The 2025-26 NBA season is technically only eight days old. Of course, teams were ramping up well before the official start of the regular season on Oct. 21, but in the grand scheme, the campaign is just getting started. With that said, 26 of the NBA's 30 teams have already suffered at least one loss, leaving only four unbeatens as the second week of the season continues. In this space, we'll take a look at the four unbeaten squads and, importantly, predict when each will take a loss, whether that day is coming soon or whether it might be a while.
Here are the predictions, coming in alphabetical order by team.
Chicago Bulls
The Bulls are the only unbeaten team with "only" three wins, and they return to action on Wednesday against the Sacramento Kings at home. So far, Chicago's success has been unquestionably led by its defense, with opponents generating only 104.4 points per 100 possessions against the Bulls. Some of that is definitely going to regress, including a league-leading figure in opponent 3-point percentage (26.3 percent), but the Bulls are well-coached and deep, which is an appealing regular season combination.
In peeking at the upcoming schedule, Chicago's next game, at home against Sacramento, is not one that should be as challenging as others that the Bulls have successfully navigated. However, the Halloween night (Oct. 31) matchup with the New York Knicks is the most logical projection for a loss, and that would end Chicago's unbeaten run at 4-0.
Oklahoma City Thunder
It should come as a surprise to exactly no one that the Oklahoma City Thunder are very good at basketball. The reigning NBA champions are already 5-0 this season, including wins over Houston, Atlanta, Indiana, Dallas, and Sacramento. After leading the NBA in defensive efficiency last season, the Thunder are again atop the league, yielding fewer than 1.04 points per possession, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is off to an MVP-level start again, averaging 34.8 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 5.4 assists per game.
Unlike the Bulls, the Thunder will be favored in the vast majority of their individual games this season, and in a scary reality for the rest of the league, OKC has been operating without Jalen Williams for the entire season and Alex Caruso for a few games. A glance at the schedule puts a Nov. 4 matchup with the Los Angeles Clippers in the crosshairs as the biggest challenge for the Thunder to date. However, if the Thunder can get beyond that, the runway is wide open for a barrel of consecutive wins. In fact, the official projection in this space is that OKC will remain unbeaten until a Nov. 11 loss to the Golden State Warriors, meaning that the Thunder would start 10-0 before finally adding to the loss column.
Philadelphia 76ers
The 76ers have not exactly been dominant, posting a 4-0 record with "only" a plus-5.0 net rating. Still, this is a wildly encouraging start for a team that entered the season with great uncertainty. Joel Embiid is playing basketball, sort of. Tyrese Maxey looks great. VJ Edgecombe is a real Rookie of the Year candidate. Things are going well in Philadelphia.
From a projection standpoint, the Sixers should be favored in at least two or three more games. They don't have the same margin for error that OKC has, but the 76ers can rack up three more wins before our officially predicted loss. It will come on Nov. 5 in Cleveland, where the Sixers will arrive on the second night of a back-to-back with travel and face a superior team in a tough spot.
San Antonio Spurs
There are a ton of storylines emerging in the NBA right now, but Victor Wembanyama's play is arguably the biggest. The 21-year-old (!) star is averaging 31.0 points, 13.8 rebounds, and 4.8 blocks per game this season, transforming his shot diet and thoroughly dominating the competition on a nightly basis. In fact, San Antonio is unbeaten without its No. 2 creator, De'Aaron Fox, taking the floor at all, and it's been an impressive overall start.
San Antonio also has a relatively friendly schedule arrangement upcoming, including only three games over the next week-plus. However, the projected loss arrives on Friday, Nov. 7 on the road against the Houston Rockets. Houston has ball-handling and creation concerns, but they can throw size at Wembanyama and narrowly win what should be a fun game.