No NBA team has ever finished the playoffs unbeaten. Might the Golden State Warriors make history this year?
At 12-0, the Warriors are already off to the best start ever to a postseason. They joined the 1989 and 2001 Los Angeles Lakers as the third team to sweep its way to the NBA Finals since the playoffs expanded to 16 teams in 1984. However, both of those Lakers teams played just 11 games against Western Conference foes because the first round did not go from best-of-five to best-of-seven until 2003.
Both those Lakers teams lost Game 1 of the NBA Finals. After losing starting guards Magic Johnson and Byron Scott to hamstring injuries, the 1989 Lakers were swept by the Detroit Pistons. The 2001 Lakers, meanwhile, won the next four games after losing Game 1 to the Philadelphia 76ers to finish 15-1 -- the best record in playoff history ... so far.
Golden State has a chance to surpass the 2001 Lakers. To get there, the Warriors will have to beat their toughest competition yet, the defending champion Cleveland Cavaliers.
