SportStrata Stories · NBA · 2026-27 Season
The Timberwolves' plus-14.8 point differential leads the NBA
Minnesota is 4-2 after beating the Clippers 127-101, and its 89-point total margin is the league's largest.
The Minnesota Timberwolves have a plus-14.8 point differential per game, the best of the NBA's 30 teams, per ESPN's standings. Next is the Memphis Grizzlies at plus-12.0. Minnesota is 4-2, and its total margin of 89 points is also the league's largest, ahead of Houston at 66 and Memphis at 60.
Game by game
- at Heat: won 131-106
- at Magic: won 115-93
- Raptors: won 117-94
- at Cavaliers: lost 125-127
- Warriors: lost 114-119
- Clippers: won 127-101
The shape of the record is the story. Minnesota's 4 wins came by 25, 22, 23 and 26 points, while its 2 losses came by 2 and 5 points. The win over the Clippers on October 30 was the latest blowout: a 26-point margin. Minnesota has scored at least 114 points in all 6 games and allowed 119 or fewer in 5 of them.
Not just a soft schedule
The skeptic's case is the opposition: 3 of Minnesota's 6 opponents have losing records. But those same opponents score more against everyone else. Across their 26 other games, Minnesota's 6 opponents average 116.2 points, compared with 106.7 against Minnesota. The offense helps too: Minnesota scores 121.5 points per game, behind only Portland at 122.8, so the differential is built on both ends.
The caveat
The caveat: 6 games is 6 games, and a differential lead is not a record lead. Memphis is 5-0 and has lost no games, while Minnesota has lost 2. What can be said: through 6 games, no team in the NBA outscores its opponents by more per game than Minnesota, and the wins have been blowouts while the losses have been close.
Written with AI assistance from SportStrata's own data; every number above is listed with its source in this story's data file. See the data behind this story.