Winning A Title Is Not Easy

Tuesday, May 2nd, 2023 -- 8:47 AM

Early exits for the Boston Bruins and Milwaukee Bucks sting Boston and Milwaukee fans.  But Axios Sports reports that history says that even as No. 1 seeds, they were unlikely to reach their respective finals.

The NFL is the only major North American sports league whose top-seeded teams have reached the championship round at a better-than-50% clip over the last 20 completed seasons.

•  NFL: 21 of the last 40 No. 1 seeds have played in the Super Bowl.
•  MLB: 15 of the last 40 No. 1 seeds have played in the World Series.
•  NBA: 13 of last 40 No. 1 seeds have played in the NBA Finals.
•  NHL: 6 of the last 40 No. 1 seeds have played in the Stanley Cup.

According to Axios Sports, the Bruins and Bucks weren't just No. 1 seeds — they had their leagues' best regular-season records. But even that, it turns out, isn't exactly a recipe for championships.

• Only three of the past 20 Stanley Cup champions had the best regular-season record that year.
• The NFL, MLB and NBA have each had six such teams over the past 20 seasons — double the NHL's tally, but still fewer than you might think.

The Bruins' early departure means that the best regular-season team in the history of each Big Four league failed to cap their historic season with a title.

•  NFL: 2007 Patriots (16-0): Lost in the Super Bowl.
•  MLB: 1906 Cubs* (116-36-3): Lost in the World Series.
•  NBA: 2015-16 Warriors (73-9): Lost in the NBA Finals.
•  NHL: 2022-23 Bruins (65-12-5): Lost in the first round.

The bottom line: It's really hard to win a championship.

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