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Timberwolves lead the NBA at +101 while sitting 6-3, and the 8-1 76ers are only +52: the season’s biggest record-vs-margin gap
Minnesota is plus-101 through nine games with a 6-3 record, the only plus-100 start with six wins in 12 seasons of game logs. Philadelphia leads the league at 8-1 but sits eighth in differential at plus-52.
In this article
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. The gap between the best record and the best margin is 49 points after nine games for each club.
Minnesota’s wins have been blowouts. The Timberwolves have four victories by 20 or more points, the most in the league, and their six wins average a margin of 19.7. Their three losses have gone by 2, 5 and 10. Philadelphia’s eight wins average 8.1 points, and five of them were decided by six points or fewer:
Video: Timberwolves on X. Minnesota’s 117-107 win at Houston on Wednesday was its sixth of the season and pushed the season differential to plus-101.
The numbers that stand out
- Minnesota is plus-101 through nine games, first in the NBA. Houston is second at plus-93 (7-2), Memphis third at plus-86 (6-2). Philadelphia, at 8-1, is plus-52, eighth
- No team in the Basketball-Reference 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 17 teams averaged a plus-6.1 margin and a .675 winning percentage over the rest of the season. All 17 finished at .500 or better, and 14 of the 17 that played at least 80 games won 50 or more
- Philadelphia’s plus-52 would rank as the third-softest point differential among the 17 exact 8-1 starts in that span. The median 8-1 start sat at plus-90
- The two softer 8-1s were Phoenix in 2024-25 at plus-30, which finished 36-46, and Memphis in 2014-15 at plus-44, which finished 55-27
- 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
Best record, eighth in margin
| Team | Record | Point differential | Per game | Points for | Points against |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Timberwolves | 6-3 | +101 | +11.2 | 118.8 | 107.6 |
| Rockets | 7-2 | +93 | +10.3 | 117.9 | 107.6 |
| Grizzlies | 6-2 | +86 | +10.8 | 120.5 | 109.8 |
| Trail Blazers | 6-1 | +78 | +11.1 | 121.9 | 110.7 |
| Pistons | 6-2 | +75 | +9.4 | 111.1 | 101.8 |
| Lakers | 7-2 | +71 | +7.9 | 121.8 | 113.9 |
| Spurs | 6-2 | +66 | +8.2 | 116.9 | 108.6 |
| 76ers | 8-1 | +52 | +5.8 | 111.0 | 105.2 |
NBA teams ranked by point differential through Thursday, Nov. 5. Philadelphia leads the league in wins.
How Minnesota got to plus-101 with six wins
Minnesota opened the season with four straight wins by 22, 23, 25 and 26 points over Miami, the Clippers, Orlando and Toronto. 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, and the season margin sat back above plus-100.
That pattern — huge wins, close losses — is why a 6-3 team owns the league’s best differential while an 8-1 team does not. 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.
What plus-100 after nine games usually means
| Team | Season | After 9 | Rest of season margin | Rest winning pct | Final record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GSW Warriors | 2015-16 | 9-0, +158 | +9.9 | .877 | 73-9 |
| MIL Bucks | 2018-19 | 8-1, +142 | +8.0 | .712 | 60-22 |
| OKC Thunder | 2024-25 | 8-1, +139 | +12.5 | .822 | 68-14 |
| LAC Clippers | 2016-17 | 8-1, +137 | +2.9 | .589 | 51-31 |
| GSW Warriors | 2021-22 | 8-1, +123 | +4.5 | .616 | 53-29 |
| BOS Celtics | 2023-24 | 7-2, +121 | +11.1 | .781 | 64-18 |
| DEN Nuggets | 2025-26 | 7-2, +119 | +4.2 | .644 | 54-28 |
| PHI 76ers | 2023-24 | 8-1, +101 | +2.0 | .534 | 47-35 |
Selected plus-100 starts after nine games from Basketball-Reference, 2014-15 through 2025-26. Every team in the full group of 17 finished above .500.
Minnesota would be the 18th such start and the first with only six wins. The closest prior case on wins was Milwaukee in 2020-21, which sat 5-4 at plus-96 after nine and finished 46-26 in a shortened season.
The softest 8-1 starts
An 8-1 start is still a strong signal. The 17 exact 8-1 teams in the same span won 66.7 percent of their games for the full season and 63.9 percent after the ninth game. Nineteen of the 20 teams that reached 8-1 or better finished at .500 or above.
Differential sorts them. The median 8-1 start was plus-90. Philadelphia’s plus-52 sits closer to the soft end, with Phoenix’s plus-30 flop in 2024-25 as the clear warning and Memphis’s plus-44 finish at 55-27 as the optimistic case. Philadelphia’s offensive rating is 107.6 points per 100 possessions, below the league average of 109.9, while the defense is 102.0.
What’s next
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. Nine games are a small sample, but the record-versus-margin split is already past every recent parallel.
Game results and team totals: ESPN box scores through Thursday, Nov. 5. Historical team seasons: Basketball-Reference.
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