With the Washington Wizards losing to the Chicago Bulls at the United Center, the Milwaukee Bucks clinched their berth in the 2020 NBA Playoffs.
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) February 24, 2020
In terms of the date (Feb. 23) and the numbers of games required (56), the Bucks are the fastest team in NBA history, under the current 16-team playoff format, to book a postseason berth.
The previous holders of this record were the 2016-17 Golden State Warriors, who had clinched their playoff spot on February 25th after 58 regular season games.
During the 1972-73 season, the New York Knicks and the Boston Celtics had clinched their playoff spot on February 13th but back then, the league utilized the eight-team playoff format.
The 2019-20 Bucks have been absolutely dominant this season, leading the league with a 48-8 record that includes 33 wins by double digits.
The Bucks have clinched a playoff spot.
— StatMuse (@statmuse) February 24, 2020
This season they are:
1st in record
1st in net rating
1st in point differential
1st in PPG
1st in defense
1st in TS%
1st in eFG%
1st in opp eFG%
1st in RPG pic.twitter.com/A5bGmdUin4
With their current record, they are on pace to become the third team in NBA history after the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls and the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors to win 70 games.
Reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo has been the biggest reason for the Bucks' strong regular season numbers so far. Averaging 30.0 points (career-high), 13.6 rebounds (career-high), and 5.6 assists through 50 games, the Greek Freak is considered the favourite to repeat as league MVP.
Senior Vice-President of the Bucks, Alex Lasry took to Twitter to show his excitement about the team's historic feat:
Enjoy this Sunday bucks fans. Earliest playoff clinch in NBA history. It’s not even March yet!!
— Alex Lasry (@AlexanderLasry) February 24, 2020
The Milwaukee franchise also looks set to be the league's top seed in the playoffs for the second straight season, holding a 4.5 game lead over the Los Angeles Lakers for the best record in the league and a 6.5 game lead over the second-seeded Toronto Raptors for the top seed in the East.
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