Sports

25 Teams That Had Insane Winning Streaks (And What Happened Next)

Darren - December 6, 2021

Sports

25 Teams That Had Insane Winning Streaks (And What Happened Next)

Darren - December 6, 2021

13. Miami Dolphins (1972)

The Dolphins remain the only undefeated team in NFL history. They went through the entire 1972 season without suffering a single defeat. It was a glorious achievement and one that the franchise is proud of. Don Shula guided the team to a Super Bowl win over the Redskins. The old mantra says that defenses win titles. This was exactly the case for the Dolphins because it was magnificent (via Sportscasting).

Bob Griese broke his ankle about midway through the season, but he returned for the postseason. This was crucial too because he was a reliable pair of hands. The Patriots almost emulated their winning year in 2008 but they fell short at the end. Furthermore, the Dolphins almost became the first team to go 0-16 in 2007.

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12. Miami Heat (2012/13)

The Heat were one of the least-loved super teams in NBA history. However, there’s no denying that they were ruthlessly efficient on the court. They put together one of the longest winning streaks in NBA history. Miami won 27 games in a row as they took the Finals by storm (via Bleacher Report). The dream combination of LeBron James, Chris Bosh, and Dwayne Wade were too much for their opponents.

In the end, the team wasn’t sustainable. James departed after winning his second ring with Miami. However, Bosh remained for another couple of years before his retirement. Miami built this team to win immediately but it came at a cost. They were irrelevant for the remainder of the decade. Each time franchises invest millions in stars and trade draft picks they take a massive risk.

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11. New York Yankees (2021)

Notable winning streaks don’t occur often, but when they do occur they’re always exciting. The Yankees enjoyed their longest run of victories in 60 years in 2021. Those were Babe Ruth’s glory days but now their hero was Aaron Judge. After a disappointing end to the 2020 season, there was pressure on the Yankees to perform from the start. In short, they did.

They won 13 straight games but their run ended against Oakland. The Athletics won their box series 3-2 as they brought the Yankees back down to earth (CBS Sports). It’s very difficult to sustain these kinds of runs in baseball. The Yankees couldn’t beat the Indians’ record from a few years before but they tried their best. Every team’s winning streak comes to an end.

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10. Real Madrid (2011)

Real Madrid is one of the most famous teams on the planet. Soccer fans instantly recognize their all-white kits. Meanwhile, they created the ‘Galacticos’ nickname by signing the best players in the world. 2011 was one of their greatest seasons in modern history because they won the league. This included one of the longest winning streaks in Spanish history.

They put together 15 wins in a row at one point during the season. Cristiano Ronaldo was electric because he scored 60 goals in all competitions. Madrid didn’t make it to the Champion’s League final after losing to Munich. However, they won the league in style. Many Spanish fans loathe Madrid because of their status and money. But there’s no doubt that they’re a winning machine (via Bleacher Report).

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9. Cleveland Indians (2017)

The Indians were superb in 2017 and probably should have won the World Series. However, the Yankees had other ideas and stopped Cleveland in their tracks. Despite this, their regular season record was superb. At one point they rode one of the longest winning streaks in MLB annals. It was highly impressive because of the competitiveness of the modern era. It was arguably the greatest run ever (via ABC News).

According to ABC News, the odds of them completing this run were as low as 1 in 65,000. This is ludicrous but shows their level of commitment to winning. In the end, they ran out of gas and couldn’t sustain it in the World Series. But this doesn’t hide the fact that they were a superb team. It was also their best regular season in 43 years.

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8. Golden State Warriors (2015)

This was the greatest regular-season team of the 21st century. The Warriors came in the 2015-16 season as defending champions. On paper, they were even better than their title-winning side. They broke an incredible number of records throughout the season. Meanwhile, players like Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson were on top of their game. They even put together one of the NBA’s longest winning streaks ever.

The Warriors won 24 games in a row and crushed the Western Conference. Everybody favored them to win the NBA Finals but the Cleveland Cavaliers had other ideas. LeBron James and his team were inspired as they upset the Warriors (via New York Times). It just goes to prove that the best teams don’t always enjoy a happy ending. In the end, James tore up the script and rewrote history.

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7. New England Patriots (2008)

Tom Brady’s men feature twice on this list. In many people’s eyes, this was the greatest NFL team of all time. They went unbeaten through the entire regular season. It looked like they were set to emulate the Miami Dolphins’ unbeaten year. However, Eli Manning and his New York Giants refused to be denied. They were the NFC’s sixth-round seed and had no right to win (via Bleacher Report).

But this was a true underdog story. Manning refused to allow the Patriots to deny him. Finally, the game finished 17-14 for the Giants. The Patriots’ hopes of immortality were over. Instead, they guaranteed their place on lists like this because of their near-miss. New England lost a few Super Bowls over the years but this was one of the toughest.

