The 2005 White Sox have something in common with the Golden State Warriors

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For obvious reasons the Golden State Warriors have been compared to Michael Jordan’s championship-winning Bulls teams of the 1990s.

However, after the Warriors just wrapped up a 16-1 postseason by beating the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Monday, another Chicago sports team has something in common with the Warriors.

The 2005 White Sox went 11-1 in the postseason and were the last team to go through a postseason with just one loss. The White Sox swept the ALDS and lost Game 1 of the ALCS to the Angels before winning the final eight games that postseason.

Since the Divisional Series were introduced in baseball in 1995 only one other team can make the claim, the 1999 Yankees. The Yankees also suffered their only loss that postseason in the ALCS, coming in Game 3 in Boston.

The three American leagues with playoff series (NBA, MLB, NHL) have had other teams go through the playoffs with just one loss.

The 2001 Lakers went 15-1 and the 1983 76ers went 12-1, the only NBA teams to go through a three-round postseason with just one loss. The conference semifinals weren’t played by all playoff teams until 1967.

Only one NHL franchise has gone through a three-round postseason with one loss. The Montreal Canadiens did it twice, in 1968 and 1976. Since adding a fourth round to the NHL Playoffs, the 1988 Edmonton Oilers' 16-2 run is the best ever.

For reference, the best record the Bulls had in their six title-winning seasons was the very first championship in 1991. The Bulls went 15-2. The 1996 Bulls, which went 72-10 in the regular season, went 15-3 in the playoffs. The best record the Blackhawks had in any of the three recent title winning postseasons came in 2010 (16-6).

No team from these three leagues has gone undefeated in the playoffs while playing at least three rounds in the postseason. 

One-loss postseasons (having played at least three series):

2017 Warriors: 16-1

2005 White Sox: 11-1

2001 Lakers: 15-1

1999 Yankees: 11-1

1983 76ers: 12-1

1976 Canadiens: 12-1

1968 Canadiens: 12-1

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