How the Celtics compare to the last six defending NBA champions through 20 games

How the Celtics compare to the last six defending NBA champions through 20 games, originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The Boston Celtics are coming off their 20th game on Sunday – a 115-111 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on the road without Jaylen Brown or Derrick White.

The Celtics are 16-4 through the first 20 games of their title defense season, which is pretty impressive. They could realistically be 20-0 as they had a lead with less than four minutes left in all four losses.

Now that we’re about a quarter of the way through the 2024-25 campaign, it’s time to analyze how the Celtics compare to the recent defending champions after 20 games.

The short answer is that the Cs compare pretty well. They have the best 20-game record of the last seven defending champions (including themselves). They also have the best offensive rating and best net rating of these seven teams.

It’s not quite the 18-2 start the Celtics got off to in 2008-09 in 20 games as defending champions, but it’s still pretty good.

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The most impressive team in this group through 20 games, at least from a statistical standpoint, is the 2020-21 Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers are the only defending champion in this group to rank top 10 in all five stats above through 20 games.

Injuries ultimately played a large role in the Lakers’ inability to maintain this pace for the entire season. Superstar center Anthony Davis ended up missing 36 games (half the 72-game season), including a streak of zero appearances from February 15 to April 21. LeBron James has also only played in 45 of 72 games. The Lakers lost to the eventual Western Conference champion Phoenix Suns in a six-game series in the first round.

None of the last five defending champions have even made it past the second round. The Denver Nuggets had the best chances last season, but they blew a 20-point lead in Game 7 at home to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the conference semifinals.

The last defending champion to return to the final was the 2018-19 Warriors, who were trying to secure a treble. Injuries, however, kept the Warriors from making history. Kevin Durant missed a month of playoff games and returned for Game 5 of the 2019 NBA Finals, only to tear his Achilles tendon. Klay Thompson scored 30 points in Game 6, but he also tore his ACL. The Raptors barely survived 114-110 to win their first championship in team history.

The Celtics are on pace to finish with a record of 65-17 or 66-16. If they reach either of those win totals, it would be the best win/loss record by a defending champion since the 2015-16 Warriors won a record 73 games but ultimately lost in Game 7 of the Finals that season despite a 3–1 series lead.

In fact, only four of the previous 20 defending champions – the 2005-06 Spurs (63-19), the 2008-09 Celtics (62-20), the 2012-13 Miami Heat (66-16) and the 2015 Warriors – 16. (73-9) – has won 60 or more games, and only one of them, the 2012-13 Heat, has successfully defended its title.

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The Celtics are in good shape health-wise. They have no major injuries. Veteran center Kristaps Porzingis made his season debut last week after recovering from a leg injury suffered during the 2024 NBA Finals. Porzingis has not had any setbacks thus far.

The Eastern Conference also looks weaker than expected. The Philadelphia 76ers were expected to be title contenders after acquiring Paul George in free agency, but the Sixers are 4-14. The Milwaukee Bucks have been playing better lately, but they’re barely above .500 at 10-9. The Indiana Pacers had a surprising run to the Eastern Conference Finals last season, but they are 9-12 this year. The New York Knicks made bold trades this offseason to acquire Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns, but they are 12-8. The Miami Heat don’t seem much of a threat at 9-9.

The biggest surprise was the Cavaliers, who started 15-0 and have the best record in the league at 18-3. They are 1-1 against the Celtics. The Orlando Magic also deserve credit for starting 15-7 despite missing star forward Paolo Banchero for most of the season thus far.

Injuries can still occur. The rest of the conference can still be improved. But as of Dec. 2, the Celtics are better positioned for a repeat than most recent defending champions at this point in their title defense.

And if complacency starts to set in on this Celtics team, you can bet head coach Joe Mazzulla will do what’s necessary to stop that immediately. He is very, very good at keeping his players focused and motivated.