Monday is the first day of December and also a significant milestone in the 2025-26 season.

Once the night’s nine-game slate is complete, we’ll have reached the point when 25% of the season’s 1,230 games have been played. That quarter mark (when teams have played about 20 games) is when you can look at the standings and believe in what you’re seeing.

Here’s the updated data that’s always in this space at this time of year …

Over the last 20 full (82-game) seasons …

84% of teams that have won at least 11 of their first 20 games have gone on to make the playoffs.

Only 13% of teams that lost at least 12 of their first 20 games have gone on to make the playoffs.

That’s good news for the Toronto Raptors, who’ve been the league’s most improved team and won 14 of their first 20 games. It’s

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