The top two have finished with nothing at all between them in 19 NBA races, most recently the 2024-25 Pacific race. Below, every division and conference race charted since 1946-47, ranked three ways: by final margin, by lead changes, and by days spent within one game. How each list is computed is spelled out under the tables.
Companion page: Biggest NBA comebacks and collapses.
| Rank | Race | Result | Margin (games) | Lead changes | First place for good |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1991-92 Atlantic | Boston Celtics and New York Knicks, level | 0 | 12 | |
| 2 | 1998-99 East | Indiana Pacers and Miami Heat, level | 0 | 11 | |
| 3 | 2024-25 Pacific | LA Clippers and Los Angeles Lakers, level | 0 | 11 | |
| 4 | 1980-81 Atlantic | Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers, level | 0 | 10 | |
| 5 | 2009-10 Northwest | Denver Nuggets and Utah Jazz, level | 0 | 8 | |
| 6 | 1956-57 West | Ft. Wayne Zollner Pistons and Minneapolis Lakers, level | 0 | 5 | |
| 7 | 2002-03 Midwest | Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs, level | 0 | 4 | |
| 8 | 1972-73 West | Los Angeles Lakers and Milwaukee Bucks, level | 0 | 3 | |
| 9 | 1998-99 Midwest | San Antonio Spurs and Utah Jazz, level | 0 | 1 | |
| 10 | 1974-75 East | Boston Celtics and Washington Bullets, level | 0 | 11 |
| Rank | Race | Result | Lead changes | Margin (games) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1950-51 East | Philadelphia Warriors over Boston Celtics | 33 | 2.5 |
| 2 | 2018-19 Southeast | Orlando Magic over Charlotte Hornets | 24 | 3 |
| 3 | 1993-94 East | Atlanta Hawks and New York Knicks, level | 23 | 0 |
| 4 | 2025-26 Southeast | Atlanta Hawks over Orlando Magic | 23 | 1 |
| 5 | 2000-01 Pacific | Los Angeles Lakers over Sacramento Kings | 22 | 1 |
| 6 | 2007-08 West | Los Angeles Lakers over New Orleans Hornets | 22 | 1 |
| 7 | 2008-09 Southwest | San Antonio Spurs over Houston Rockets | 22 | 1 |
| 8 | 1976-77 East | Philadelphia 76ers over Houston Rockets | 20 | 1 |
| 9 | 2015-16 Southeast | Atlanta Hawks and Charlotte Hornets, level | 19 | 0 |
| 10 | 2000-01 West | San Antonio Spurs over Los Angeles Lakers | 19 | 2 |
| Rank | Race | Result | Days within one game | Playing days | Margin (games) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2007-08 West | Los Angeles Lakers over New Orleans Hornets | 142 | 162 | 1 |
| 2 | 1993-94 East | Atlanta Hawks and New York Knicks, level | 130 | 159 | 0 |
| 3 | 2000-01 Pacific | Los Angeles Lakers over Sacramento Kings | 125 | 158 | 1 |
| 4 | 2018-19 West | Golden State Warriors over Denver Nuggets | 124 | 167 | 3 |
| 5 | 2002-03 East | Detroit Pistons over New Jersey Nets | 122 | 163 | 1 |
| 6 | 2018-19 Southeast | Orlando Magic over Charlotte Hornets | 120 | 150 | 3 |
| 7 | 2015-16 Southeast | Atlanta Hawks and Charlotte Hornets, level | 119 | 151 | 0 |
| 8 | 2025-26 Southeast | Atlanta Hawks over Orlando Magic | 116 | 145 | 1 |
| 9 | 2000-01 West | San Antonio Spurs over Los Angeles Lakers | 114 | 162 | 2 |
| 10 | 2005-06 Southwest | San Antonio Spurs over Dallas Mavericks | 114 | 153 | 3 |
Everything on this page comes from the same day-by-day season files the charts draw, with standings read as each day ended. All 429 charted NBA races from 80 finished seasons enter: every division and conference race from 1946-47 to 2025-26. Wild card races are not ranked; their story is the playoff cutoff, not first place. 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 44 repeats here.
Tightest finishes ranks races by the final gap between first and second place, in games. 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.
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 one game counts the days on which this race's teams played and the top two ended the day within one game of each other. 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.