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6. Liverpool (2019)

Liverpool went 30 years without winning the league title. Years of mismanagement and a lack of investment left them in a bad place. But they developed under FSG and coach Jurgen Klopp. Then, they were rampant in 2019. Nobody could touch them all season as they won the Premier League in style. They even had seven games to spare after blowing everybody else away. Watford defeated them in April, but the result didn’t mean anything (via BBC).

Meanwhile, they enjoyed multiple winning streaks. First, they equaled the league record of 18 wins in a row. Then, they smashed the record for home victories with a 24. Unfortunately, the global health crisis prevented the team from celebrating in front of their fans. But it was still an incredible year nonetheless. Many fans never thought that they would live to see the day.

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5. Floyd Mayweather

Mayweather is one of the top defensive boxers of all time. The American star built an incredible 50-0 professional record. He fought some of the greatest of his generation including Manny Pacquiao and Oscar De La Hoya. “Money” was also a shrewd businessman because he carefully selected his opponents. He fought Pacquiao when the Filipino passed his prime.

Finally, he met Conor McGregor in his 50th and final professional bout. He won by TKO against the Irishman and made a fortune in the process. Then, Mayweather turned to exhibition matches (via Sporting News). This was an easy way to milk his fans for cash. Mayweather and his team had one of the most dominant winning streaks in boxing history. It will be difficult for somebody to replicate this at such a high level.

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4. Pittsburgh Steelers

Not all winning streaks are what they seem. Of course, it’s the mark of a true champion if they can win when they’re playing badly. Every team endures hiccups throughout a season and is happy to snatch and a victory. However, the Steelers took this to the extreme in 2020. They went on a remarkable 11-game run to seal their place in the postseason. Usually, analysts would call them Super Bowl contenders at this point.

But few of their victories were actually convincing. Finally, the league found out that the Steelers weren’t a great team after all. They lost four of their final five games. Then, they suffered a humiliating playoff defeat to their division rivals. The Cleveland Browns crushed the Steelers while Ben Roethlisberger had one of the worst games of his life (via CBS Sports). It was incredible after such a good start to the season.

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3. PSG

Qatar effectively bought France’s biggest soccer team in 2011. Then they poured hundreds of millions of dollars into PSG. That’s because they wanted to make the club one of the strongest brands on the planet. They signed players like Edinson Cavani and Angel Di Maria. Furthermore, they spent a world-record fee on Brazilian superstar Neymar. However, this made them massive fish in a small pond.

The rest of the French league struggled to compete against PSG’s riches. The Parisian side went 27 games without defeat before they finally lost to Lyon in February (GOAL.com). But they only lost one more game that season. In the end, they finished the year as champions and proved that they were an elite squad. However, it also made the league boring.

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2. Los Angeles Lakers (1971-72)

This iconic edition of the Lakers took the NBA by storm. The names on their roster were a who’s who of the Hall of Fame. Wilt Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor, and Gail Goodrich all starred for the team. Meanwhile, they set the record for the most consecutive wins in league history. They strung together a run of 33 victories before the Bucks stopped them in their tracks.

However, this remains one of the most impressive winning streaks ever (via ESPN). Furthermore, the Lakers broke the record for the most wins in a season with 69. Finally, they won the NBA Championship with victory over the Knicks. The New York franchise offered little resistance as the Lakers won the series 4-1. This was a brilliant team and one fans should remember forever.

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1. New England Patriots (2003)

This was one of the greatest winning streaks ever. The Patriots lost against the Redskins in Week Four of the 2002-2003 season but didn’t suffer defeat again for another 21 games. Their remarkable run included a Super Bowl victory over the Panthers. Then, they went into the next season full of confidence. New England carried a 15-game winning streak into 2004.

There were no signs of them slowing down because they kept winning. Finally, they reached Halloween and hoped to make it 22 in a row (via Sportskeeda). They faced the Steelers who had a young rookie quarterback in their ranks. His name was Ben Roethlisberger, and he helped end the Patriots’ glorious run. In the end, the Steelers defeated the Pats, 34-20 and broke their streak.

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25 Teams That Had Insane Winning Streaks (And What Happened Next)

25 Teams That Had Insane Winning Streaks (And What Happened Next)

13. Miami Dolphins (1972)

12. Miami Heat (2012/13)

11. New York Yankees (2021)

10. Real Madrid (2011)

9. Cleveland Indians (2017)

8. Golden State Warriors (2015)

7. New England Patriots (2008)

6. Liverpool (2019)

5. Floyd Mayweather

4. Pittsburgh Steelers

3. PSG

2. Los Angeles Lakers (1971-72)

1. New England Patriots (2003)

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