Every unbeaten season in sports history
The viral draft games — 38-0 for football, 82-0 for basketball — dare you to build a team that never loses. Real sport has spent over a century trying. Here is everyone who got close, and the records that remain untouched.
Chase a perfect seasonFootball: the Invincibles
The gold standard is Arsenal's 2003-04 side, who went through all 38 Premier League games without defeat — 26 wins, 12 draws, zero losses. Two decades on, they remain the only club ever to finish a Premier League season unbeaten, and the Invincibles nickname has never worn off.
They were not the first, though. Preston North End went unbeaten through the inaugural Football League season in 1888-89 and won the FA Cup without conceding a goal — the original Invincibles, 115 years earlier.
Notice what nobody has done: won all 38. Arsenal drew twelve times. An unbeaten season and a perfect season are very different mountains, which is exactly the gap the 38-0 game asks you to close. Fancy it? Draft a club legends eleven and try to win the lot.
NBA: nobody has come close to 82-0
No team in NBA history has finished a regular season unbeaten, and none has seriously threatened it. The benchmark is the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors, who went 73-9 to edge past the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls' 72-10. The greatest regular season ever played still contains nine defeats — and, famously, those Warriors went on to lose the Finals anyway.
That is why a perfect run sits at the very top of our NBA tier ladder. Draft an all-time starting five and see how far past 73 you get — or read up on the 82-0 game first.
NFL: the only perfect season
The 1972 Miami Dolphins did what no other NFL team has before or since: 17-0, every regular-season game and every playoff game, finished off by victory in Super Bowl VII. More than fifty years later, it is still the league's only perfect season.
The closest call since came in 2007, when the New England Patriots went 16-0 through the regular season, then lost the Super Bowl to the New York Giants and finished 18-1 — arguably the most painful single defeat in the sport's history.
Reckon your all-time roster joins the Dolphins? Run an NFL season and find out.
World Cup: where perfection has been done
Brazil's 1970 side won all six of their matches in Mexico, sealing the trophy with one of the most replayed team goals ever scored. Many still rate them the greatest international team of all time — proof that at a World Cup, unlike a league season, perfection has actually been done.
Spain proved the opposite point in 2010: they lost their opening match to Switzerland and still lifted the trophy. Tournaments can forgive a stumble in the groups; they never forgive one in the knockouts.
Our World Cup mode works the same way — seven matches, one group defeat survivable, but a second group loss or any knockout loss ends the run. Draft a national legends squad and go win all seven.
MLB: 162 games says no
Baseball is the sport where an unbeaten season is least imaginable — across 162 games, even all-time great teams lose dozens of times. The single-season wins record is shared by the 1906 Chicago Cubs (116-36) and the 2001 Seattle Mariners (116-46), and neither of them went on to win the World Series.
That makes a perfect run in our MLB mode the longest of long shots. Spin a baseball roster and aim for 117 wins — or all 162, if you dare.
NHL: eight losses in 80 games
No NHL team has gone through a season unbeaten either. The most famous near-miss is the 1976-77 Montreal Canadiens, who lost just eight of their 80 games on the way to the Stanley Cup — a level of sustained dominance hockey has never matched since.
Think your all-time lineup skates past them? Try an NHL season.
Now run the experiment yourself
Go Unbeaten exists to answer the question these records pose: what would it actually take? You spin for a legendary team and era, draft a lineup position by position — with two re-rolls per run if the spin gods are cruel — and simulate the full campaign. Chemistry matters: players who shared a club, nation or era link up and lift your win probability. And every simulation is seeded, so the same squad and seed always replay the same season — a shared unbeaten card cannot be faked.
Strategy lives in the guides hub, and the full loop is explained on how it works.
Go Unbeaten is an independent fan project and is not affiliated with 82-0.com, 38-0-0.com, or any league, club, or governing body. The records above are widely reported historical results.
Frequently asked
Has any team ever gone unbeaten in the Premier League?
Yes — one. Arsenal went 26 wins, 12 draws and zero defeats across all 38 games in 2003-04, the only unbeaten season in Premier League history. No team has ever won all 38.
Has an NBA team ever gone 82-0?
No. The best regular season in NBA history is the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors at 73-9, just ahead of the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls at 72-10. A perfect 82-0 has never happened.
Who had the last perfect NFL season?
The 1972 Miami Dolphins, who went 17-0 including Super Bowl VII. The 2007 New England Patriots went 16-0 in the regular season but lost the Super Bowl and finished 18-1.
Has any team won every match at a World Cup?
Yes. Brazil won all six of their games at the 1970 World Cup on the way to the title. By contrast, Spain lost their opening match in 2010 and still lifted the trophy.