5 NBA teams with the highest winning percentage

The thirty teams in the NBA feature the greatest basketball players in the world who compete with each other every season for the prestigious Larry O'Brien trophy.

Team success is the ultimate goal in the competition, and some of the most historic NBA franchises have been consistently great through many decades. On that note, let us have a look at the five NBA teams with the highest winning percentage in the history of the league.

Five NBA franchises with the highest winning percentage

Regular-season success does not always tell the whole story, as the NBA postseason is where titles are won or lost. However, in this article, we will only consider the all-time regular-season winning percentages.

It is to be noted that a franchise's record is counted even when the team has shifted bases and has been renamed. For example, the Oklahoma City Thunder were known as the Seattle SuperSonics from 1967 to 2008.

So, without further ado, let us get going:

#5 Utah Jazz - 54.2%

Karl Malone (#32) and John Stockton (#12) of the Utah Jazz

The Utah Jazz initially entered the NBA as the New Orleans Jazz. After spending five years in New Orleans (from 1974 to 1979), they moved to Utah and have been there for 42 seasons now.

The Jazz have played 3736 games in the NBA for a 2025-1711 win-loss record. During Karl Malone and John Stockton's era, the team played in two Finals, doing so in 1997 and 1998, but fell against Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls on both occasions.

Their .542 winning percentage is the fifth-best in NBA history and the best among teams who have not won a championship.

The Utah Jazz have made the NBA postseason 29 times, including the last four seasons consecutively. Their record might improve further after the ongoing 2020-21 NBA season, as they currently own the best record in the league.

#4 Oklahoma City Thunder - 54.2%

Oklahoma City Thunder during the 2012 NBA Finals

The Oklahoma City Thunder (OKC) have the fourth-best winning record in NBA history. They have won 2336 games and lost 1972. The franchise won 1745 games as the Sonics and 591 as the Thunder.

Their winning percentage of .542 is the fourth-best in NBA history. In 12 full seasons at Oklahoma City, the franchise reached the NBA Playoffs ten times and had only one losing season.

OKC won their only NBA championship in 1979 and have played in 32 postseasons.

#3 Boston Celtics - 59.1%

The Boston Celtics had the most titles in NBA history till the 2020 NBA Finals, where the LA Lakers won their 17th championship to tie the Celtics' record.

Nevertheless, the Boston Celtics rank first in games played; even though their success has not been as spread out as the LA Lakers', they rank third in all-time winning percentage (.591) in NBA history.

The Boston Celtics have been a member of the premier basketball league in the world since its first season (1946-47), when it was known as the BAA. The historic franchise has played 5814 games and has a W-L record of 3437-2379.

In the postseason, the Boston Celtics rank second in games played (670) and second in winning percentage (.569).

Their 17 NBA championships were won between 1957 and 2008. They won a record eight consecutive championships between 1959 to 1966, with Bill Russell leading their charge (Russell won 11 NBA titles with the Celtics in 13 years).

The Boston Celtics won two championships in the 1970s with John Havlicek, three in the 1980s with Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish, and their most recent win in 2008 with Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen.

#2 LA Lakers - 59.6%

The reigning NBA champions, LA Lakers, are the most historic NBA franchise in the league. They are tied with the Boston Celtics for a record 17 championships won; while the Celtics have a great case to be considered the most iconic franchise ever in NBA history, the LA Lakers have been more consistent.

The Lakers have the second-best winning percentage in the history of the NBA regular season, with .596 (3402-2307).

They also have the highest winning percentage (.601) and the most wins in the postseason (454).

The LA Lakers have won championships in almost every decade in NBA history. They were at Minneapolis from 1948 to 1960, winning five titles between 1948 to 1954. The Lakers lost six Finals in the 1960s but won a title in 1972, five in the 1980s and six since the 1999-2000 NBA season.

#1 San Antonio Spurs - 61.7%

Since the San Antonio Spurs joined the NBA in the 1976 ABA-NBA merger, they have been a successful franchise.

George Gervin led them to seven consecutive appearances in the postseason between 1976 and 1983. The Spurs also reached the NBA Playoffs three times in the next six years before David Robinson made his competition debut in 1989.

Since Robinson's debut, till the 2019-20 NBA season, the Spurs made the postseason in 29 of the next 31 campaigns.

Tim Duncan, arguably the greatest player in franchise history, arrived at the San Antonio Spurs in 1997 and stayed there till 2016.

His run with the Spurs included five NBA titles, six trips to the NBA Finals, 19 playoff appearances and 18 seasons with at least 50 wins. The only season in which the Spurs did not win 50 games with Duncan and Gregg Popovich leading them was in the 50-game 1998-99 campaign.

The San Antonio Spurs have a 2206-1365 W-L record in the NBA and own the highest winning percentage in history (.617) even after going 32-39 last season.

In their 45 previous NBA campaigns, the Spurs entered the postseason 39 times. Their greatest eras comprised of Gervin's stint, Robinson's early years and the winning era with Popovich the Twin Towers with Duncan and Robinson and the Big Three with Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili.