Many cities will claim superiority, but only one can have the best year. Here are the American sports cities that had the best years in 2025.
It’s that time of year again.
The holiday season is a time for joy and reflection. And for many sports fans, how fondly they’ll look back on 2025 is determined by how well their favorite teams did.
Some fans have incredible memories to take with them into the new year while others have been given a metaphorical lump of coal every month.
Last year, we took a look at the 13 American metro areas with at least four big-four (NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL) professional sports franchises and ranked them by winning percentage. We ranked each of these metro areas by combining each team’s regular-season winning percentage (points percentage for the NHL) and weighing them equally. That way MLB teams don’t tip the scale more than NFL teams due to playing significantly more games. We’ve done the same thing this year, except the metro area count has shrunk to 12 as Phoenix no longer has an NHL team.
Because we’re looking at the calendar year of 2025, this counts parts of two seasons for every sport but MLB and only counts games that took place from Jan. 1 to Dec. 21, 2025. And, unlike last year, the first-place battle came down to the wire.
1. Boston (Combined Winning Percentage: .630)
Entering this weekend, Boston was in second in these rankings.
But a win by the Patriots and a loss by the runner-up’s NFL team vaulted Boston into the prized top spot as the best metro area of 2025.
It’s fitting the Patriots caused the move, as they’ve been the best team in Boston this year with an .813 winning percentage. They are tied for the best winning percentage of any team in the 12 ranked metro areas (NFL teams tend to have more polarized winning percentages with so many fewer games).
The Celtics (.701) were a force this year as well and sit at an impressive 17-11 in the 2025-26 season despite missing Jayson Tatum. The Red Sox (.549) held their own and, while the Bruins had a disappointing end to the 2024-25 season, they didn’t drag Boston down too much with a .456 winning percentage. That turned out to be key.
2. Denver (.618)
Denver nearly rose to the top, but, in the end, the huge anchor that is the Colorado Rockies was too much to overcome.
You may have heard, but the Rockies were bad this year. Their winning percentage (.265) was over .100 points worse than the second-worst team in the league (Chicago White Sox, .370). It was also the fourth-worst of any team featured in these rankings.
But enough about the Rockies! Denver still managed to finish in second place and would’ve taken the top spot if the Broncos beat the Jaguars in Week 16. Despite the loss, Sean Payton’s squad still tied the Patriots for the best winning percentage in 2025 at .813.
The Avalanche (.728) and Nuggets (.667) have both been exceptional as well. Denver may have lost out on the top spot, but three title contenders heading into the new year is quite the consolation prize.
3. Los Angeles/Anaheim (.596)
Los Angeles had the best record of any metro area that also won a championship in 2025.
Funnily enough, the Dodgers, who took home the championship, had the fifth-best winning percentage of teams in Los Angeles at .574. They had a decent regular season before turning it on in October.
The NFL teams led the way, with the Chargers (.750) and Rams (.688) both near the top of the league. The Lakers (.662) have held up their end of the bargain, but the Clippers (.494) disappointing start to the 2025-26 season dragged down LA somewhat.
The Kings (.606) and Ducks (.549) were both above average as well. The Angels, predictably, were the worst team in the area with a .444 winning percentage.
4. Detroit (.589)
Detroit was the only city to have each team finish above .500. If your goal is competitive teams every time you turn on the television, Detroit is the place to be.
The Pistons led the way with a .667 winning percentage, which is up from a dreadful .125 just two years ago. The Red Wings (.591), Lions (.563) and Tigers (.537) have all been very good as well, although it’s fair to classify the Lions as a bit of a disappointment as they look likely to miss the playoffs.
Detroit finished fourth last year as well, with a better season from the Lions (.875) and a worse one from the Pistons (.305) balancing things out. To climb this list in 2026, they’ll need one of these teams to leap toward the top of their league and the others to hold steady.
5. Bay Area (.535)
The 49ers rebound and the departure of the Athletics helped the Bay vault from 12th to fifth.
After compiling a winning percentage of .375 in 2024, the 49ers predictably bounced back and led the Bay with a .667 winning percentage this year.
The Warriors were well above average at .582 and the Giants felt like a .500 team the entire year and finished … at exactly .500.
The Sharks (.391) dragged the Bay’s score down again, but still showed improvement from 2024, when they had a .321 winning percentage.
6. Philadelphia (.532)
Philadelphia had the best winning percentage in 2023 but declined in 2024 and fell even further this year.
