The top two have finished with nothing at all between them in two MLS races, most recently the 2024 Western race. Below, every conference and Supporters' Shield race charted since 1996, ranked three ways: by final margin, by lead changes, and by days spent within three points. How each list is computed is spelled out under the tables.
Companion page: Biggest MLS comebacks and collapses.
| Rank | Race | Result | Margin (points) | Lead changes | First place for good |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2002 Eastern | New England Revolution over Columbus Crew on wins | 0 | 15 | September 22, 2002 |
| 2 | 2017 Western | Portland Timbers over Seattle Sounders FC on wins | 0 | 15 | October 22, 2017 |
| 3 | 2025 Western | San Diego Football Club over Vancouver Whitecaps FC on wins | 0 | 12 | October 18, 2025 |
| 4 | 2009 Western | Houston Dynamo FC over LA Galaxy on wins | 0 | 7 | October 25, 2009 |
| 5 | 2000 Supporters' Shield | Chicago Fire FC over Kansas City Wizards on wins | 0 | 6 | September 9, 2000 |
| 6 | 2004 Supporters' Shield | Kansas City Wizards over Columbus Crew on wins | 0 | 12 | October 16, 2004 |
| 7 | 2001 Supporters' Shield | Miami Fusion FC over Chicago Fire FC on points per game | 0 | 4 | September 8, 2001 |
| 8 | 2020 Western | Sporting Kansas City over Seattle Sounders FC on points per game | 0 | 9 | November 4, 2020 |
| 9 | 2015 Supporters' Shield | FC Dallas and Red Bull New York, level | 0 | 26 | |
| 10 | 2022 Supporters' Shield | Los Angeles Football Club over Philadelphia Union on wins | 0 | 6 | September 18, 2022 |
| Rank | Race | Result | Lead changes | Margin (points) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2015 Supporters' Shield | FC Dallas and Red Bull New York, level | 26 | 0 |
| 2 | 2007 Western | Chivas USA over Houston Dynamo FC | 21 | 1 |
| 3 | 2019 Eastern | New York City Football Club over Atlanta United | 20 | 6 |
| 4 | 2015 Western | FC Dallas over Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 17 | 7 |
| 5 | 2024 Western | LA Galaxy and Los Angeles Football Club, level | 16 | 0 |
| 6 | 2018 Western | Sporting Kansas City over Seattle Sounders FC | 16 | 3 |
| 7 | 2002 Eastern | New England Revolution over Columbus Crew on wins | 15 | 0 |
| 8 | 2017 Western | Portland Timbers over Seattle Sounders FC on wins | 15 | 0 |
| 9 | 2007 Supporters' Shield | D.C. United over Chivas USA | 15 | 2 |
| 10 | 2025 Eastern | Philadelphia Union over FC Cincinnati | 14 | 1 |
| Rank | Race | Result | Days within three points | Playing days | Margin (points) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2015 Supporters' Shield | FC Dallas and Red Bull New York, level | 99 | 114 | 0 |
| 2 | 2011 Eastern | Sporting Kansas City over Houston Dynamo FC | 82 | 91 | 2 |
| 3 | 2015 Western | FC Dallas over Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 78 | 103 | 7 |
| 4 | 2007 Supporters' Shield | D.C. United over Chivas USA | 76 | 94 | 2 |
| 5 | 2016 Eastern | Red Bull New York over New York City Football Club | 76 | 87 | 3 |
| 6 | 2017 Western | Portland Timbers over Seattle Sounders FC on wins | 73 | 81 | 0 |
| 7 | 2022 Supporters' Shield | Los Angeles Football Club over Philadelphia Union on wins | 68 | 87 | 0 |
| 8 | 2007 Western | Chivas USA over Houston Dynamo FC | 68 | 84 | 1 |
| 9 | 2012 Supporters' Shield | San Jose Earthquakes over Sporting Kansas City | 67 | 97 | 3 |
| 10 | 2013 Eastern | Red Bull New York over Sporting Kansas City | 65 | 81 | 1 |
Everything on this page comes from the same day-by-day season files the charts draw, with standings read as each day ended. All 92 charted MLS races from 30 finished seasons enter: every conference and Supporters' Shield race from 1996 to 2025. Wild card races are not ranked; their story is the playoff cutoff, not first place. The 2026 season joins these lists when it ends. When the same two teams finished first and second in more than one charted race in the same season (a division and its conference, or a conference and a league-wide race), the narrower race keeps the row; that folds away 12 repeats here.
Tightest finishes ranks races by the final gap between first and second place, in points. Ties are broken by how late the winner took first place for good, then by lead changes, then oldest first. Two teams the standings cannot separate are shown as level, with no winner named; where the league settled such a race another way, the linked race page tells that story. A margin of zero with a winner named means the race was decided on points per game, the league's rule for uneven schedules, or on wins.
Most lead changes counts a change only when a new team passes the leader outright. A day spent tied on top stays with the team already leading, so a tie can never inflate the count.
Most days within three points counts the days on which this race's teams played and the top two ended the day within three points of each other, the most a single result can make up. Days a league stood idle (a strike, a pause) are not counted: a frozen gap says nothing about a race.
Only finished seasons are ranked. Seasons shortened by strikes or other stoppages count as played; every irregularity in the record is listed in the data notes.