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After falling to the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 7 of the NBA Finals on Sunday night, the Golden State Warriors became the fifth major North American professional sports team (and sixth team including major college sports) to match or break its league's regular-season wins record without capturing a title that season. A quick breakdown of the other teams with record-setting regular seasons who fell short in the playoffs: NHL
1995-96 Detroit Red Wings (62-13-7)
The Red Wings set an NHL record by winning 62 of 82 games in the 1995-96 season, finishing with 27 more points than the second-place team in the West. But when it came playoff time, the Wings' run ended in the Western Conference finals, where they lost to the Avalanche in six games. Detroit lost the first two home games to kick off the series and never recovered. MLB
2001 Seattle Mariners (116-46), 1906 Chicago Cubs (116-36)
The 2001 Mariners matched the 1906 Cubs with 116 regular-season wins. Seattle lost the ALCS in five games to the Yankees, who ultimately lost the World Series to the Diamondbacks. The Cubs were the first team to post an 116-win season, but in the Fall Classic, they fell to the Chicago White Sox in six games. They ultimately redeemed themselves, however, winning the World Series in both 1907 and 1908, the only titles in franchise history. NFL
2007 New England Patriots (16-0)
The Patriots went 16-0 in the regular season, beating teams by an average of 19.7 points per game. After two dominating performances in the playoffs, they met the Giants in the Super Bowl. The Patriots led 14-10 with under three minutes left, but with 1:15 to go, Eli Manning completed a 32-yard pass to David Tyree that he famously caught on his helmet to keep a drive alive. A few plays later, Manning connected with Plaxico Burress for the game-winning TD. The Patriots got the ball back, but couldn't close the deal. College basketball
2014-15 Kentucky Wildcats (38-1)
Kentucky started the 2014-15 season 38-0, the longest undefeated start in Division I basketball history, and tied for the most wins in men's D-I history. But the Wildcats were upset in the national semifinals by Wisconsin and never made it to the championship game.
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