The biggest NBA comebacks and collapses, 1946-47 to 2025-26

Biggest comebacks

1. The San Antonio Spurs trailed the 1994-95 West race by 7.5 games on January 27, 1995, and won it by 2 games.
2. The Miami Heat trailed the 2006-07 Southeast race by 7.5 games on January 28, 2007, and won it by 3 games.
3. The Houston Rockets trailed the 1992-93 Midwest race by 7 games on January 9, 1993, and won it by 6 games.
4. The Detroit Pistons trailed the 2001-02 Central race by 7 games on January 21, 2002, and won it by 6 games.
5. The Cleveland Cavaliers trailed the 2014-15 Central race by 7 games on January 11, 2015, and won it by 3 games.
6. The Philadelphia 76ers trailed the 1989-90 Atlantic race by 6.5 games on January 15, 1990, and won it by 1 game.
7. The Boston Celtics trailed the 2016-17 East race by 6.5 games on January 2, 2017, and won it by 2 games.
8. The Washington Wizards trailed the 2016-17 Southeast race by 6.5 games on November 16, 2016, and won it by 6 games.
9. The San Francisco Warriors trailed the 1963-64 West race by 6 games on January 5, 1964, and won it by 2 games.
10. The Utah Jazz trailed the 1997-98 West race by 6 games on January 9, 1998, and won it by 1 game.

Biggest collapses

1. The Chicago Bulls led the 2014-15 Central race by 6.5 games as late as January 11, 2015, and finished behind the Cleveland Cavaliers.
2. The Utah Jazz led the 1994-95 Midwest race by 6 games as late as January 30, 1995, and finished behind the San Antonio Spurs.
3. The Sacramento Kings led the 2003-04 Pacific race by 6 games as late as March 14, 2004, and finished behind the Los Angeles Lakers.
4. The Dallas Mavericks led the 1987-88 Midwest race by 5.5 games as late as March 14, 1988, and finished behind the Denver Nuggets.
5. The Orlando Magic led the 2006-07 Southeast race by 5.5 games as late as December 5, 2006, and finished behind the Miami Heat.
6. The New York Knicks led the 1947-48 East race by 5 games as late as February 18, 1948, and finished behind the Philadelphia Warriors.
7. The Kansas City Kings led the 1979-80 Midwest race by 5 games as late as February 4, 1980, and finished behind the Milwaukee Bucks.
8. The Cleveland Cavaliers led the 1988-89 Central race by 5 games as late as March 2, 1989, and finished behind the Detroit Pistons.
9. The Utah Jazz led the 1992-93 Midwest race by 5 games as late as January 6, 1993, and finished behind the Houston Rockets.
10. The Philadelphia 76ers led the 2011-12 Atlantic race by 5 games as late as January 30, 2012, and finished behind the Boston Celtics.

Latest deciding day

1. With no charted days left to play, the Los Angeles Lakers took first place in the 2003-04 Pacific race for good on April 14, 2004, having led on 67 of the race's 170 charted days.
2. With no charted days left to play, the Portland Trail Blazers took first place in the 2017-18 Northwest race for good on April 11, 2018, having led on 67 of the race's 177 charted days.
3. With no charted days left to play, the San Antonio Spurs took first place in the 1989-90 Midwest race for good on April 22, 1990, having led on 55 of the race's 171 charted days.
4. With no charted days left to play, the San Antonio Spurs took first place in the 2001-02 Midwest race for good on April 17, 2002, having led on 61 of the race's 170 charted days.
5. With no charted days left to play, the Chicago Stags took first place in the 1946-47 West race for good on March 31, 1947, having led on 49 of the race's 151 charted days.
6. With no charted days left to play, the St. Louis Bombers took first place in the 1947-48 West race for good on March 21, 1948, having led on 31 of the race's 131 charted days.
7. With no charted days left to play, the Miami Heat took first place in the 2017-18 Southeast race for good on April 11, 2018, having led on 37 of the race's 177 charted days.
8. With no charted days left to play, the Houston Rockets took first place in the 2014-15 Southwest race for good on April 15, 2015, having led on 40 of the race's 170 charted days.
9. With no charted days left to play, the San Antonio Spurs took first place in the 2008-09 Southwest race for good on April 15, 2009, having led on 106 of the race's 170 charted days.
10. With no charted days left to play, the Kansas City Kings took first place in the 1978-79 Midwest race for good on April 8, 1979, having led on 141 of the race's 178 charted days.

How these lists are ranked

Everything on this page comes from the same 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. A team's comeback or collapse is counted once per season, at its deepest, whichever of its charted races it came in.

Biggest comebacks: the deepest deficit the eventual winner faced at the end of a charted day, in games behind that day's leader, dated to the first day it reached that depth. These are the same numbers the turning points on each race page state.

Biggest collapses: the largest lead over second place held at the end of a charted day by a team that did not finish first, dated to the last day the team still held that full lead. A comeback and a collapse read the same race from opposite ends, so they can disagree about one summer.

Latest deciding day ranks winners by how few charted days remained when they took first place for good, which is the day after the last one the winner ended behind or level with another club: a day it only shared the top is not a day it held first place for good, so a late tie pushes the date later. Races whose top two the standings cannot separate appear on none of these lists: the data cannot name a winner. Only finished seasons are ranked; every irregularity in the record is listed in the data notes.