loss.
- Minnesota led the league in margin with a perfect record.
- No other club has four 20-point wins through this sample.
Jaden McDaniels brings the ball up during the Timberwolves loss in San Antonio on Oct. 31, 2026. Photo by Minnesota Timberwolves, resized.Chapter 3
Three close losses, then a rebound
Then came three losses in a row: by 2 at Cleveland, by 5 to Golden State and by 10 at San Antonio — a combined minus-17. The Timberwolves answered with a 12-point home win over Milwaukee and a 10-point win at Houston on Wednesday, Nov. 4, pushing the season margin back above plus-100.
That pattern — huge wins, close losses — is why a 6-3 team owns the league’s best differential.
-0combined margin of the three-loss skid
0points in the Cleveland loss
+0margin at Houston that restored +101
Minnesota scoring margin by stretch
- Lost by 2 on the road.
- Lost by 5 at home as Golden State’s streak grew.
- Lost 121-111, the largest of the three dips.
- Wins by 12 and 10 restored plus-101.
Anfernee Simons during the 76ers win at Indiana on Oct. 28, 2026. Photo by Philadelphia 76ers, resized.Chapter 4
Philadelphia’s opposite path
Philadelphia’s path has been the opposite: wins by 5, 5, 5, 6, 6, 8, 11 and 19, and one loss by 13 to Detroit. The eight wins average 8.1 points, and five of them were decided by six points or fewer. Best record in the league. Eighth in margin.
0-176ers record (league best)
+0average margin in eight wins
0wins decided by six points or fewer
76ers win margins this season
“Nine games are a small sample, but the record-versus-margin split is already past every recent parallel.”— WhyNBA Staff, on the 6-3 vs 8-1 gap
Tyrese Maxey of the 76ers during a game in April 2026. Photo by Chensiyuan, resized.Chapter 5
Softest 8-1s and plus-100 clubs
No team in the game logs from 2014-15 through 2025-26 reached plus-100 after nine games with only six wins. All 17 prior plus-100 starts had at least seven wins. Those clubs averaged a plus-6.1 margin and a .675 winning percentage over the rest of the season; all 17 finished at .500 or better.
Among exact 8-1 starts in that span, the median differential sat at plus-90. Philadelphia’s plus-52 ranks as the third-softest. The two softer 8-1s were Phoenix in 2024-25 at plus-30 (finished 36-46) and Memphis in 2014-15 at plus-44 (finished 55-27).
0prior plus-100 starts after nine games
0wins for Minnesota — first plus-100 club with six
+0median differential of exact 8-1 starts
Selected plus-100 starts after nine games
Chris Finch after the Timberwolves loss to the Spurs, Oct. 31, 2026. Photo by Minnesota Timberwolves, resized.Chapter 6
Scoring rates and what’s next
Four teams are outscoring opponents by at least 10 points a game: Minnesota at plus-11.2, Portland at plus-11.1, Memphis at plus-10.8 and Houston at plus-10.3. Philadelphia’s offensive rating is 107.6 points per 100 possessions, below the league average of 109.9, while the defense sits at 102.0.
Minnesota plays at New Orleans on Friday in an NBA Cup group game. Philadelphia visits Cleveland in another Cup game, still carrying the league’s best record and a margin that has not matched it.
+0Timberwolves points per game differential
+076ers points per game differential
0Minnesota points for per game
Per-game scoring (selected)
- Timberwolves at Pelicans (NBA Cup).
- 76ers at Cavaliers (NBA Cup).
- Whether Minnesota keeps the margin crown as Philadelphia chases more wins.
A 6-3 club sitting atop the league in margin while an 8-1 club sits eighth is the early-season story the standings alone miss. Minnesota’s blowouts built the cushion; Philadelphia’s close wins built the record. Nine games are thin — but the 49-point gap is already historic.
Join the discussion
0 commentsTalk basketball. Keep it respectful. You can use a name or stay Anonymous. Comments publish immediately.
Be the first to start the conversation.