The Cleveland Cavaliers keep winning.
That sounds like an obvious statement to anyone who has been following along with the team, but it's important for more than just the obvious. Yes, with each win the Cavaliers further solidify their hold on the No. 1 seed and continue to impress everyone watching. Each win gives some amount of extra weight to their status as a team to be reckoned with.
Yet as a whole, winning games now just feels like part of the big picture "the Cavs are really good" storyline. What is lost is that with each win the Cavaliers secure on their current win streak, they are further solidifying their place in history. What's more, that history is holding up a loudspeaker and declaring "this team is a contender!"
The Cavaliers are currently 30-4, a truly ludicrous start that blows away the best start in franchise history.
The Cavaliers are having an all-time start
It's also one of the very best starts in NBA history, full stop. Only four teams in all eight decades of NBA basketball have ever had a better start: the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors at 32-2, who went on to win 73 games and reach the NBA Finals (before losing to the Cleveland Cavaliers - shout out to The Chase Down Block).
Three teams started a season 31-3: 1995-96 Chicago Bulls, who won a then-record 72 games behind a dominant "return" season from Michael Jordan; the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers, who started the season 6-3 and then ripped off 33-straight wins, still an NBA record; and the 1966-67 Philadelphia 76ers, who were stacked with future Hall of Famers and ended the season 68-13.
Something else those three teams each had in common? They all won the NBA Championship. Jordan led the Bulls to the 1996 title, Jerry West and Wilt Chamberlain won the 1972 title, and Wilt was also a part of an ensemble cast including Hal Greer, Chet Walker and Bill Cunningham that won the 1967 title.
Another seven teams have started a season 30-4, including this year's Cleveland Cavaliers. Of the six other teams, all won at least 59 games and as many as 69. Three of the six also won the championship: the 2007-08 "Big 3" Boston Celtics, the 1996-97 Chicago Bulls, and the 1959-60 Boston Celtics, their third of 11 titles in a 13-season span.
The 2004-05 Phoenix Suns, led by Steve Nash, won 62 games and made it to the Western Conference Finals before losing to prime Tim Duncan and the eventual champion San Antonio Spurs. Julius Erving led the 1980-81 Philadelphia 76ers to a 30-4 start and ultimately to the Eastern Conference Finals where they lost to Larry Bird and the Boston Celtics in seven games. The 1971-72 Milwaukee Bucks were an all-time team that ran into another such team; led by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Oscar Robertson, they lost to the aforementioned Lakers team in the West Finals.
NBA history says Cleveland is for real
Of the 10 teams to start at 30-4 or better, six won the title and all four others lost to the eventual champion in the NBA or Conference Finals. There was no team that suddenly fell off and missed the playoffs, or even fell short of the Conference Finals. Once you reach this mark, you have established yourself as a true contender.
There are legitimate reasons to doubt whether the Cleveland Cavaliers are as good as they have performed. They have played a lot of teams missing players. They don't have a clear-cut Top 10 player. They haven't proven themselves in the playoffs yet.
Zoom out, however, and 80 years of NBA history tells us something: if you win this many games to start a season, you're an awesome team. Point blank. Someone capable of winning the title and likely to do so. 2 out of every 3 teams to reach this point won it all.
The Cavaliers have a lot of work to do. There will be doubters all the way up to the point that they hoist the trophy. Yet there is the weight of history behind them propelling them toward a fantastic finish.