But the area is likely OK with regular-season success when it comes with a Super Bowl victory. The Eagles have been a little up-and-down since then but still have a very good .688 winning percentage this year, which leads all teams in Philadelphia.
The Phillies remained a National League contender with a .593 winning percentage, while the Flyers finished just above .500 at .506. The 76ers easily were the worst team in the city (.342), but that was due to an abysmal 11-41 end to the 2024-25 season. They’re 16-11 this season, fourth in the Eastern Conference.
7. Minneapolis (.527)
No city saw their winning percentage take a bigger hit from 2024 than Minneapolis, even though half of their teams improved.
The Timberwolves (.646) and Wild (.593) both had modest bumps from last year, but Minneapolis topped the 2024 list based on being the only city with every team above .500 and the Vikings dominating to the tune of an .824 winning percentage. Neither is the case anymore.
The Vikings stumbled to a .438 winning percentage amid a disappointing year, and the Twins finished just behind them at .432. And Minneapolis still has the longest big-four title drought among teams with four or more big-four teams, having not celebrated a big-four championship since the 1991 Minnesota Twins won the World Series.
8. Chicago (.519)
Minneapolis saw the biggest decrease in year-over-year winning percentage; Chicago went in the other direction. They still finished eighth among the 12 metro areas, but that’s a big improvement from last place in 2024.
Chicago’s improvement is pretty simple. The city had three teams with a winning percentage of .325 or worse in 2024. The Bears went from horrific (.235 in 2024) to elite (.750 this year). The Blackhawks (.424) and White Sox (.370) weren’t good, but they were significantly improved over the previous season.
The Cubs (.568) had a nice bump and made the playoffs for the first time since 2020, while the Bulls (.481) continued to achieve their goal of being as mediocre as possible every year.
With some young stars in town, Chicago is a city on the rise after some rough years.
9. Dallas (.497)
Like Minneapolis, Dallas took a big tumble from 2024, going from finishing third last year to ninth this year.
The Stars (.699) were great this year, and the Rangers managed to be exactly .500, but the Cowboys (.406) got even worse after a disappointing 2024 (.471). The Mavericks were huge sliders, though, going from .630 in 2024 to (.385) and making one of the worst trades of all time in sending Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers.
At least Cooper Flagg looks good, right?
10. Miami (.469)
It’s hard to win a championship and finish in 10th place among 12 metro areas, but that’s exactly what Miami did in 2025.
Like the Dodgers, the Panthers (.570) weren’t regular-season juggernauts, but went on a tear in the postseason to repeat as champions.
The Heat (.444) and Dolphins (.375) both took major steps back this year, leaving the Marlins (.488) as the only Miami team to improve on their 2024 record.
11. New York/New Jersey (.444)
There’s a lot of talk about “buying championships,” but you’d think New York would fare better in these rankings if that were easy to do. They’ve gone from seventh in the rankings in 2023 to 10th last year and finish a spot behind that in 2025.
Let’s start with the positives. The Knicks (.623) look like the best team in the Eastern Conference, the Yankees (.580) are still AL contenders, and all three hockey teams finished above .500 (the Islanders at .556, Rangers at .548 and Devils at .519). The Mets were a bit disappointing but finished above .500 (.512) as well.
All of that makes for a solid ranking that absolutely craters when you factor in the last three teams.
The Nets (.286) are rebuilding and need some lottery luck to turn around the franchise. And even they were better than the NFL duo of perpetual disappointment, the Jets (.250) and Giants (.125).
Only five teams in the 12 metro areas finished with a winning percentage worse than .300. Three of those teams are in the New York/New Jersey area.
12. Washington D.C. (.394)
As rough as things have been for New York, no city can take the belt for recent sports ineptitude from Washington D.C.
After finishing last in 2023, D.C. went up to 11th last year, finishing ahead of the Bay Area and Chicago.
But that upward trajectory didn’t continue, as dramatic regression from the Commanders (.313) was key in D.C. finding its way back to the bottom. The Capitals (.630) did their part, but the Nationals (.407) regressed, and the Wizards (.228) were once again the second-worst team among 12 metro areas.
Let’s hope Jayden Daniels can stay healthy in 2026 and the Wizards get some lottery luck. The city of D.C. deserves more happy things based on the way their teams have played the last three years.
Winning percentages provided by Chase Weight and Brady Olson. For more coverage, follow along on social media on Instagram, Bluesky, Facebook and X.
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